"Julia Gray - Guardian 04 - The Red Glacier" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gray Julia)

As Terrel watched, spellbound, the archway expanded and transformed itself
into a swaying curtain of unearthly light. Streaks of green and blue tinged
the white
as the delicate fabric moved slowly on an unseen wind. Finally, as the rest of
the astonishing display began to fade, the entire spectacle was suffused with
an eerie crimson glow. As the other colours splintered into separate swathes
and shards, the red mist remained constant, until it too vanished back whence
it had come.
'Not a bad show tonight, eh?'
Kahl's voice made Terrel jump. The sailor's soft boots had made no sound as
he'd come up behind him.
'Do you see this often?' Terrel whispered.
'Often enough. But there aren't many nights it's as bright as that.'
'It was beautiful.'
'I suppose so.' Kahl did not sound unduly impressed. 'Though they say that the
winter lights are ill-omened when they turn the colour of blood.'
That gave Terrel pause for thought as he stared into the now empty darkness.
Even the sky is at war.
Chapter Two
Terrel's dream that night made the fire he'd seen rise from the ocean seem
like a candle flame. Above him the sky was obscured by a threatening dome of
thick cloud, which extended to the horizon in every direction. It blotted out
the sunlight so that the scene below was illuminated only by its own infernal
glow. There were huge lines of fire snaking across both land and sea, dividing
them into distinct areas, which were themselves in turmoil. In places the
ocean boiled, spitting forth great gouts of steam and flame. Elsewhere the
waves were discoloured, with swathes of red or brown running through the grey
waters. On land the conflagration was, if anything, even worse. Molten rock
spilled from open wounds in the ground and flowed like rivers of fire,
consuming everything in its path. Other eruptions hurled debris into the sky
with an incandescent fury, their smoke and ash adding to the all-encompassing
gloom. It was as if the entire planet was in the grip of a vast convulsion.
Gradually the fires dimmed, and without the sun to warm it the world became a
frigid wasteland. Seas froze over, and snow and ice blanketed the darkened
land. But the forces that were destroying Nydus were not done yet. There was
movement, slow but massive, as whole continents drifted into each other,
creating another type of upheaval. Mountains rose and were smashed, complete
oceans were thrown aside, only to inundate other regions and form new seas.
And in the midst of the tumult one island floated free, finding its own escape
route from the chaos.
At first Terrel thought it must be Vadanis, but its contours were unfamiliar.
It was too big and too cold to be his homeland. By the time he'd realized that
it must in fact be Myvatan, the dream had taken him closer, so that he could
see individual landmarks within its bleak terrain. Much of what he saw was
bewildering. Steam rose from pools of muddy water, even though they were
surrounded by snow; crevasses in the great sheets of ice glowed bright blue,
although the sky above was still an unremitting grey; and the interior plains
were daubed with great splashes of colour - yellow, ochre, green and mauve -
as if they'd been attacked by an insane artist.
And at the last, just before he woke up, Terrel saw the first indication that