David Eddings - Tamuli 2 - The Shining Ones

VIP免费

2024-12-05 0 0 1.04MB 362 页 5.9玖币

侵权投诉

THE TAMULI

Part 2

THE SHINING ONES

David Eddings

Years ago, the Child-Goddess Aphrael had hidden Bhelliom, the Stone of Power,

at the bottom of the sea. Yet now it is needed again to stop a malign force

from spreading evil and destruction across the lands. Sparhawk, Queen's

champion, sets out to retrieve the Stone. But others seek the gem for their

own diabolical ends. Most fearsome of these are the Shining Ones, whose mere

touch melts human flesh from bone. Now Sparhawk finds himself stalked by these

creatures out of myth . . . whose touch is all too real.

PROLOGUE

Excerpted from Chapter Three of the ' Cyrga

Affair: An Examination of the Recent Crisis'.

Compiled by the Contemporary History Department

of the University of Matherion.

A compilation such as this is the work of many scholars, and

thus inevitably reflects differing views. While the author of this

portion of the work in hand has enormous respect for his eminent

colleague who so ably composed the preceding chapter,

the reader must be candidly advised that this writer differs from

his colleague in the interpretation of a number of recent events.

I most definitely do not agree that the intervention by the agents

of the Church of Chyrellos in the Cyrga Affair was entirely

untainted by self-interest.

I must join with my colleague, however, in expressing my

admiration and respect for Zalasta of Styricum. The inestimable

services to the Empire of this wise and faithful statesman cannot

be overly praised. Thus it was that when the full import of the

Cyrga Affair burst upon his Majesty's government, it was quite

natural for our ministers to turn to Zalasta for counsel. Despite

our admiration for this pre-eminent citizen of Styricum, however,

we must admit that Zalasta's mind is so noble that he

sometimes fails to perceive less admirable qualities in others.

There were grave doubts in some quarters of his Majesty's

government when Zalasta urged that we turn our attention

beyond the borders of Tamuli in our quest for a solution to the

problem which was quite rapidly approaching the dimensions

of a crisis. His suggestion that the Pandion Knight, Sir Sparhawk

was best suited to deal with the situation troubled the

more conservative members of the Imperial Council. Despite the

man's military genius, he is nonetheless a member of one of the

Militant Orders of the Church of Chyrellos, and prudent men

do not lower their guard when compelled by necessity to have

Second Zemoch War between the Knights of the Church of

Chyrellos and the minions of Otha of Zemoch. Not even Zalasta,

whose wisdom is legendary, can tell us precisely what took

place in the City of Zemoch during Sir Sparhawk's fateful confrontation

with Otha and with the Zemoch God, Azash. There

have been some garbled hints that Sir Sparhawk may have utilized

an ancient talisman known as 'the Bhelliom' in the struggle,

but no reputable scholar has been able to uncover any details

about the talisman or its attributes. However he managed to

perform the astounding feat, it is undeniably true that Sir Sparhawk

was successful in his mission, and it was clearly that

remarkable success which stampeded his Imperial Majesty's

government into turning to this Pandion Knight for aid in the

early stages of the Cyrga Affair - despite the grave reservations

of some highly respected ministers, who quite correctly pointed

out that an alliance between the Empire and the Church of Chyrellos

might well be fraught with unseen dangers. Unfortunately

perhaps, the faction headed by Foreign Minister Oscagne currently

has the Emperor's ear, and our Prime Minister, Pondia

Subat, was unable to prevent the government from embarking

on a potentially dangerous course of action.

