"Mickey Zucker Reichert - Renshai 01 - The Last Of The Renshai" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reichert Mickey Zucker)

would remain no force to equalize Trilless' good. The weakest of the Wizards cleared his throat. Should
such a thing happen, goodness would lose all meaning, and he could not discount the possibility that the
loss of symmetry alone would plunge the world into the Ragnarok. "Colleagues, it's certain that nothing
positive can come of the Great War. If either side wins, it would disrupt the very balance we were
created to uphold."



Tokar nodded his support without a trace of the passion that had filled Shadimar's words. Trilless said
nothing. The matter did not involve her. A brief silence followed, shattered abruptly by Carcophan's
laughter. "Balance?" He laughed again, with malice. "My Wizard's vows and duties say nothing of
balance. But they do say that I must fulfill the prophecies set up for me by Southern Wizards down
through eternity." He rose, anticipation dancing in his yellow-green eyes. "There will be a Great War, a
bloody rampage like nothing your weak mind could imagine. If you choose not to oppose me, I will be
disappointed, but it will only make my job that much easier." Piece spoken, he rose from his chair and
stomped out the only exit from the Meeting Room.



Surprised and crushed by the unexpected hostility of Carcophan's opposition, Shadimar said nothing. He
had misjudged completely, and he needed time to understand his mistake. It had all seemed so clear to
him. Carcophan 's refusal is folly. Surely even the Southern Wizard can see the danger. If the Ragnarok
annihilates the world, who will remain to espouse his beloved philosophies of evil?



Trilless rose. Though slender and graceful, she maintained an aura of great power. "It pains me to side
with the Evil One, but he's right this time. Though he supports the wrong cause, he is as honor bound to
Odin as any of us." She glanced toward the door, obviously reluctant to remain on neutral territory while
her opposite wove his evil into mortals unopposed. But the captain of the ship that carried the Wizards to
and from the Meeting Isle was one of her own minions. He would not return Carcophan to the world
without her presence to balance his. "It's our duty to the gods to fulfill whatever prophecies our
predecessors created. To abandon that duty would mean forsaking our Wizards' vows and would bring
the very Ragnarok you intended to avoid." Unwilling to wait any longer, she hurried after Carcophan.



Shadimar went utterly still. His neutral position surely gave him a clearer view of the consequences, and
he could see nothing but disaster coming in the wake of the Great War.
 Tokar rose, waving his apprentice to his side. "Shadimar, don't let your fears for the masses make you
lose sight of details. We are each honor bound to fulfill our own predecessors' prophecies, but nowhere
does it state that we can't thwart one another. Carcophan can no more choose to suppress the War than
you can let the high king's heir die. Yet we can oppose the Evil One even as we execute our own roles."
He headed through the door, Haim following in his wake, then turned back to voice a final thought. "Odin
constrained us so that our followers could remain free, heroes and victims of their own mistakes. We can
only motivate; the mortals choose their routes and methods and create their own consequences." He
continued into the gloom, his last, soft statement nearly swallowed by position and distance. "I believe
there may be more to this Golden Prince of Demons than any of us knows."