"Brooks, Terry - First King of Shannara" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brooks Terry)

First King ofShannara 13

and Trolls as with Men. He had traveled their lands and learned
their customs. He had mastered their tongues. He was a student of
history, and he had heard it told from enough different points of
view that he thought he had gleaned the most important of the
truths that it had to offer. Bremen was a student of history as well,
and right from the beginning they had shared some common
beliefs. One of these was that the Races could succeed in their
efforts to maintain peace only by strengthening their ties to
one another, not by distancing themselves. A second was that
the greatest obstacle to their success in doing so was the
Warlock Lord.

Even then, even five years earlier, the rumors were already
being passed around. There was something evil living in the Skull
Kingdom, a collection of beasts and creatures like nothing ever
seen before. There were reports of flying things, winged monsters
scouring the land by night in search of mortal victims. There were
stories of men going north and never being seen again. The Trolls
stayed away from the Knife Edge and the Malg. They did not
attempt to cross the Kierlak. When they traveled in proximity to
the Skull Kingdom, they banded together in large, heavily armed
groups. Nothing would grow in this part of the Northland. Nothing
would take root. As time passed, the whole of that devastated
region became shrouded in clouds and mist. It became arid and
barren. It turned to dust and rock. Nothing could live there, it was
said. Nothing that was really alive.

Most dismissed the stories. Many ignored the matter entirely.
This was a remote and unfriendly part of the world in any case.
What difference did it make what lived or didn't live there? But
Kinson had gone into the Northland to see for himself. He had
barely escaped with his life. The winged things had tracked him
for five days after they had caught him prowling at the edge of
their domain. Only his great skill and more than a little luck had
saved him.

So when Bremen approached him, he had already made up his
mind that what the Druid was saying was true. The Warlock Lord
was real. Brona and his followers lived north in the Skull
Kingdom. The threat to the Four Lands was not imagined. Some-
thing unpleasant was slowly taking shape.

He had agreed to accompany the old man on his journeys, to
serve as a second pair of eyes when needed, to act as courier and
scout, and to watch the other's back when danger threatened.

14 First King ofShannara