"Elizabeth Moon - Gird 02 - Liar's Oath" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moon Elizabeth)

LiarтАЩs Oath - The Legacy of Gird 02, Elizabeth Moon
you know that.тАЭ
тАЬAs I know what is my fault,тАЭ he said. тАЬA king must never excuse himself. Gird would say that.тАЭ
тАЬGird did,тАЭ she said wryly, with a grin. тАЬBut how will you proceed?тАЭ
He stared at the fire, as if it had answers to give. тАЬI must find some way to convince the southerners that I do represent
Old Aare as well as the north. You remember Andressat: those old lords believe no northern title. If it were possible to
find some buried talisman, some ancient relicтАжтАЭ
тАЬIs a sword worth more than a swordsman?тАЭ Paksenarrion rested in her chair as if weightless; no hawk ever had more
vigilant eyes.
тАЬNo, but IтАЩm not likely to find a convenient army of Aareans ensorceled for an age, ready to my commandтАФтАЭ He stopped
abruptly; she had held up her hand. Her face seemed closed a moment, then she grinned as happily as the young girl he
remembered.
тАЬAre you not? Can you doubt the godsтАЩ influence, sir king, in asking me here?тАЭ
тАЬI would never doubt the gods where youтАЩre concerned, but whatтАФ?тАЭ
тАЬKolobia,тАЭ she said, Kolobia. His breath caught in his throat. Where she had been captured by iynisin, the elvesтАЩ cruel
cousins who hated all living things, who corrupted the very stone by dwelling in it. Where she had lost what made her
what she was, a paladin of GirdтАж he thought of what she had gone through to regain it and winced away from the
memory. She shook her head, impatient with his sentiment. тАЬKolobia,тАЭ she said again, joyfully. тАЬLuapтАЩs StrongholdтАФthe
sleeping knights thereтАФтАЭ
тАЬBut you told me they waited some godтАЩs call to wakeтАФтАЭ
тАЬSo Amberion said, when we found them. But as you know the Marshal-Generals have sent scholars there to read through
their archives; they have not shared all they learned abroad. Those were not GirdтАЩs closest followers, as we first thought,
but mageborn, descendents of those lords against which Gird fought. And in their own time, they believed themselves
descended from the lords of Old Aare.тАЭ
тАЬWere they?тАЭ he asked.
She shrugged. тАЬHow can we know? We know what they said of themselves in their records, but not if they spoke
truthтАФor even knew it.тАЭ
тАЬAnd you think I should try to wake them?тАЭ
тАЬI think you should ask the gods, and possibly your elven relatives. The scholars found as many mysteries as answers;
they are not sure why the stronghold was founded, or why an end cameтАФeven what the end was. The records end
abruptly, as if it came suddenly, or as if the writers expected no one to read their words again.тАЭ
The king stood and paced the length of the room without speaking. Then he came back to the table, and leaned on it, as if
reading the maps and books thereon. She watched him, silent.
тАЬI know the way,тАЭ he said finally. тАЬI know, and cannot tell you, how to wake the sleepersтАж but without knowing why
they sleep, and if some great power intended another awakening for them, dare I intrude?тАЭ
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LiarтАЩs Oath - The Legacy of Gird 02, Elizabeth Moon
тАЬThe gods will tell you, if you listen,тАЭ she said. He grunted; she always said that, and for her it was true: she listened, and
the gods guided her. That was the essence of a paladin. For himself, it was more of a struggle. A king could not merely
follow; a king had to understand. She had said more than once that paladins were not meant to govern.
тАЬAnd what of the iynisin in Kolobia?тАЭ he asked. тАЬIf I waken the sleepers, what about them?тАЭ
A shadow crossed her face, as well it might. тАЬSir king, if you could persuade your elven relatives to explain more of the
iynisin presence there it would help us all. In all the records from LuapтАЩs time, there is no mention of iynisin, and only
one or two comments of some mysterious danger. The neighboring kingdom was said to believe that demons of some
kind lived in the canyons before Luap came. Perhaps they thought iynisin were demons, but that doesnтАЩt explain why
Luap and his folk never saw them.тАЭ
тАЬIt would help,тАЭ the king said, тАЬif we knew more about Luap himself: who he was, and why he journeyed there, and what
he thought he was doing.тАЭ