"John Ringo - The Legacy of The Aldenata - Yellow Eyes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ringo John)

- Prologue

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 - Prologue




PROLOGUE
From where he stood in the back of the crowded assembly hall, Guanamarioch saw the gold-strapped
Rememberer ascend the rostrum. The chattering of the massed Kessentai ceased as the cleric—the
Rememberers were as near to a clergy as the Posleen had—rapped his skilled claw, twice, on the stone
podium. Except for age and scarring, the Remember was—like Guanamarioch—an average looking
Posleen, a crocodilian centauroid with yellow skin and eyes, standing about fifteen hands high, with
rows of sharp ivory teeth and having a feathered crest (not dissimilar to a Sioux Indian war bonnet) that
it could erect when it wished.
"Let us remember," the cleric called, laying its crest low in respect for the ceremony.
All the hundreds of Kessentai crossed their arms over their massive chests, looked upward, toward the
apex of the pyramid, itself clad inside and out with a heavy layer of pure gold, and chanted together,
"We remember. We remember."
The Rememberer held out one claw into which an underling placed a loosely rolled scroll. This was
unrolled onto the stone podium, the underling placing "keeper stones," elaborately carved paperweights,
on the corners to hold the scroll in place.
"From the Scroll of Flight and Settlement," the Rememberer announced.
"We remember," echoed the Kessentai, once again.
The pyramidal assembly hall shook with the nearby impact of a rival clan's hypervelocity missile, or
HVM. Guanamarioch, young as he was, could barely restrain himself from leaving the hall and going
forth with his underlings to do battle. The eager, enraged trembling and murmuring of the others told
him they all felt much as he did.
The Rememberer calmed the hall with a sweeping glance. He was one of the eldest among them, a
Kessentai turned Kenstain who, in his younger days, had been among the foremost warriors of the clan.
None of the youngsters present wanted to find shame in the eyes of this old hero. They settled and
quieted down.
"Verse Five: the new home," the Rememberer continued.
Once again, the group chorused, "We remember."
"And the People, fleeing their destroyed home on the new ships, came upon a new world, rich and
teeming with life. And the ships were tired, and nearly out of fuel. And the leader of the People, called
Rongasintas the Philosopher, led the people to a barren part of the land, that was uninhabited. And there
they tried to settle and grow food.
"But the People had little food, and the inhabitants would not share, demanding, 'Go forth from us. This
is our world, not yours. Return once again to the darkness whence you came.' And the heart of
Rongasintas was heavy.
"Yet the People cried out, saying, 'Lord, feed us, for we hunger.' And Rongasintas answered, 'Eat of the
pre-sentient young.'