Foreign Minister Oscagne himself headed the mission to the

seat of the Elene Church at Chyrellos to petition Archprelate

Dolmant for Sir Sparhawk's aid in dealing with the crisis. While

no one can question Oscagne's skill in diplomacy, his political

views have been called into question in some quarters, and it is

widely known that he and the Prime Minister have disagreed

Violently in the past. The politics of the Eosian Continent are murky, for

there is

no central authority there. Quite frequently, the Church of

Chyrellos finds itself at odds with the reigning monarchs of the

separate Elene kingdoms. As a Church Knight, Sir Sparhawk

would normally be under the command of Archprelate Dolmant,

but that simple and direct line of command was clouded by the

fact that Sparhawk is also the Prince Consort of the Queen of

Elenia and therefore subject to her whims. It was here that

Foreign Minister Oscagne was able to demonstrate his virtuosity

in the field of diplomacy. Archprelate Dolmant clearly saw the

contiguity of interest with the Empire in the matter, but queen

Ehlana remained unconvinced. The queen of Elenia is young,

and her emotions sometimes cloud her judgement. She clearly

viewed the notion of a prolonged separation from her husband

with a profound lack of enthusiasm. In a brilliant stroke, however,

Foreign Minister Oscagne proposed that Sir Sparhawk's

journey to the Daresian Continent might best be masked by a

state visit of Queen Ehlana to the imperial court in Matherion.

As Prince Consort, Sir Sparhawk would quite naturally accompany

his wife, and his presence would thus be fully explained.

This proposal sufficiently mollified Sparhawk's queen, and she

finally agreed.

Travelling with a suitable escort of one hundred Church

Knights and various functionaries, Queen Ehlana took ship and

sailed to the port of Salesha in eastern Zemoch. From there

the royal party travelled north to Basne where an additional

escort of horsemen from eastern Pelosia awaited them. Thus

reinforced, the Elenes crossed the border into Astel in western

Daresia.

The accounts we have received of the queen's journey have

shown some glaring inconsistencies. Objections have been

raised that, should we accept the word of these Elenes, we

would clearly be faced with an absurdity. After some consideration,

however, this writer has become convinced that these

apparent discrepancies can be easily reconciled if those who so

violently object will but take the trouble to examine the differences

between the Elene and the Tamul calendars. The Queen

of Elenia did not, in fact, pretend to have flown across the continent,

as some have scornfully suggested. her progress was quite

normal, and it will be recognized as such if the learned gentlemen

will but take note of the fact that the Eleine week is longer than

ours.

At any rate, the queen's party reached the capital of Astel

at Darsas, where Queen Ehlana so charmed King Alberen that

Ambassador Fontan humorously reported that the poor man

was on the verge of giving her' his crown. Prince Sparhawk,

meanwhile, began to actively pursue the real purpose behind

his journey to Tamuli, the gathering of information about what

the Elenes had melodramatically come to call 'the conspiracy).

The queen's party was joined 'at Darsas by two legions of Atan

warriors under the leadership of Engessa, the commander of the

garrison at Genae, and they journeyed to Pela on the steppes of

central Astel to meet with the nomadic Peloi. From thence they

set out for the Styric city of Sarsos in northeastern Astel.

A disturbing note emerges from the accounts of this journey,

however. The Foreign Minister, either duped or willingly conspiring

with the Elenes, reported that, somewhat to the west of

Sarsos, the royal party encountered Cyrgai This clear evidence

of an intent to deceive his Majesty's government has raised grave

questions, not only about Oscagne's loyalty, but about the sincerity

of the Elenes as well. As Prime Minister Subat pointed

out, Foreign Minister Oscagne is, though brilliant, sometimes

erratic, a common characteristic of the overly gifted. Moreover,

the Prime Minister added, Prince Sparhawk and his companions

are Church Knights, after all, and the Church of Chyrellos iS

widely known to be a political as well as a spiritual force on the

Eosian Continent. Dark suspicions began to arise in the halls of

his Majesty's government, and many have expressed grave

doubts about the wisdom of our course. Some have even gone

so far as to raise the possibility that the disruptions here in

Tamuli might be of Elene origin, providing as they did a perfect

excuse for an incursion onto the continent by the Church

Knights, the acknowledged agents of Archprelate Dolmant.

Could it be, they ask, that this entire affair has been contrived by

Dolmant to provide his Church with the opportunity to forcibly

convert all of Tamuli to the worship of the Elene God and thus

advised this writer that he is seriously concerned about this

possibility. At Sarsos, Queen Ehlana's party was joined by Sephrenia,

who was formerly the tutor of the Pandions in the Secrets of

styricum, but who is now a member of the Thousand, the ruling

council in that city. They were also joined there by Zalasta himself,

a fact which has quieted some of our anxieties in regard to

the motives of the Elenes. It was obviously through 'Zalasta's

efforts that the Thousand were persuaded to pledge their aid,

despite the long-standing and, many feel, fully justified suspicions

all Styrics have of Elene motives.

