"Julian May - Trillium 1 - Black Trillium" - читать интересную книгу автора (May Julian)

which had been furnished as a solar for the royal women. The bright silken
cushions and gilded chairs had been kicked aside by mailed feet, and a tapestry

file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Juli...20-%20Trillium%201%20-%20Black%20Trillium.html (12 of 442) [10/18/2004 3:45:58 PM]
Trillum 01 - Black Trillium by Bradley, May and Norton (v1.0) (html).html


frame lay sadly overturned near the cold hearth, together with abandoned books
and a dulcimer with its painted sounding-board all cracked. The King now
addressed himself to his second daughter, speaking with great sternness.

"Kadiya, you do ill to dismay your mother and sisters with foolhardy behavior and
talk of Oddling nonsense. Would King Voltrik have asked for Haramis's hand if
he gave credence to this fairytale about female warriors? It is my duty as lord of
this realm to defend it or perish in the trying. But it is your duty to live and
comfort your mother and sisters. And be assured that your burden is lighter than
that of our poor Haramis, who will no doubt in the end have to submit to Voltrik
after all."

At that all of the ladies-in-waiting burst into fresh wails, and the knights began to
shout, and there was such a tumult of weeping and cries of "Nay, never!" that they
scarcely heard the new fusillade of smaller occult explosions outside, and the
clash of arms, and the screams of the wounded and dying.

"Quiet! Quiet, all of you!" cried King Krain.

But they would not, for he was not a monarch who ruled absolutely, through force
of character, but rather one who had always encouraged his subjects to treat him
as a father and adviser.

For four hundreds, ever since the failed invasion of Labornok's King Pribinik the
Foolhardy, the nation had been at peace. Crime and domestic strife had been
almost nonexistent in Ruwenda — except for the occasional thief or homicidal
madman, and the seasonal depredations of the abominable Skritek, which gave an
excuse for knightly quests. During the extended peacetime military science had
languished and the Oathed Companions forgot all they had ever known of strategy
or tactics. The Kings of Ruwenda let their subjects do almost as they pleased,
provided that justice and tranquility generally prevailed and the usual revenues
poured into the royal treasury. Traditionally, Ruwenda had no standing army. The
Oathed Companions were the designated enforcement arm of the throne, and the
hill forts were manned by rotating cadres of free citizens from the Dylex Country,
who were excused from taxes thereby. Ruwendian lords and ladies of the manor
governed their tiny fiefdoms with a light hand, following the example of the
throne, and everyone had prospered except the lazy, who did not deserve to.


file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Juli...20-%20Trillium%201%20-%20Black%20Trillium.html (13 of 442) [10/18/2004 3:45:58 PM]
Trillum 01 - Black Trillium by Bradley, May and Norton (v1.0) (html).html