"Paul Thompson - [Elven Nations Trilogy 3] - The Qualines" - читать интересную книгу автора (Thompson Paul B)

Elven Nations Trilogy
Volume Three
The Qualinesti
Paul B. Thompson
& Tonya R. Carter




Prologue
The Cornerstone
Ten thousand footsteps rattled in the quiet mountain valley. It was early morning,
just before sunrise, and mist still clung to the low places between the slopes. Five
thousand elves, dwarves, and humans were assembling in this remote mountain pass.
Many were warriors, resplendent in burnished armor and flowing capes, who had battled
in the long years of the Kinslayer Wars, elf against man, man against dwarf, and elf
against elf. So protracted had been the time of bloodshed that sons and daughters of
warriors had grown up to bear arms alongside their parents.
This was an army of peace, gathered in theKharolisMountains. They had come
from thekingdomofThorbardinand the realm of Qualinesti to seal a bargain and to erect
a fortress. Pax Tharkas, it was to be called; the name had already been agreed upon. In
the elven tongue, it meant "Citadel of Peace."
From the southern end of the pass came the delegation of dwarves, led by their new
king, Glenforth Sparkstriker. It was he who had led the doughty dwarven armies against
the humans of Ergoth, checking their advance in the high mountain passes around
Thorbardin. The Battle of Raven's Hook had cost Prince Glenforth an eye, but it had also
put an end to the Emperor of Ergoth's plan to subjugate the dwarves. Now, with his eye
patch of beaten gold and his magnificent coal-black beard rippling across his mailed
chest, King Glenforth led his people in an even greater endeavor.
Behind the king came the most powerful thanes, those of Glenforth's own Clan
Hylar. Richly dressed in crimson velvet and glittering with all the jewels they could
possibly wear, the Hylar each bore a ceremonial hammer on his shoulder. Close behind
the Hylar came the Daewar, for this great occasion wearing midnight blue tunics, yellow
sashes, and great wide-brimmed hats of brown leather. The Daewar carried gilded rock
chisels, as long as each dwarf was tall.
The thanes of the other clans, the Klar and the Neidar, less richly dressed but still
proud, followed in the wake of their more powerful cousins. The Klar carried ceremonial
trowels, and the Neidar picks.
Where the valley floor began to slope upward, King Glenforth raised a hand. The
councilors and thanes halted and waited in respectful silence.
The delegation from Qualinesti approached the dwarves from the north end of the
valley. Most of the delegation were formerly of Silvanesti, and had the chiseled features
and light coloring of that ancient elven race. But sharp eyes could see the mingled
characteristics of the Kagonesti, the elves of the forest, and even the broad features of
humans. The new elvenkingdomofQualinestihad existed for just eighty years, and so
far had proven the truth of its founder's dream: that elves and men and dwarves could live
together in harmony, peace, and justice.
The founder himself led his nobles and notables to meet the Thorbardin thanes. In
middle age now, as elves reckon time, the Speaker of the Sun was by far the most
commanding figure in the valley. Age and toil had sent a few streaks of silver through his