"Lyndon Hardy - Riddle of the Seven Realms" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hardy Lyndon)

"More than three eons it took to train them all." Elezar waved at the swarm. "Three eons for that
one clutch alone." The arc of his arm continued around the expanse of the rotunda. "I will not
give them up, cataloguer. Not them or a single dram of hard matter in my domain."

"You are among the mightiest of princes," Astron said. "And the djinns who obey your commands
number more than those of any other. What demon could possibly challenge you for possession ofтАФ?"

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"Your skill is supposed to be one of making lists," Elezar interrupted. "Your knowledge of the
other realms is the most profound of any in my retinue. Tell me quickly then, what are the seven
laws that govern the affairs of men?"

Astron wrinkled his nose, puzzled. Such knowledge was widespread throughout the realm. Even the
prince himself would have at least a casual acquaintance with the seven laws. Why would Elezar
choose to exercise him through a memory drill like a broodmother instructing her scion? Astron
started to ask the reason for the question but then saw the frown deepen in Elezar's face.

"The first two laws are the concern of wizardry," he said quickly, "the law of ubiquityтАФflame



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permeates all, and the law of dichotomyтАФdominance or submission. It is through fire that the
barriers between our realm and the others are broken. And when, through it, we contact a dweller
on the other side, one must end up the controller of the other; there is no middle ground.

"Of all the realms, ours is unique. The fires of the other universes connect them only to us and
never to each other. If ever men, the skyskirr, the fey and all those who exist elsewhere interact
it is because we have brought them together.

"And although these others can coexist side by side with no threat from one to another, our own
involvements are much more tightly bound. Whenever one of us leaves our realm to sojourn
elsewhere, it must be as the master of the one who has summoned or else as his slave.

"But you know all of this quite well, my prince. None less than you organized the great plan to
conquer the entire realm of men and bend it to your will but a tick in time ago. Had it not been
for the one that the mortals call the archimageтАФ"

Elezar's hands clutched spasmodically and Astron veered back to his original course. The prince
did not like to be reminded of his defeat by a mere human. "The next is the rule of three," Astron
rushed. "Or as it is commonly castтАФthrice spoken, once fulfilled. The

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proper chants intoned three times over give men the power of sorcery and illusion to cloud the
minds of one another.