"Richard A. Knaak - Diablo 02 - Scales of the Serpent" - читать интересную книгу автора (Knaak Richard A)

For all the loyal and very patient fans
of the world of Sanctuary.

Prologue
тАжThe world was forever changed by the second coming of the nephalem, but changed most of all was
the first among their kind, Uldyssian ul-Diomed. Wanting nothing more than the simple, worthy life of a
farmer, he was now forced to become a catalyst for upheaval. Through him would be revealed some of
the truth concerning Sanctuary, as the world was called by those who most vied to control it. Through
him did others learn of the eternal war between the angels and demons through the guises of the
Cathedral of Light and the Temple of the Triune.

And knowing Uldyssian as a threat to all they planned, both the Cathedral and the Temple in their own
ways worked to either beguile him into becoming their puppet or destroy him utterly. Worse, betrayed by
what he had thought love, Uldyssian became a danger to himself, for he risked becoming blind to what
was happening around him even as he sought to free humans from the yoke of those believing themselves
the raceтАЩs rightful masters.

But although Uldyssian felt that the entire fate of Sanctuary rested on his weary shoulders, he could not
know that there had been others fighting for centuries against his same enemies, fighting them despite
what had seemed for centuries the hopelessness of their cause.

He could not know this, which was probably for the bestтАжfor they, in turn, were not certain if he should
be welcomedтАжor destroyed, just as the angels and demons believed.

From the Books of Kalan
Fifth Tome, First Leaf

One
The city of Toraja burnedтАж

While never able to approach in magnitude or glory great Kehjan to the east, Toraja had still been known
far and wide for its unique sights catering to the pilgrim and the inhabitant alike. There was the vast, open
market just beyond its northwestern gate, where anything from the known lands could be bought or sold
for the right price. Near the city center lay the centuries-old, intricately sculpted gardens, where one
could admire the spiral trees or the Falo Blooms, the fabled flowers with more than a dozen variations of
bright color on each petal and a scent that perfumers could never match. Beyond that stood the towering
Arena of Klytos, home of the Nirolian Games, attracting visitors from even the sprawling capital.

But all those legendary sites, often filled to capacity, were empty this one terrible eve. Indeed, there was
only activity in a lone part of the city and the hint of that could be witnessed from as far as a mile away in
the deep jungle surrounding walled Toraja.

Toraja burnedтАжand at the center of the conflagaration lay the Temple of the Triune.

The flames illuminated the sky well above the three-towered, triangular structure, the largest temple of the
sect other than the main one near Kehjan. Black smoke billowed from the foremost tower, the one
dedicated to Mefis, one of the three guiding spirits. The huge red circle representing both the order and
loveтАФMefisтАЩs supposed sphere of influenceтАФhung lopsided. Cast of iron, the immense circle now
threatened those below as the damage from the fire ate away at its remaining supports. The original
constructors had never imagined that such a fate would ever befall the structure and so had not added