"John Maddox Roberts - Stormlands 02- The Black Shield" - читать интересную книгу автора (Roberts John Maddox)

At thought of her he felt a tug of loneliness. She loved the great fairs, but she was not with him this year.
She was in her mother's house in the hills, soon to give birth to their third child, if the babe was not born
already. He hoped that this would be a girl, for they already had two sons, Ansa and Kairn. Since he was
wed to a Matwa, he had diplomatically given the boys Amsi names over much in-law protest. At ages
eight and six, respectively, it was not clear which of the two would succeed him. Perhaps neither would.
He was all too aware that these things were governed by many factors, including chance.

King Hael's own power was as much spiritual as political or military. His diplomatic skills had welded
together peoples with centuries of enmity between them, and his feats of invention and organization made
them the masters of the hills and plains. Even so, it had been the support of the spirit-speakers that gave
him the prestige to accomplish these things. The Amsi hailed him as the Prophesied One, and the Matwa
believed him to be an inspired madman, like many of their legendary heroes. It was known to everyone
that King Hael enjoyed a unique and intimate relationship with the spirits of the land. He could mount a
wild cabo and

4 John Maddox Roberts

it would behave like the best-trained domestic beast.
Just outside the town, near the encampments of the caravans, a wing of his cavalry
practiced their complex evolutions. They rode at a gallop, loosing arrows as they
went, riddling man-sized targets at a range Hael would not have credited just a few
years earlier. Their bows were short, composed of layers of wood, sinew and split
horn, bound together with a powerful glue. Hael had not invented these bows, but
had asked his bowyers to improve on a crude design from a mountainous area where
there was no proper wood for the traditional long, stiff wooden bow of the hill
people. Now everyone thought of them as King Hael's bows. Hael himself was an
indifferent archer compared to these young men, who had been boys when the new
bows and the new king revolutionized the lives of the plains people.
The king cocked an eyebrow to see whether the others were getting the full benefit of
this display. The trade delegation from the west watched the exercises of the
mounted men with interest. Among them, Hael was sure, were a number of military
spies. This suited him well. He wanted the western kings to know how powerful the
plains people had grown under his guiding hand. These spies would be able to
render expert testimony.
Beyond the training ground, the fair was in full uproar. The colorful tents of the
traders were full of sophisticated goods and metals to exchange for the products of
the land. Matwa, Amsi, Byalla and others brought loads of pelts, feathers, rare earths
and medicinal herbs. Each
THE BLACK SHIELDS 5

year, Hael sent out small expeditions to comb the hills and mountains for mew sources of trade goods.
Most especially, he wished to find a source of metal, to reduce his people's dependency on the
outlanders. Thus far, he had failed in this.

The king and his escort rode within the village walls to the loud cheers of inhabitants and visitors. The
once-squalid town of despised and exploited farmers was now a colorful and prosperous community.
Many of the Byalla had taken readily to the role of innkeeper, shopkeeper or company middleman. They
were no longer treated as slaves by the Amsi and their loyalty to Hael knew no bounds.