"Dan Parkinson - Dwarven Nations 02 - Hammer and Axe" - читать интересную книгу автора (Parkinson Dan)

His blessing falls on the low, the benighted.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the heart of the story.

Joined by others they were in the telling:
A graceless girl, graced beyond graces;
A princess of seeds and saplings, called to the forest;
An ancient weaver of accidents;
Nor can we say who the story will gather.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the hear of the story.

From the north came danger, as we knew it would:
In encampments of winter, the dragon's sleep
Has settled the land, but out of the forest,
Out of the plain they come, from the mothering earth,
Defining the sky before them.
Nine they were, under the three moons,
Under the autumn twilight:
As the world declined, they arose
Into the heart of the story.



The Hammer

"The Hammer of Kharas!"
The great Hall of Audience of the King of the Mountain Dwarves echoed with the
triumphal announcement. It was followed by wild cheering, the deep booming
voices of the dwarves mingling with the slightly higher-pitched shouts of the
humans as the huge doors at the rear of the Hall were thrown open and Elistan,
cleric of Paladine, entered.

Although the bowl-shaped Hall was large, even by dwarven standards, it was
crammed to capacity. Nearly all of the eight hundred refugees from Pax Tharkas
lined the walls, while the dwarves packed onto the carved stone benches below.

Elistan appeared at the foot of a long central aisle, the giant war hammer held
reverently in his hands. The shouts increased at the sight of the cleric of
Paladine in his white robes, the sound booming against the great vault of the
ceiling and reverberating through the hall until it seemed that the ground shook
with the vibrations.

Tanis winced as the noise made his head throb. He was stifled in the crowd. He
didn't like being underground anyway and, although the ceiling was so high that
the top soared beyond the blazing torchlight and disappeared into shadow, the