"Maggie Furey - Shadowleague 1 - The Heart of Myrial" - читать интересную книгу автора (Furey Maggie)

Loremasters were, of necessity, fiercely independent individuals, used to
making their own way in the worldтАФ and half the time, their own rules.
They came from races who were often at deadly odds with one another, yet
they themselves, as agents of the Shadowleague, must work in close
cooperation with colleagues who would otherwise have been their foes.
Loremasters were knowledgeable, highly trained, often highly strung, and
accustomed to shouldering tremendous responsibilities. During these
meetings, the Archimandrite found it wise to let them have their heads for a
little while at first. After a spark or two had flown, it was easier to rein them
in.
A light, tinkling laugh broke the tension, like the chiming of tiny silver bells.
The fifth participant in the meeting, who so far had remained watchful and
silent, had wisely chosen that moment to dispel the lingering shadows of
conflict. Cergorn smiled. There were those who complained that Wind-
Sprites were feckless and fickle. Cheerful, mischievous, and irreverent they
certainly were. To the uninitiated, it seemed as though they couldnтАЩt hold a
sensible thought in their minds longer than an eyeblink, but the Centaur
knew better, for his people shared a tranquil, golden isle far out in the warm
Southern ocean with the Zephyri.
The Wind-Sprites were masters of deception and illusion. To normal sight
they were practically invisible, their position only betrayed by a sliver of
shimmering distortion in the air, a whirl of dust, a swirl of leaves, or a
sudden draft that caused curtains to billow and candle flames to flicker and
flare. Few people were aware of how powerful they wereтАФor how perilous.
Imagine the destructive fury of a whirlwind, Cergorn thought, or the force of
a hurricane. Think of uprooted trees, roofless buildings, deluges, blizzards,
and shipwrecks in stormy seas. Oh yes, the Zephyri were deceptive all
rightтАФbut he loved them. And this particular Sprite, Thirishri, Chief
Loremaster of the air-dwellers, he loved best of all.
The near-invisible twist of shimmer that was the Wind-Sprite whirled out for
a moment across the surface of the lake, with the water purling up behind


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THE HEART OF MYRIAL - SHADOWLEAGUE 1 - MAGGIE FUREY

her to mark her passage. She snatched up a glittering plume of spindrift and
flung it in an arc of spray across the assembled Loremasters. Once again,
they heard the chiming tinkle of its laugh as the Alva, who hated to get her
wings wet, leapt hastily to one side, cursing in her own rasping tongue.
тАЬFriendsтАФlet us settle. Let tempers cool.тАЭ The ZephyrтАЩs telepathic voice
was the silvery sigh of a soft summer breeze. From the others came a
subvocal murmur of assent. A brief flash and sparkle in the air showed the
Zephyr returning to the land, and taking up her former place in the
semicircle by the lakeside.
тАЬIndeed,тАЭ said Cergorn. тАЬWe must attend to business. There is a great deal to
discuss. YouтАЩll have noticed that quite a few people are missing today,тАЭ he
began. тАЬSome have sent messages, but I have no idea what has happened to
delay the othersтАФAethon, for example, with Kaz and Veldan. Without the
Dragon we have no representation from the Dragonfolk, and thatтАЩs another