The Elenes then moved on to Atan, where Queen Ehlana once

again charmed the king and queen. It is clearly evident that the

personality of this winsome girl is a force to be reckoned with.

Although Foreign Minister Oscagne's report of the encounter

with the supposed Cyrgai is open to serious question, there can

be no doubt about the veracity of the report of what happened

after our visitors left Atana. That report came from Zalasta himself,

and no sane man in the government could ever question

the veracity of the first citizen of Styricum. It was in the mountains

lying to the west of the border of Tamul proper that the

party was set upon again, and Zalasta has confirmed the fact

that the attackers were non-human.

There have been sightings of fearsome monsters in the Atan

mountains in the past year, although many skeptics have dismissed

these reports as being yet more of the illusory manifestations

of the power of those bent on bringing down his Imperial

Majesty's government. These clever illusions of Ogres, vampires,

werewolves and Shining Ones have been terrorizing the

simple folk of Tamuli for several years, and the mountain monsters

had been assumed to be no more than another of these

illusions. Zalasta assures us, however, that these huge, shaggy

beasts are Trolls, who until recently were indigenous to the

Thalesian peninsula in Eosia, and who had migrated to the north

coast of Atan across the polar ice, presumably at the behest of

the enemies of the Empire. Sir Sparhawk, once again reinforcing

Zalasta's opinion of him, quickly devised tactics which routed

the brutes.

Queen Ehlana's party then crossed the border into Tamul

proper, and shortly thereafter reached the imperial capital at

fire-domed Matherion, where they were graciously welcomed

by Emperor Sarabian. Despite the protests of Prime Minister

Subat, the Elene visitors were given almost unimpeded access

to his Majesty. The Queen of Elenia soon charmed the Emperor

even as she had the lesser monarchs to the west, and they

quickly became fast friends. Candor compels us to admit that

Emperor Sarabian's character is afflicted with a regrettably

meddlesome and independent streak. He has shown of late a

lamentable tendency to interfere with the government, and to

override the counsel of those far better equipped than he to deal

with the day-to-day details of governing his vast realm.

The Prime Minister, acting on the advice of Interior Minister

Kolata, had decided to place Prince Sparhawk under the command

of the Ministry of the Interior. As Kolata correctly pointed

out, Sir Sparhawk, an Eosian Elene, could not be expected to

understand the myriad cultures of Tamuli, and therefore would

need guidance and direction in his efforts to counter the schemes

Of our enemies. Emperor Sarabian, however, rejected this highly

sensible approach and granted this foreigner almost total discretion

in approaching such problems as arose.

Despite our reservations about Prince Sparhawk, his queen

and his companions, however, we must reluctantly concede that

their presence in Matherion averted a disaster of the first order.

Among the other structures in the imperial compound there is

a perfect replica of an Elene castle, which was specifically

designed to make Elene dignitaries feel at home. Queen Ehlana

and her entourage were housed in that castle, and the relevance

of that fact will soon become clear.

In some as yet to be determined fashion, Sir Sparhawk and

his cohorts unearthed a plot here in Matherion to overthrow the

government. Rather than report their findings to the Ministry

of the Interior, however, the Elenes chose to keep their discovery

to themselves and to permit the conspirators to pursue their plot

to its final conclusion. When an armed mob approached the

imperial compound on that fateful night, Prince Sparhawk and

his companions simply withdrew into their Elene castle, taking

the Emperor and the government inside with them.

We Tamuls had not fully understood the fact that architecture

can be a weapon. Unbeknownst to his Majesty's government,

Sparhawk's Elenes had modified the castle to some degree and

had quietly brought in stores, all the while secretly constructing

the brutal implements with which Elenes do war.

