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.”“Why would you go there, my lord?” his aide asked, startled.“Protocol will require my attendance at the funeral,” Targonne replied.9Ring Of TearsSilvanesti was an occupied land, Silvanost an occupied capital.The worst fears of the elves had been realized.It was to protect against this very disaster that they had authorized the creation of the magical shield.The embodiment of their fear and their distrust of the world, the shield had slowly drained them, drawing upon that fear to give itself unwholesome life.When the shield fell, the world, represented by the soldiers of the Dark Knights, marched into Silvanost, and sick and exhausted, the elves capitulated.They surrendered the city to their most feared foe.The kirath predicted the worst.They spoke of slave camps, of looting and burning, of torment and torture.They urged the elves to fight until death had taken every one of them.Better to die free, said the kirath, than live as slaves.A week passed and not a single elf male was dragged from his house and tortured.No elf babies were spitted on the ends of spears.No elf women were raped and left to die on dung heaps.The Dark Knights did not even enter the city of Silvanost.They camped outside the city on the battlefield where Mina’s troops had fought and lost and Mina herself had been made prisoner.The first order given to the soldiers of the Dark Knights was not to set fire to Silvanost but to burn the carcass of the green dragon, Cyan Bloodbane.A detachment even fought and defeated a band of ogres who had been elated to discover the shield had fallen and attempted an invasion of their own.Many among the younger elves were calling the Dark Knights saviors.Elven babies were healed and played upon the grass that grew green in the fierce bright sunlight.Elven women strolled in their gardens, finding joy in the flowers that had withered beneath the shield, but which were now starting to bloom.Elven men walked the streets free and unfettered.The elven king, Sil-vanoshei, remained the ruler.The Heads of House were consulted on all matters.A confused observer might have said it was the Dark Knights who had capitulated to the Silvanesti.To say that the kirath were disappointed would be unfair.They were loyal to their people, and they were glad—and most were thankful—that thus far the bloodbath they had expected had not occurred.Some of the older members of the kirath claimed that what was happening to the elves was far worse.They did not like this talk of a One God.They mistrusted the Dark Knights, who, they suspected, were not as peace-loving as they appeared.The kirath had heard rumors of comrades ambushed and spirited away on the backs of blue dragons.Those who disappeared were never heard of again.Alhana Starbreeze and her forces had crossed the border when the shield fell.They now occupied territory to the north of the capital, about halfway between Silvanost and the border.They never remained in one location long but shifted from camp to camp, covering their movements, blending into the forests that many of them, including Alhana herself, had once known and loved.Alhana did not have much fear that she and her troops would be discovered.The five thousand troops of Dark Knights would have all they could do to hold Silvanost.The commander would be a fool to divide his forces and send them into unfamiliar territory, searching for elves who had been born and bred to the forests.Nonetheless Alhana had survived this long by never taking chances, and so the elves remained on the move.Not a day passed, but that Alhana did not long to see her son.She lay awake nights making plans to sneak into the city, where her life was forfeit, not only from the Dark Knights, but from her very own people.She knew Silvanost, she knew the palace, for it had been her home.In the night the plans seemed sound, and she was determined to follow through with them.In the morning she would tell Samar, and he would bring up every difficulty, present her with every opportunity for disaster [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]