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attack, at such times it was their way to go south and make war upon these distant enemies, and to raid for food, horses, weapons, and tools. As our valley lay in the only pass through the mountains, thence they came, apparently to return from those southern lands when their stolen horses were laden with loot and when they had killed many southerners in the name of their battling god. Our people, blocking the pass through which they must travel, were nothing more than a hindrance to them, and perhaps a small battle to whet their appetite for greater slaughters to come. "After much deliberation we decided we would not mount a war with these northern barbarians. We were too few and the land too unknown. Our Enlightened Ones were Gifted, but their Gifts were largely untrained, for none had crossed with us to teach our young when they were born Gifted, and so they did not have the wisdom passed down teacher to student among our Enlightened. Surely the earth could not dance often, and unless it did we were safe. We prayed such an attack would not happen again. "Adraon answered us, for it was three generations before the narrow-handed ones came again. Again we repelled them, again at a cost. Seven times they came through the years," Farryn said proudly, "and six times we drove them back." "What happened the seventh time?" Shadow asked with dawning understanding. "The seventh time the gods punished us for our arrogance," Farryn said unhappily. "When the land danced, more strongly than before, we were forced to flee our valley because of falling rock, and we had no Stone Brothers to save us. We fled deep into the mountains, and when we returned, we saw by their tracks that the narrow-handed ones had passed through unhindered. Their trampling through our village had destroyed what the rock had not, and they had plundered what they could find, but we cared not; we could rebuild, and the narrow-handed ones were gone forever, we thought, to the south. Why should they return when they lived in the mountains so poorly? Again we were careless, and we were wrong. "Some months later they returned. They were far fewer, but they were unexpected, and we were unprepared, having spent our energies on building rather than defense. Unforgivable in a warrior, and unfortunate in a small people. They came, and they won through, at a great cost in blood to us." "Farryn," Shadow interrupted, "when would this have been?" "Over two Great Cycles past," Farryn said. "And what," Mist said, understanding, "is a Great Cycle?" "A Cycle is two hands of turns of the seasons," Farryn said. "A Great Cycle is two hands of Cycles." "What, then, two centuries?" Sharl asked. "Ah, but no," Mist said quickly. "His hands are six fingers. Twelve times twelve years, twice, and more near on three centuries, the time of the Black Wars, when barbarians beset us from the north. They near slaughtered all our kind, but were eventually driven back to the north. It has been supposed that such barbarians had come south before even the founding of the city." "I've heard that, too," Celene said. "Certain elvan legends speak of other such battles." "I can guess where this is going," Donya groaned. "Two moons ago the land danced," Farryn said heavily. "When the first of the narrow-handed ones came, we were prepared. We fought them off easily; indeed, it seemed to us they fought more weakly than the records indicated. We hauled the dead from our land and burned them, as was our custom. Many were covered with a red rash. "Immediately we began to sicken. It was not a fatal sickness, but a debilitating one it turned strong warriors into weak children, too feeble to wield a sword. Soon there were far too few to mount a good defense, and presently, little by little, the narrow-handed ones became a challenge too great for our forces. Only their own illness kept our enemies from prevailing. "At last our few Enlightened Ones gathered together and it was decided to send a messenger to the Stone Brothers here. The illness was not unlike one we had suffered when first we came to the wetlands, and likely the Stone Brothers would know of a cure. Whatever our disagreements, they were our people, and many of our own Enlightened Ones had remained among them. It was hoped that they could render aid in some form." "I doubt it, unless they've learned to breathe water," Donya murmured. "I do not understand," Farryn said, frowning. "Much as I hate to deliver the bad news," Shadow said sympathetically, "there's nobody in the swamp. Most of it is underwater this time of year. Nobody's ever been there to the knowledge of the elves or the humans, at least," she amended. "And I've been through the swamp myself only last spring, and there were no signs of any people there. Well, there were signs, but nothing to indicate anyone had been there for centuries." "What signs?" Donya, Farryn, and Celene asked almost simultaneously. Shadow shrugged. "I didn't think it was very important at the time," she said. "Just some old stone trail shelters near the edge of Spirit Lake." "You told me about Spirit Lake," Donya said curiously, "but you never mentioned trail shelters. Who in the world would have built them?" "Fortune favor me, how should I know?" Shadow said lightly. "I'd never [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |