"John Morressy - A Law for the Stars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morressy John)

A few residents, when told of the news, quoted ancient sayings and hinted darkly at a time
of trial near at hand. They were ignored by all.

A trading caravan was organized that very day. Ryne's parents were among the chief
participants. In two days' time, a line of traders, their guards and servants, and their
heavily-laden haxopods passed through the gate, crossed the plain, and disappeared into the
distance. They carried with them the finest wares the coastal settlements could offer.

Ryne wanted very much to go and see the wondrous beings from the stars, but he was too
little. He was left at home, in the care of his mother's threshold-sister. Once the traders had
departed, he climbed to the roof of their house to watch his parents' caravan grow smaller and
smaller and at last disappear. He felt very sad, and very much alone.

Ryne never saw his parents again. The entire trading expedition vanished without a trace.
But about a year after their departure, an army of forest people descended on the settlements.
The coastal dwellers were easy prey. They were defendedтАФif such a term can be usedтАФonly by
a flimsy palisade, for there was nothing in Deadlands to threaten them, and the forest people
were only ignorant savages. But now the savages had leaders: green men, black men, red and
white and mottled men, of all shapes and sizes. Some even resembled the people of the
settlements.

A few offered resistance to the invaders. They were slain out of hand. The rest were spared
for the service of their new masters.

Soon after the assault, Ryne's guardians disappeared. Their home and all its contents were
seized by the invaders. When Ryne sought help, frightened neighbors and even threshold-kin
turned him away. Alone, afraid, friendless, he huddled by the altar-stone and wept. Then,
wisely, he rose and dried his tears and turned his energies to staying alive.

From this time on, Ryne lived by himself. He stayed near the seawall, begging for food,
stealing it when he could. He took shelter wherever it was available. It was a hard and lonely
life, but for a resourceful boy, it was not an altogether unhappy one. Ryne knew a freedom and
an independence enjoyed by few in the settlement. Only the presence of the conquerors made
his life hateful.

Gradually the conquerors remade the coastal settlements into a chain of fortified
strongholds. The flimsy palisades were replaced by walls and closely patrolled. Entrance was
difficult; escape was almost impossible, and any attempt was severely punished. All new
arrivals were closely questioned. If their responses were unsatisfactory, they were taken to the
ruler, who called himself Overlord. Few were seen again.

Like all Jadjeelans in the settlements, Ryne endured much during these years, and
everything he suffered made him hate his conquerors more bitterly. His own helplessness only
deepened his hatred.
 Once, while resting on the seawall, Ryne was nearly killed by one of the mottled men. They
were called Quespodons, and they were very strong. For no apparent reason other than his
own amusement, this Quespodon threw a large paving stone at Ryne.

If he had not been nimble, Ryne's skull would have been crushed where he lay.