The mob, bent on the overthrow of the government, swept

unimpeded into the imperial compound, and after a brief orgy

of looting, it found itself confronted by an impregnable castle

filled with ruthless Elene warriors who' routinely utilize boiling

pitch and fire to defend their strongholds. The horrors of that

night will remain forever etched on the memories of civilized

men. As has long been the practise in Tamuli, many of the

younger sons of the great houses of Tamul proper had joined

with the rebels, more as a lark than out of any serious criminal

intent. Always in the past these youthful offenders have been

separated from the true criminals, severely reprimanded and

then returned to their parents. Protected by rank and family,

they have had little to fear from the authorities. Boiling pitch,

however, is no respecter of rank, and a high-spirited young

aristocrat soaked in naphtha will burn as quickly as the foulest

knave from the gutter. Moreover, once the mob had entered the

compound, the Elenes closed the main gates, effectively sealing

all inside, the innocent as well as the guilty, and further horrors

were inflicted on the unfortunates by rampaging Peloi horsemen.

The brutal suppression of the uprising was completed

when the compound gates were opened once again to admit

Fully twenty legions of Atans, savages from the mountains who

had received no instruction whatsoever in the customary civilities.

The Atans systematically butchered all in their paths.

Many young nobles, dearly loved students at this very university,

were cut down even as they displayed their badges of rank,

which should have guaranteed them total immunity.

Although decent men the world around must view this

unbridled savagery with horror, we must reluctantly congratulate

Sir Sparhawk and his companions. The uprising was

crushed, nay, annihilated, by these Elene savages and the unrestrained

Atans.

His Imperial Majesty's government, however, made few

friends on that dreadful night. Although the atrocities were

clearly of Elene origin, the fact that Sir Sparhawk was here in

Matherion at the Emperor's express invitation has not been lost

on the great houses of Tamul proper.

To further exacerbate the situation, the Elenes have seized

upon the uprising as an excuse to send Patriarch Emban, a highranking

member of the Elene clergy and ostensibly the spiritual

advisor of Queen Ehlana, back to Chyrellos to urge the Archprel

Pondia Subat, the Prime Minister, has privately confessed that

he is growing more and more powerless, able only to watch

helplessly as events move at an increasingly quickening pace. He

has personally told this writer of his concerns. Foreign Minister

Oscagne is clearly using his influence over the Emperor to

manipulate the situation. The invitation to Sir Sparhawk to come

to Tamuli was obviously but the first step in some wider and

more deadly scheme. Utilizing the present turmoil in Tamuli,

the Foreign Minister has manipulated the Emperor into providing

the very opening Dolmant needed to justify an incursion in

force on to the Daresian Continent.

This writer is fully convinced that the Empire faces the gravest

threat in her long and glorious history. The willing cooperation

of the Atans in the massacre within the imperial compound is

clear evidence that not even their loyalty can be depended upon.

To whom can we turn for aid? Where in all this world can we

find a force sufficient to repel the savage minions of Dolmant

of Chyrellos? Must the Empire in all her glory fall before the

onslaught of the Elene zealots? I weep, my brothers, for the

glory that must die. Fire-domed Matherion, the city of light, the

home of truth and beauty, the center of the world, is doomed.

The darkness descends, and there is little hope that morning

will ever come again.

PART ONE

Cynesga

CHAPTER 1

The seasons were turning, and the long summer was winding

down toward autumn. A tenuous mist hung in the streets of

fire-domed Matherion. The moon had risen late, and its pale

light starkly etched the opalescent towers and domes and

imparted a soft glow to the fog lying in the streets. Matherion,

all aglow, stood with her feet bathed in shining mist and her

pale face lifted to the night sky.

Sparhawk was tired. The tensions of the past week and the

climactic events which had resolved them had drained him, but

he could not sleep. Wrapped in his black Pandion cloak, he

stood on the parapet looking pensively out over the glowing

city. He was tired, but his need to evaluate, to assess, to understand,

was far too great to permit him to seek his bed and let

his mind sink into the soft well of sleep until everything had

been put into its proper place.

'What are you doing up here, Sparhawk?' Khalad spoke

quietly, his voice so much like his father's that Sparhawk turned

his head sharply to be sure that Kurik himself had not returned

from the House of the Dead to chide him. Khalad was a plainfaced

young man with thick shoulders and an abrupt manner.

His family had served Sparhawk's for three generations now,

and Khalad, like his father, customarily addressed his lord with

a plain-spoken bluntness.

