"01 - Daughter of the Drow - Elaine Cunningham 1.0.palmdoc.pdb" - читать интересную книгу автора (Starlight And Shadows)

To JudiЧsister, friend, and one-woman partyPRELUDE
There is a world where elves dance beneath the stars, where the footsteps of
humanfolk trace restless paths in ever-widening circles. There is adventure to
be had in this land, and magic enough to lure seekers and dreamers with a
thousand secrets. Here there are wonders enough and more to fill a dragon's
lifetime, and most who live in this world are content with the challenges life
brings.
A few, however, remember the night-told stories that terrified and delighted
them as children, and they seek out the whispered tales and grim warnings so
they may disregard them. Intrepid or foolish, these hearty souls venture into
forbidden places deep beneath the lands of their birth. Those who survive tell
of another, even more wondrous, land, a dark and alien world woven from the
fabric of dreamsЧand of nightmares. This is the Underdark.
In gem-studded caves and winding tunnels, turbulent waterways and vast caverns,
the creatures of the Underdark make their homes. Beautiful and treacherous are
these hidden realms, and perhaps chief among them is Menzoberranzan, fabled city
of the drow.
Life in the dark elves' city has always been dominated by the worship of
LlothЧthe drow goddess of chaosЧand by a constant striving for power and
position. Yet in the shadows of the temples and the grand ruling houses, away
from the Academy that teaches fighting and fanaticism, a complex and diverse
people go about the business of life.
Here the drow, both noble and common, live, work, scheme, play,
andЧoccasionallyЧlove. Echoes of their common elven heritage can be seen in the
artistry lavished on homes and gardens, the craftsmanship of their armor and
ornaments, their affinity for magic and art, and their fierce pride in their
fighting skills. Yet no surface-dwelling elf could walk among her dark cousins
without feeling horror, and earning a swift and terrible death. For the drow,
fey and splendid though they are, have been twisted by centuries of hatred and
isolation into a macabre parody of their elven forebears. Stunning achievement
and chilling atrocity: this is Menzoberranzan.
In a time some three decades before the gods walked the realms, the chaos and
turmoil of the dark elves' city achieved a brief, simmering equilibrium. Wealthy
drow took advantage of such intervals of relative calm to indulge their tastes
for luxury and pleasure. Many of their leisure moments were spent in
Narbondellyn, an elegant district of the city that boasted broad streets, fine
homes, and expensive shops, all crafted of stone and magic. Faint light suffused
the scene, most of it from the multicolored glow of faerie fire. All drow were
able to conjure this magical light, and in Narbondellyn the use of it was
particularly lavish. Faerie fire highlighted the carvings on the mansions,
illuminated shop signs, baited merchandise with a tempting glow, and glimmered
like embroidery on the gowns and cloaks of the wealthy passersby.
In the surface lands far above Menzoberranzan, winter was beginning to ebb, and
the midday sun struggled to warm the harsh landscape. The Underdark did not know
seasons and had no cycle of light and dark, but the drow still went about their
business according to the ancient, forgotten rhythms of their light-dwelling
ancestors. The magi- cal warmth deep in the core of NarbondelЧthe natural stone
pillar that served as the city's clockЧwas climbing toward midpoint as the
unseen sun reached its zenith. The drow could read the magic timepiece even in
utter darkness, for their keen eyes perceived the subtlest heat patterns with a