"Emil Petaja - The Prism" - читать интересную книгу автора (Petaja Emil)

tropical-close sun lifted into the heat of day; a sibilant wind sang through
the natural flutes among the soaring swaying trees.
When they reached the diminished forest's rim and a wide upland
clearing bisected the rearing tangle of verdure, they, could see the cliffs.
The cliffs! High as heaven itself. Unassailable, they were taught by the
Care Women, even before their tough cranky fight-instructors took over.
The cliffs were to dream on, a fanciful ever-fogged tableland which bespoke
the unattainable, the forever unknown, a place to look up at with awed
eyes and gaping mouth and wonder and never know or expect to know.
And nowтАФjust at this incredible moment!тАФthe fog that never went
away did. Briefly, so briefly that it must have been illusion. And there it
was! The fabled castle of the Princess!
They stood there, gawking and gurgling.
Then it was gone.
Kor swallowed the thing that had leaped to his throat. тАЬIтАФI never
doubted it was there. We all worship the Princess and wear her banner on
our hearts, yet not all of the Helden believe in her. But I did! Always! And
now that I know she is real and I have seen her castle I'm going up there!тАЭ
Atlan cried out and slapped his shoulder in a plea for sanity. тАЬKor!
Nobody has ever made it up that cliff! See how it beetles out! There are no
holds. It's like polished flint. Forget it!тАЭ He added in a low growl, тАЬI still
think it was just an illusion. We dreamed it.тАЭ
Kor took his hand. тАЬGoodbye, friend.тАЭ
тАЬHey! Not now!тАЭ Atlan cried. тАЬThink on it! Let your brains struggle for
sense!тАЭ
тАЬNow is as good a time as any.тАЭ
тАЬWhat'll I tell Liti?тАЭ
тАЬTell herтАФтАЭ Kor shrugged; for a moment the must in his lake-blue eyes
wavered. тАЬTell her I had to go. After all, this is our life, here in the Forests.
To challenge. To fight. To die.тАЭ
тАЬBut you're our leader, Kor!тАЭ
тАЬYou will lead, Atlan. Until I return.тАЭ
тАЬReturn! You knowтАФтАЭ
тАЬFarewell, comrade.тАЭ
Kor left Atlan scowling and blinking among the bracken; he did not look
back.

***

Questions seethed in his head while he moved out of the brush-spotted
field and onto rocky terrain in the direction of the cliff-foot. It would take
him the best of an hour to reach the scarp itself, and while his long legs
carried him toward destiny and death his brain wrestled with a thousand
strange thoughtsтАФthe kind of thoughts most of the Helden had no time for
or rejected out of hand. Thoughts like: where did the people of Vicaria
come from? Early in life he had seen the animals of the Forests give birth
to their young. Not so the Helden, nor as far as he knew anything about it,
did the peoples of the other Kingdoms. The Deevs. The albino cave-folk.
The nightmarish Dracs. OrтАФCirce of the Palaces of Unendurable Pleasure.
No. It wasn't like the mammals of the Purple Forests at all, suckling their