"David Gemmell - Morningstar" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gemmel David)

the roof and jumping into the yard.

The snow was deep everywhere and I was faint from hunger by the time I reached the
northern gate. Three sentries, sitting around an iron brazier glowing with coals, were
eating warmed slices from a large meat-pie. The smell of beef and pastry made my head
spin, and I asked them for a slice. Naturally they refused, but recognizing me for a bard
and a magicker, told me they would give me food if I performed well. I asked them what
kind of performance they required.

They wanted the dancing girl and her partner - several partners in fact.

I learned then that principles rarely survive an empty belly, and for a large slice
of meat-pie I gave them what they required. No subtlety, no silken veils. A small orgy
performed above a brazier of coals. Warmer, and with a full belly, I walked out into the
night, leaving the lights of Ziraccu behind me.

When I reached the foothills I turned for one last look at the city. Lanterns were
glowing in the windows of the houses on the heights, and Ziraccu appeared as a jewelled
crown. The moon hung above the highest hill of the city, and spectral light bathed the
marble walls of the count's palace. It was hard to believe, in that moment, that this was
a country at war. The mountains loomed in the distance, proud and ageless, in what seemed
a great circle around Ziraccu. It was a scene of great beauty.

Two months later the city was conquered by Edmund and his general, Azrek.

The slaughter was terrible.

But on that night all was quiet and I walked for upwards of an hour towards the
distant forest. The temperature had plummeted to well below freezing, but a magicker has
no fears of the cold. J cast a small spell which warmed the air trapped within my
clothing and strolled on.

The night was clear, the stars bright. There was no breeze and a wonderful silence
lay upon the land. There is such beauty in night-snow, it fills the soul with music. I
had a need upon me to lose the images I had created for the guards, and only music could
 free me. I waited until I had reached the outskirts of the forest; then I found a
hollow, cleared away a section of snow and magicked a fire. There are some who can hold
the Fire spell for hours, never needing fuel. I could not achieve this, but I could
maintain the flames for long enough to burn into gathered wood. I found several broken
branches and added them to my flames. Soon I had a fine, small blaze. I didnot need the
heat but there is a comfort in fire, especially in lonely places. I did not fear trolls
or demons, for they rarely came close to the habitats of Man, and I was but two hours
from Ziraccu and still on the trade route. But there were wolves and wild boar in the
forest and my fire, I hoped, would keep them from me.

Unwrapping my harp I tuned the strings and then played several melodies, tunes of
the dance, light and rippling. But soon the unheard rhythms of the forest made themselves
known to me and I began to play the music the forest wished to hear.

I was inspired then, my fingers dancing upon the strings, my heart pounding to the