"Douglas Niles - Forgotten Realms - Viperhand" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niles Douglas)

The Ancestor thought for a moment of Lolth, the spider goddess of the drow,
deified by others of his folk, in other parts of the world. The
personification of evil, Lolth was a cruel mistress, promising power to those
who followed her faithfully.
Once the Ancient Ones had numbered among those faithful, devoting their
strength and their lives to the spider goddess.
"Bah!" he exclaimed, sneering. The other drow were fools. Lolth had forsaken
the drow of Maztica, had turned
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her back upon them when the Rockfire wracked the land. Splitting the very
earth, tearing the bedrock itself asunder, that convulsion had cut off the
Ancestors' tribe from the rest of the dark elf race. Now that tribe had become
the Ancient Ones, spokesmen for the cult of Zaltec, revered by the peoples of
Maztica. Lolth and her pathetic minions, separated from Maztica by vast
stretches of land, counted for less than nothing here.
Zaltec alone became their life and their future.
The Ancestor stared again at the hot, crimson hearts, glowing like coals in
their vast hollow. Zaltec would rule the land! The priests of that dark god,
following the teachings of the Ancient Ones, worked to convert warriors to
their cause, marking them with the snake's-head brand. The cult of the
Viperhand had begun to flourish, and this was the perfect instrument for the
drows' work.
Another perfect tool sat on the throne of Nexal itself, the venerable drow
reflected. The great Naltecona, Revered Counselor of the Nexala and virtual
emperor of Maztica, served nicely as a figure to be held in awe. The ruler
himself didn't see how willingly he forwarded the cause of the Ancient Ones.
Yet Naltecona's death had long been foretold, and in his passing, he would
create a void of power across the land. Maztica would require new masters. And
the Ancient Ones, through the cult of the Viperhand, would be ready.
Two matters still caused the Ancestor some concern. One was the landing of the
Golden Legion in Maztica. These warlike strangers threatened to destroy all
the preparations of the Ancient Ones. With their steel and their magic, the
invaders were a formidable foe. Still, the Ancestor had anticipated the
invasion and had taken a precautionary step, some ten years ago, to counter
it. That step had come to fruition, and it might be that it would turn the
Golden Legion into a powerful, if unwitting, ally.
The other, more vexing, matter was that of the girl, Erix-itl. She still,
somehow, eluded them.
Recalling the vision that had chilled him decades ago, the Ancestor faced his
grim knowledge. Zaltec had sent him a warning, in the form of a white,
gleaming star. In the draw's
DOUGLAS NILES
vision, that star touched upon them just as Zaltec's mastery came to fruition.
The resulting cataclysm wracked the dark elves, bringing the tribe to ruin. As
an insignificant side effect, the continent of Maztica suffered horrible
ravages from the force of the same convulsions.
After years of study, meditation, and sacrifice, the nature of the white star
had become clear: A human girl held the seed of potential disaster. Not until
much later had this girl been identified, again through the flaming picture of
the Darkfyre, as Erixitl of Palul. She had been a mere decade old at the time,