"Douglas Niles - Druidhome 2 - The Coral Kingdom" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niles Douglas)

But through his anger burned the memory of the gleaming triangle, the tool that allowed the elven
escape. Never had the Ityak-Ortheel come so closeтАФit had actually touched the thing! The god sensed the
essence of the talisman through the touch of Ityak-Ortheel. Now its image burned in his immortal mind,
compelling him to find it, for he knew that if he could follow the path of the talisman, he would be able to
pursue the elves who dared to frustrate him by their escape.
One day, he vowed, he would learn the path of those who escaped him, and then vengeance would be
his.
PART I: SYNNORIA
 1
A Royal Funeral
Robyn Kendrick, High Queen of the Ffolk, stood at the highest window of her castle, watching the
sun-speckled waters of Whitefish Bay, the bustling commerce of Callidyrr, and the thriving fields and
pastures that spilled across the moors to the highlands beyond. She looked upon this scene of prosperity and
beauty, and she felt as though she would perish from the force of her own despair.
"He lives!" she whispered softly. "He is not dead!"
Too often in the past days she had spoken the words aloud, and this had caused the eyes of her
daughters or her servants to look at her pityingly. They thought she was losing her mind, she knew, and the
queen sensed that now, of all times, she could not let her subjects begin to wonder about her fitness to rule.
"It's true!" she told herself, yet even Robyn had begun to wonder how she could continue to cling to
such a hollow hope.
True, there had been no bodyтАФbut when was there ever a body when a ship went down at sea with the
loss of all hands? The High King's vessel had sailed on the return leg to the Moonshaes, following an
important trading mission to the Sword Coast kingdoms of Callidyrr and Amn. Somewhere in the vast
reaches of the Trackless Sea, south of the Moonshae Islands, the ship had encountered a surging tempest
of storms typical of the gales that swept across that wide stretch of ocean. The ship had entered the
maelstrom and it had failed to emerge.
The news had come to Callidyrr, the great city where the High King had made his capital and his home,
more than three weeks before, and in all that time, there had been no information to indicate any chance of
his survival. Even the stubborn Ffolk, grief-stricken and frightened as they were, had begun to accept the
reality of the loss of their king.
Robyn's own daughters had faced the grim truth, though each in her own unique way. The elder, High
Princess Alicia, had embarked on a vigorous regimen of weapons training, as if her skill with sword and
bow might help to avert a future tragedy. In this, Alicia was aided by good friendsтАФmost notably Brandon
Olafsson, Crown Prince of Gnarhelm and a proud northman sailor. Brandon professed his love for the
princess in every expression of his face, every jealous glower in his blue eyes as he looked at the two other
men who also stood high in the princess's friendship and affection.
One of these was Hanrald Blackstone, newly appointed as Earl of Fairheight following the death of his
father. Hanrald had been trained as a knight, and the honor and chivalry of that calling marked him as
clearly as did his plate mail breastplate or his proud, crested helm. Yet that stiffness displayed itself in a
reserve that held Hanrald aloof while his more hot-blooded rival pressed his suit vigorously.
The third man, Robyn realized, might not be recognized as a rival by Brandon or Hanrald. Indeed, a cold
part of the queen's mind told her that he made a less desirable match for her daughter politically than did
either the earl or the prince. Keane of Callidyrr had been Alicia's tutor for more than ten years and still
treated the princess with protectiveness as much as affection. Yet of the three, the magic-using teacher
came closest to understanding Alicia Kendrick.
Now, however, Robyn knew that the choice of a husband was not Alicia's concern. Instead, she needed
the comfort of her friends as she struggled to grasp the reality of her father's loss. Currently, as Robyn
looked upon her realm, Brandon captained a longship that carried the princess and her companions to
Corwell, where the queen would join them shortly. Because of these friends, thought the queen, the High
Princess had adapted better than either her mother or her sister in accepting the loss of the High King.