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

Sorgan’s cabin at the stern of the Seagull wasn’t really very large, so things were just a bit crowded
when they gathered there about a quarter of an hour later.

‘Captain Hook-Beak spoke with me a little while ago, and he wanted to know a few things about the
people of my Domain,’ Zelana’s big brother told them. ‘It’s not a bad idea, really. I’ll give you a sort of
general idea about my people and the general layout of the country up there, and then I’ll answer any
questions you might have.’

‘He sounds a lot like a chief of one of our tribes, doesn’t he, Longbow?’ Red-Beard said quietly to his
friend.

‘Some things are always the same, friend Red-Beard,’ Longbow replied. ‘A chief is a chief, no matter
where he lives.’

‘When we get to the north of sister Zelana’s Domain, we’ll go ashore in the Tonthakan nation,’ Dahlaine
began.

‘Nation?’ Zelana asked curiously.

‘It’s an idea I came up with quite some time ago, dear sister,’ Dahlaine replied. ‘It was the best way I
could think of to put an end to those silly wars between the various tribes. There are three significantly
different cultures in my domain, so I set up three “nations” - Tonthakan, Matakan, and Atazakan - and
the various tribes in those nations settle their differences with conferences instead of wars.’

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Crystal Gorge



‘What an unnatural sort of thing,’ Red-Beard said in mock disapproval.

‘Be nice,’ Zelana chided him.

‘Sorry,’ he replied, although he didn’t really mean it.

‘The nation of Tonthakan lies along the western coast of my Domain,’ Dahlaine continued, ‘and it’s
very similar in terrain - and culture - to sister Zelana’s Domain. The mountains are steep and rugged, the
forests are dense and mostly evergreens, and there are several varieties of deer roaming through those
forests. The Tonthakans are primarily hunters, and they’re quite good with their bows. I’m sure that
Longbow and Red-Beard will feel pretty much at home in that region - except that the winters are longer
and colder than they are farther to the south. It won’t be quite as noticeable in the autumn, but the days
are longer in the summer up there and shorter in the winter.’ He glanced at Keselo. ‘I’m sure our learned
young friend from the Trogite Empire can explain that for us.’

‘It has to do with the tilt of our world, Lord Dahlaine,’ Keselo replied. ‘Our world isn’t exactly plumb
and square in relation to the sun, and that’s what accounts for the seasons. She spins, and that’s what
gives us days and nights, and she travels around the sun in what scholars call “an orbit”. If she didn’t
spin, half the world would live in perpetual daylight, and the other half would live in the dark, but it’s
that slight lopsidedness that gives us the seasons.’