"Stephen Lawhead - Pendragon Cycle 05 - Grail" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lawhead Stephen)

If they knew the Bear of Britain at all, they would realize their miserable
whining only hardens his conviction the more.
Better a trustworthy foe than a treacherous friend, and we have seen
enough of scheming friends. The Island of the Mighty is better off without
the likes of Ceredig, Morcant, Brastias, Gerontius, Urien, and their
rebellious ilk always making trouble. The Devil take them all, I say. They
will not be missed.
Where were they - those who make such loud complaint -when Arthur
stood against the Vandal lord? Urien and Brastias thought to usurp the
High King's portion, but did I hear them offer to take the High King's
place on the blood-soaked battleground? Gerontius was ever quick to goad
the others in their petty rebellion, but did I see bold Gerontius in the
forefront of the fight?
No, I did not.
We had amassed the greatest warhost seen in Britain since Great
Constantine - twenty thousand men and fifteen thousand horses! Yet, on
that fearful day Arthur faced his foe alone, and the treasonous lords were
nowhere to be seen. Well, they made their choice. So be it. But instead of
insulting Heaven with their lament, they would do better to offer heartfelt
praise that they possess both breath and tongue to complain.
Arthur paid dearly for the peace we now enjoy. When they carried him
from the field of battle, so, too, were our hearts borne away - and the sun
and stars as well, for we walked in darkness without Arthur.
'They have taken him to Ynys Avallach,' Rhys said, his face grey with
fatigue and worry. 'If you know any prayers, say them now.' For if Arthur
would be healed, it must be in that holy place and none other. The Wise
Emrys knew best what to do. Rhys then delivered Arthur's last command.
'You are to conduct the Vandali to the north, where they will take
possession of lands surrendered by the rebel lords. Any Britons living in
these realms will be cast out and their settlements made forfeit by their
lords' treason.'
Thus they departed, leaving us to establish the peace Arthur had won. We
divided the warhost; Bedwyr, Cai, and I conducted the new Vandal
chieftain, Mercia, and his tribes to the lands Arthur had granted them in
the north. Cador and the rest of the Cymbrogi - the name is Arthur's
choice, it means companions of the heart - turned their attention to
overseeing the departure from these shores of the traitors and their
followers whose lands had fallen forfeit.
Burdened by weight of numbers, and fatigued with all the fighting we had
endured, we made our way north very slowly, leading the Vandal host,
searching out water along the way. Far easier said than done, I fear; with
each passing day the drought deepened, causing hardship from one end of
the land to the other. It broke my heart to see holding after holding
deserted -many had fled to Armorica - but worse still were the burned-out
strongholds, those which plague had ravaged and destroyed.
If the sight of so much suffering made us heart-heavy, the thought of
displacing honest British folk from their homelands brought us to despair.
Oh, it is a hard, hard thing to tell a man his home must be surrendered and
all his life's labour has come to naught because his rogue of a lord has
broken faith with the High King. Stab that man in the heart; it is kinder in