'I couldn't sleep,' Sparhawk replied with a brief shrug.

'Your wife's got half the garrison out looking for you, you

know.'

Sparhawk grimaced. 'Why does she always have to do that?'

'it's your own fault. You know she's going to send people out

after you anytime you go off without telling her where you'll

be. you could save yourself - and us - a lot of time and trouble

if you'd just tell her in the first place. It seems to me that I've

suggested that several times already.'

'Don't bully me, Khalad. you're as bad as your father was.'

"Sometimes good traits breed true. Would you like to go down

and tell your wife that you're all right? - before she calls in the

workmen to start tearing down the walls?'

Sparhawk sighed. 'All right.' He turned away from the parapet. 'O

h, by the way, you probably ought to know that we'll be

making a trip before long.'

'Oh? Where are we going?'

'We have to go pick something up. Have a word with the

farriers. Faran needs to be re-shod. He's scuffed his right front

shoe down until it's as thin as paper.'

'That's your fault, Sparhawk. He wouldn't do that if you'd sit

up straight in your saddle.'

'We start to get crooked as we grow older. That's one of the

things you have to look forward to.'

'Thanks. When are we leaving on this trip?'

"just as soon as I can come up with a convincing enough lie

to persuade my wife to let me go off without her.'

'We've got plenty of time, then.' Khalad looked out across

moon-washed Matherion standing in pale fog with the moonlight

awakening the rainbows of fire in her naked shoulders.

'Pretty,' he noted.

'is that the best you can do? You look at the most fabulous

city in the world and shrug it off as "pretty".'

'i'm not an aristocrat, Sparhawk. I don't have to invent

flowery phrases to impress others - or myself. Let's get you

inside before the damp settles into your lungs. You crooked'old

people have delicate health sometimes.'

Queen Ehlana, pale and blonde and altogether lovely, was

irritated more than angry; Sparhawk saw that immediately. He

also saw that she had gone to some trouble to make herself as

pretty as possible. her dressing gown was dark blue satin, her

cheeks had been carefully pinched to make them glow, and her

hair was artfully arranged to' give the impression of winsomely

distracted dish'evelment. She berated him about his lack of

consideration in tones that might easily have made the trees

cry and the very rocks shrink from her. her cadences were

measured, and her voice rose, then sank, as she told him exactly

how she felt. Sparhawk concealed a smile. Ehlana was speaking

to him on two levels at the same time as she stood in the center

of the blue-draped royal apartment scolding him. Her words

expressed extreme displeasure; her careful preparations, however,

said something quite different.

He apologized.

She refused to accept his apology and stormed off to the bedroom,

slamming the door behind her.

'Spirited,' Sephrenia murmured. The small woman sat out of

harm's way on the far side of the room, her white Styric robe

glowing in the candlelight.

'You noticed,' Sparhawk smiled.

'Does she do that often?'

'Oh, yes. She enjoys it. What are you doing up so late, little

mother?'

'Aphrael wanted me to speak with you.'

'Why didn't she just come and talk with me herself? It's not

as if she were way over on the other side of town.'

"It's a formal sort of occasion, Sparhawk. I'm supposed to

speak for her at times like this.'

'Was that intended to make sense?'

"It would if you were Styric. We're going to have to make

some substitutions when we go to retrieve Bhelliom. Khalad can

fill in for his father without any particular problem, but Tynian's

decision to go back to Chyrellos with Emban really has Aphrael

upset. Can you persuade him to change his mind?'

Sparhawk shook his head. "I wouldn't even try, Sephrenia.

I'm not going to cripple him for life just because Aphrael might

miss him.'

'is his arm really that bad?'

"It's bad enough. That crossbow bolt went right through his

shoulder joint. If he starts moving it around, it won't set right,

and that's his sword arm.'

'Aphrael could fix it, you know.'

'Not without exposing her identity she couldn't, and I won't

let her do that.'

'Won't let?'

'Ask her if she wants to endanger her mother's sanity just for

the sake of symmetry. substitute someone else. If Aphrael's

willing to accept Khalad in place of Kurik, she should be able

to pick someone else to fill in for Tyniann. Why is it so important

to her in the first place?'

'You wouldn't understand.'

