"Robert Don Hughes - Pelman 03 - The Power and the Prophet" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hughes Robert Don)

The Power and the Prophet

ROBERT DON HUGHES



PROLOGUE

ThePower's Gateway

They were mined from the finest veins in the MarтАФsix huge diamonds, each the size of a giant's skull. A
company of war-riors, sworn to secrecy, bore them by horseback around the treacherous southwestern
route. They wouldn't dare enter Dragonsgate with diamonds of this size, for Vicia-Heinox would claim
them for himself. These stones were destined to be the dragon's bane, and that would end the conspiracy
at its begin-ning.

The Man warriors bore them to the scholars of the south, surrendering their treasures in the heartland of
their hated foes. All men were allies now, for there was dragonburn on the land. In the hallways of the
craftsmen, under the learned eyes of the wise, each diamond felt the chisel. Six three-sided pyramids
were carefully cutтАФsix slivers of crystal, each tapering grace-fully to a point, each calibrated to fit
precisely with every other. Then the wise men summoned the powershaper to meld by his magic the six
sharp shards into a single diamond thorn.

There was a human failing. The cost proved too high. Un-willing to pay that price, the sorcerer
improvised. He attacked the dragon alone, wielding the sparkling weapon in his bare hands. The
battleтАФvisible from distant mountaintopsтАФleft the shaper destroyed and the crystal object shattered
once again into six three-sided pyramids. They all were lost for a millen-nium.

Now, a thousand years later, three had been rediscovered.



CHAPTER ONE

Pilgrims Through the Pass

An autumn wind stirred the grasslands of the Westmouth Plain, billowing Pelmen's robe out before him.
He walked briskly toward the east, his head up, his eyes fixed on the jagged peaks of Dragonsgate. He
could have flown. He was, after all, a powershaper; in his altershape, he took on the form of a falcon.
Yet Pelmen was tired of flying. He'd done little else for days. And he was certain the one he sought
would be on footтАФif she was free to travel at all. Once again, Pelmen searched for Serphimera.

Something caught his eye. On the road above him, up in the foothills of the ancient pass, he saw a flash
of powder blue. He knew instantly what it was, and it amazed him. "A sky-faither? Here?" he murmured
and he speeded his already quick pace. His gown was of the same brilliant color, but he'd never before
seen another like it here in this ancient land of warfare and wizardry. It wasn't his wandering ladyтАФshe
still wore the midnight blue of the old Dragonfaith. But it was someone who shared his belief, and, by the
Power, Pelmen wanted to know who.

By the Power! So much of what Pelmen had done in the past few years had been by the Power. Time