"Jennifer Roberson - CotC 6 - Daughter of the Lion" - читать интересную книгу автора (Roberson Jennifer)

magical powers and therefore feared the Cheysuli,
threatened to tear the realm apart. The Cheysuli
royal dynasty voluntarily gave up the Lion Throne
so that Homanans could rule Homana, thereby avoid-
ing fullblown internecine war.
The clans withdrew altogether from Homanan so-
ciety save for one remaining and binding tradition:
each Homanan king, called a Mujhar, must have a
Cheysuli liege man as bodyguard, councillor, com-
panion, dedicated to serving the throne and protect-
ing I he Mujhar, until such a time as the prophecy is
fulfilled and the Firstborn rule again.
This tradition was adhered to without incident for
nearly four centuries, until Lindir, the only daughter
of Shaine the Mujhar, jilted her prospective bride-
groom to elope with Hale, her father's Cheysuli liege
man. Because the jilted bridegroom was the heir of a
neighboring king, Bellam of Solinde, and because
their marriage was meant to seal an alliance after
years of bloody war, the elopement resulted in tragic
consequences. Shaine concocted a web of lies to salve
his obsessive pride, and in so doing laid the ground-
work for the annihilation of a race. Declared sorcer-
ers and demons dedicated to the downfall of the
Homanan throne, the Cheysuli were summarily out-
lawed and sentenced to immediate execution if found
within Homanan borders.
Shapechangers begins the "Chronicles of the Cheysuli,"
telling the tale of Alix, daughter of Lindir, once
Princess of Homana, and Hale, once Cheysuli liege
man to Shaine. Alix is an unknown catalyst bearing
the of d Blood of the Firstborn, which gives her the
ability to link with all lir and assume any animal
shape at will. But Alix is raised by a Homanan and
has no knowledge of her abilities, until she is kid-
napped by Finn, a Cheysuli warrior who is Hale's
son by his Cheysuli wife, and therefore Alix's half-
brother. Kidnapped with her is Carillon, Prince of
Homana. Alix learns the true power in her gifts, the
nature of the prophecy which rules all Cheysuli, and
eventually marries a warrior, Duncan, to whom she
bears a son, Donal, and, much later, a daughter,
Bronwyn. But Homana's internal strife weakens her
defenses. Bellam of Solinde, with his sorcerous aide,
Tynstar the Ihlini, conquers Homana and assumes
the Lion Throne.
In The Song of Homana, Carillon returns from a
five-year exile, faced with the difficult task of gather-
ing an army capable of overcoming Bellam. He is
accompanied by Finn, who has assumed the tradi-