"Barb & J. C. Hendee - Noble Dead 03 - Sister of the Dead" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hendee JC & Barb)

smooth.

"A king should pay more attention to the kingdom's roads, " Leesil muttered, pulling biscuits and apples
from a burlap sack.

"Droevinka has no king, " Wynn said.

Leesil handed her an apple. "What?"

"There is no hereditary monarchy, only a grand prince. "

Leesil snorted. "What's the difference? A king by any other title... is most often still a tyrantтАФor at best,
oblivious. "

Magiere knew the distinction in her homeland well enough, though she'd never cared to comprehend
rulers and their ways. It would have changed little in her early life.

"I've read some of the Belaskian histories, " Wynn said, sitting and gathering a blanket around her legs.
"There is a considerable difference. Droevinka is divided among houses, each one headed by its own
prince in a bloodline claimed to be noble. Most are descended from the peoples who migrated here or
invaded this territory in the far past. Many of the houses are named for their original people, and they all
serve the grand prince. A new grand prince is chosen every nine years by the gathered nobles. For over
a hundred years, no one has claimed the title of king. "

"A few have tried, " Magiere said, too preoccupied to feel bitter. "Their constant plots and schemes
leave little attention for anything more than each house keeping a throttlehold on its province. Villagers
pay taxes and pray their lords don't become ambitious. Better to scrape out a living as a serf than to die
and rot as a conscripted soldier in their prince's bid for a king's crown. "

Chap whined, and Wynn reached into her pack for the large hide parchment with its elvish symbols.

"So who rules the land we're on now?" Leesil asked.
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"The Antes, " Magiere answered.

"They hold most of the land closest to the river, " Wynn added. "One of the oldest houses. Magiere
would know more. "

Leesil raised a blond eyebrow at Magiere.

"They would be your heartless tyrants, " she whispered. "That's all you need know. "

Leesil frowned as he checked his kindling drying beside the fire.

Wynn turned to Chap."Ag' us a' wiajhis tu oijhchenis?"