"David Eddings - The Dreamers 04 - The Younger Gods" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

ISBN-13: 978-0-446-53228-0

ISBN-10: 0-446-53228-2




Preface




Those of us who devote our lives to the care of Mother were greatly concerned by her rage after the
disaster of "blue fire" which had consumed so many of her warrior children. It is the duty of the warrior
children to die if it is necessary to achieve that which Mother wants, but deaths beyond counting reduce
our numbers and weaken the overmind which guides us all. And, truly, the weakening of the overmind
lessens all of us who live but to serve our beloved Mother.

We are told by those who came before us that Mother had been content in the nest which shelters us all
until—in times long past—the weather changed and in each season there was less to eat than there had
been in previous seasons. It had been then that Mother had sent forth those servants we call "the seekers
of knowledge," and in time they returned and told Mother that beyond the high hills that surround our
homeland there was much to eat. And this warmed Mother's heart. It came to her that should those who
search for things to eat go beyond the high hills and bring back much to eat, she could spawn yet more
children—and then even more—and soon our numbers would be so great that no other mothers would
dare to send their children out to fight with us for things-to-eat, since we would destroy their children
and soon they would be alone in their nests screaming in despair.

And so it was that Mother began to alter the children which would go forth from the nest to search for
things-to-eat in the lands beyond the high hills. And many were her alterations, for the man-things that
dwelt in the lands beyond the high hills were very clever and they used weapons that were not parts of
their bodies.

And this gave Mother great concern, for it is most unnatural for any creature to take up things that are
not parts of their bodies to use as weapons. Then it came to Mother that if the man-things could do this,
could not her children do so as well? She sent forth more of the seekers of knowledge to find creatures
who had unusual parts of their bodies that gave them advantages in the search for things-to-eat.

And the seekers of knowledge returned in time with much that Mother might find useful. There were
creatures without legs that had long, sharp teeth that could instantly kill anything the creature without legs
saw as something-to-eat. There were other creatures who had eight legs rather than six who could turn
the insides of things-to-eat into liquid that the eight-legged creature could conveniently drink. There were
creatures with hard shells that covered and protected their bodies, and there were still other creatures
with hard, sharp mouth-parts that could cut pieces off the thing that was being eaten.

The more dear Mother considered it, the more she thought that the teeth of the creature that had no legs
might be the most effective.

Then, in seasons beyond counting, Mother put generation after generation to work on the high hills that
stood between our nest and the land of the sunset. There were burrows that would safely take Mother's