'Why don't you try to explain it anyway? I might surprise

you.'

'You're in an odd humor tonight.'

'i've just been scolded. That always makes me odd. Why does

Aphrael think it's so important to always have the same group

of people around her?'

"It has to do with the feeling of it, Sparhawk. The presence of

any given person is more than just the way he looks or the

sound of his voice. It also involves the way he thinks - and

probably more important, the way he feels about Aphrael. She

surrounds herself with that. When you bring in different people,

you change the way it feels, and that throws her off balance.'

She looked at him. 'You didn't understand a word of that, did

you?'

'Yes, as a matter of fact I did. How about Vanion? He loves

her as much as Tynian does, and she loves him too. He's been

more or less with us in spirit since all this started anyway, and

he is a knight, after all.'

'Vanion? Don't be absurd, Sparhawk.'

'He's not an invalid, you know. He was running foot-races

back in Sarsos, and he was still as good as ever with his lance

when we fought the Trolls.'

"It's out of the question. I won't even discuss it.'

He crossed the room, took her wrists in his hands and kissed

her palms. "I love you dearly, little mother,' he told her, 'but

I'm going to override you this time. You can't wrap Vanion in

lamb's-wool for the rest of his life just because you're afraid he

might scratch his finger. If you don't suggest him to Aphrael, I

will.'

She swore at him in Styric. 'Don't you understand, Sparhawk?

I almost lost him.' Her heart was in her luminous blue eyes. 'i'll

die if anything happens to him.'

'Nothing's going to happen to him. Are you going to ask

Aphrael about it, or would you rather have me do it?'

She swore at him again.

'Where did you ever learn that kind of language?' he asked

mildly. 'if that takes care of our problem, I'm a little overdue at

the bedroom door.'

"I didn't quite follow that.'

"It's time for the kissing and making up. There's supposed to

be a certain rhythm to these things, and if I wait too long to

soften Ehlana's displeasure, she'll begin to think I don't love her

any more.'

'Do you mean her perFormance here tonight was nothing more

than an invitation to the bedroom?'

'That might be putting it a little bluntly, but there was some

of that involved, yes. Sometimes I get busy and forget to pay

as much attention to her as I should. She'll only let that go on

for just so long before she makes a speech. The speech reminds

me that I've been neglecting her. We kiss and make up, and

everything's all right again.'

'Wouldn't it be simpler if she just came right out and told you

in the first place without these elaborate games?'

'Probably, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun for her. You'll

excuse me?'

'Why do you always avoid me, Berit-Knight?' Empress Elysoun

asked with a disconsolate little pout.

'Your Highness misunderstands me,' Berit replied, flushing

slightly and keeping his eyes averted.

'Am I ugly, Berit-Knight?'

'Of course not, your Highness.'

'Then why don't you ever look at me?'

"It's not considered polite among Elenes for a man to look at

文档加载中……请稍候！
如果长时间未打开，您也可以点击刷新试试。

下载文档到电脑，查找使用更方便

5.9 玖币 0人已下载

立即下载 VIP免费下载

摘要：

THETAMULIPart2THESHININGONESDavidEddingsYearsago,theChild-GoddessAphraelhadhiddenBhelliom,theStoneofPower,atthebottomofthesea.Yetnowitisneededagaintostopamalignforcefromspreadingevilanddestructionacrossthelands.Sparhawk,Queen'schampion,setsouttoretrievetheStone.Butothersseekthegemfortheirowndiabolic...

展开>> 收起<<

David Eddings - Tamuli 2 - The Shining Ones.pdf

共362页,预览10页

还剩页未读，继续阅读

声明：本站为文档C2C交易模式，即用户上传的文档直接被用户下载，本站只是中间服务平台，本站所有文档下载所得的收益归上传人(含作者)所有。玖贝云文库仅提供信息存储空间，仅对用户上传内容的表现方式做保护处理，对上载内容本身不做任何修改或编辑。若文档所含内容侵犯了您的版权或隐私，请立即通知玖贝云文库，我们立即给予删除！

David Eddings - Tamuli 2 - The Shining Ones

相关推荐

开通VIP享超值会员特权

作者详情

相关内容

热门标签

举报选择: