"Eddings, David - Elenium 02 - The Ruby Knight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

sustained only by a spell cast by the Styric sorceress
Sephrenia - a spell, however, which could keep Ehlana
alive for no more than a year.
In consultation, the Preceptors of the four militant
orders of Church Knights decided that the four orders
must work in concert to discover a cure for the queen's
illness and to restore her to health and power, lest the
corrupt Primate Annias achieve his goal, the throne of
the Archprelacy in the basilica of Chyrellos. To that end,
the Preceptors of the Cyrinics, the Alciones and the
Genidians dispatched their own champions to join with
the Pandion Sparhawk and his boyhood friend Kalten to
seek out the cure which would not only restore Queen
Ehlana, but also her kingdom, which suffers in her
absence with a grave malaise.
Thus it stands. The restoration of the queen's health is
Vital not only to the Kingdom of Elenia, but to the other
Elene kingdoms as well, for should the venial Primate
Annias gain the Archprelate's throne, we may be sure
that the Elene kingdoms will be wracked by turmoil, and
our ancient foe, Otha of Zemoch, stands poised on our
eastern frontier ready to exploit any divisions or chaos.
The cure of the queen who is so near to death, however,
may daunt even her champion and his stalwart companions.
Pray for their success, my brothers, for should
they fail, the whole of the Eosian continent will inevitably
fall into general warfare, and civilisation as we know it
will cease to exist.
PART ONE

Lake Randera

*Chapter1

It was well after midnight, and a dense grey fog had crept
in off the Cimmura River to mingle with the pervading
wood-smoke from a thousand chimneys to blur the
nearly deserted streets of the city. The Pandion Knight,
Sir Sparhawk, nonetheless moved cautiously, keeping to
the shadows whenever possible. The streets glistened
with moisture, and pale, rainbow-coloured haloes surrounded
the torches trying feebly with their guttering
light to illuminate streets into which no sensible man
ventured at this hour. The houses lining the street
Sparhawk was following were hardly more than looming
black shadows. Sparhawk moved on, his ears even more
than his eyes wary, for in this murky night sound was far
more important than sight to warn of approaching
danger.
This was a bad time to be out. By day, Cimmura was no