"David Eddings - The Dreamers 03 - Crystal Gorge" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

‘New Lattash,’ he corrected her. ‘Old Lattash was just fine, but it’s not there any more. It’s New Lattash
that’s got me worried.’

‘And why’s that, dear boy?’

‘Boy?’ Red-Beard found the term to be a bit offensive.

‘It’s just a relative term,’ she said, smiling. ‘What’s troubling you so much, Red-Beard?’

‘I’d really be much happier if word that I’m here on the Seagull didn’t leak out anywhere in the vicinity
of the new village.’

‘It’s your home, isn’t it?’

‘Well, it used to be. After my uncle White-Braid came apart when Old Lattash was buried by that lava
flow, the villagers decided that I should be the chief.’

‘It seems that I’d heard about that. Did I ever congratulate you?’

‘No, and I think I’d like to keep it that way. To be honest about it, I didn’t want to be the chief, and I still
don’t. If I’m lucky, these wars in the other parts of the Land of Dhrall will go on and on for years. I’ve
never wanted to be the chief of the tribe, and I still don’t.’

Zelana laughed. ‘You and my sister make a very odd pair, Red-Beard. She wants all that authority and
adoration, but you keep running away from it.’

‘How can she stand all that foolishness?’

‘It makes her feel important, Red-Beard, and being important takes some of the sting out of the fact that
our older brother outranks her in this particular cycle.’ She paused, looking thoughtfully at Red-Beard.
‘You do know about our cycles, don’t you, Red-Beard?’ she asked.

‘Sort of. As I understand it, you and your family stay awake for a thousand years, and then you hand
your task off to some younger relatives and take a long nap. Is that anywhere close to what happens?’

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Crystal Gorge



‘Fairly close - except that your number isn’t quite right. Our cycles are twenty-five times longer than
one thousand.’

Red-Beard blinked. ‘You’ve been awake for that long?’ he asked her in a voice filled with wonder.

‘Not quite yet, but it’s getting closer to nap-time. When our current cycle began, people - your species -
were at a very primitive level. They hadn’t even discovered fire yet, and their most sophisticated weapon
was the club. In many ways, this is the most important period in the history of the world. The man-
things -your species - spend most of their time changing things. That makes this particular cycle very
significant - and very dangerous. There are some things that should not be changed - and that brings us