"Tad Williams - Memory Sorrow & Thorn 2 - Stone of Farewell" - читать интересную книгу автора (Williams Tad)

The kings of the old time are dead;
The wandering earth herself may be
Only a sudden flaming word,
In clanging space a moment heard,
Troubling the endless reverie.

тАУ William Butler Yeats
(from The Song of the Happy Shepherd)



Authors Note

I am indebted to Eva Cumming, Nancy Deming-Williams, Paul Hudspeth, Peter
Stampfel and Doug Werner, who all had a hand in the cultivation of this book. Their
insightful comments and suggestions have taken root тАУ in some instances, putting forth
rather surprising blossoms. Also, and as usual, special thanks go to my brave editors, Betsy
Wollheim and Sheila Gilbert, who have labored mightily through both storm and drought.
(By the way, all the above mentioned are just the kind of folk I want at my side if IтАЩm
ever ambushed by Norns. This might be construed as a somewhat dubious honor, but тАЩtis
mine own to bestow.)
 Synopsis of
The Dragonbone Chair
For eons the Hayholt belonged to the immortal Sithi, but they had fled the great castle
before the onslaught of Mankind. Men have long ruled this greatest of strongholds, and the
rest of Osten Ard as well. Prester John, High King of all the nations of men, is its most
recent master; after a nearly life of triumph and glory, he has presided over decades of
peace from his skeletal throne, the Dragonbone Chair.
Simon, an awkward fourteen year old, is one of the HayholtтАЩs scullions. His parents
are dead, his only real family the chamber maids and their stern mistress, Rachel the
Dragon. When Simon can escape his kitchen-work he steals away to the cluttered
chambers of Doctor Morgenes, the castleтАЩs eccentric scholar. When the old man invites
Simon to be his apprentice, the youth is overjoyed тАУ until he discovers that Morgenes
prefers teaching reading and writing to magic.
Soon ancient King John will die, so Elias, the older of his two sons, prepares to take
the throne. Josua, EliasтАЩ somber brother, nicknamed Lackhand because of a disfiguring
wound, argues harshly with the king-to-be about Pryrates, the ill-reputed priest who is one
of EliasтАЩ closest advisers. The brothersтАЩ feud is a cloud of foreboding over castle and
country.
EliasтАЩ reign as king starts well. but a drought comes and plague strikes several of the
nations of Osten Ard. Soon outlaws roam the roads and people begin to vanish from
isolated villages. The order of things is breaking down, and the kingтАЩs subjects are losing
confidence in his rule, but nothing seems to bother the monarch or his friends. As
rumblings of discontent begin to be heard throughout the kingdom, EliasтАЩ brother Josua
disappears тАУ to plot rebellion, some say.
EliasтАЩ misrule upsets many, including Duke Isgrimnur of Rimmersgard and Count
Eolair, an emissary from the western country of Hernystir. Even King EliasтАЩ own daughter
Miriamele is uneasy, especially about the scarlet-robed Pryrates, her fatherтАЩs trusted
adviser.
Meanwhile Simon is muddling along as MorgenesтАЩ helper. The two become fast