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that one with a kind of weary puzzlement, as they made the long march home
across the underrealm.
-Draconae!-We glimpse You!-Open your hearth!-Give us your fire!Visions of
strength, of new iffling-children, of freedom to wander the realm, to visit
the draconi, to grow and blossom . . .the visions loomed before them like
mirages on a desert, but mirages that now could grow into reality. The vision
gave hope, and in that hope they found the strength to move forward across the
bleak plain where at last their underrealm met that of the dragons.
A chasm broke the plain, a black rift in the underrealm where the power of the
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Enemy had fallen, and had streamed away out of the realm.
When the ifflings reached that place, they floated across it as though riding
on a warm updraft of air. At first it seemed as though the air currents would
snuff them out like so many dying candle-flames;
but across the emptiness a beacon flared and then paused, its beam touching
them and strengthening their fires. It was the touch of the draconae-tended
dreamfire, and it drew them onward in a rippling coruscation, across the chasm
and the plain, in a great cascade of light flashing in circlets over them,
pulling them, drawing them in.
And then the Mountain was around them, and the chiming voices of the draconae
greeted them, and the regenerative fire of the Forge of Dreams
file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20krui...0A.%20Carver%20-%20Parron
e%20-%20The%20Dragons.TXT (430 of 441)22-2-2006 1:19:26
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y%20A.%20Carver%20-%20Parrone%20-%20The%20Dragons.TXT
in which they had been born blazed forth with a white heat that filled them,
and consumed them in a welcoming embrace ...
-And in this place -All things begin-AneuIn the gloom and the emptiness, after
the reverberations had passed and the distant cries had faded to a background
mutter in the underrealm, Hodakai drew himself down into a small, silent
bundle in the cavern of Spirits. He felt lonelier than he had felt in a long,
long time. He missed
Jarvorus. He missed At and Ed. He missed Windrush, and even, in a way, he
missed Rent. Most of all, he missed Jael.
He knew now that she had survived her death, and not only that, but had,
astonishingly, toppled the vast empire of power that belonged to
Tar-skel. Hodakai was glad of that, really he was. But just now in the
silence and emptiness of this warren, he was finding it a little hard to enjoy
the victory.
Sprites! he sighed. Won't even you come out to keep me company.
? Where are you all? But there was no answer, no taunt, no teasing, from the
hidden corners of the cavern. It seemed that even the sprites had gone away.
Perhaps they too had fled to the Dream Mountain, as the ifflings had. As Jael
had. As the dragons all probably wanted to do.
For a while there, he had felt useful. It wasn't that he had done much-he'd
just shouted some helpful encouragement through the underrealm to the Dark
Vale but it was a lot more than he had ever dared to do before. And maybe it
really had helped in the battle.
Kan-Kon, he thought wistfully, peering out of his silent jar into the cold
silence of the cavern, I think you would have been proud of me at the end. I
hope that fellow At makes it back to tell you about it.
Truthfully, there didn't seem much else to do, think, or say.
There was just the silence. He had thought briefly of his rigger fantasies;
but whatever escape they might offer now seemed empty and meaningless against
the memory of what he had just been through. He supposed he could try to
reach out again through the underrealm, but it was all changed now, all
stirred up like a lake after a storm, and he didn't have the skill to see
through it.
He huddled, and waited-but for what, he didn't know.
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e%20-%20The%20Dragons.TXT (431 of 441)22-2-2006 1:19:26
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zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl karpacz24.htw.pl
that one with a kind of weary puzzlement, as they made the long march home
across the underrealm.
-Draconae!-We glimpse You!-Open your hearth!-Give us your fire!Visions of
strength, of new iffling-children, of freedom to wander the realm, to visit
the draconi, to grow and blossom . . .the visions loomed before them like
mirages on a desert, but mirages that now could grow into reality. The vision
gave hope, and in that hope they found the strength to move forward across the
bleak plain where at last their underrealm met that of the dragons.
A chasm broke the plain, a black rift in the underrealm where the power of the
Page 260
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Enemy had fallen, and had streamed away out of the realm.
When the ifflings reached that place, they floated across it as though riding
on a warm updraft of air. At first it seemed as though the air currents would
snuff them out like so many dying candle-flames;
but across the emptiness a beacon flared and then paused, its beam touching
them and strengthening their fires. It was the touch of the draconae-tended
dreamfire, and it drew them onward in a rippling coruscation, across the chasm
and the plain, in a great cascade of light flashing in circlets over them,
pulling them, drawing them in.
And then the Mountain was around them, and the chiming voices of the draconae
greeted them, and the regenerative fire of the Forge of Dreams
file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20krui...0A.%20Carver%20-%20Parron
e%20-%20The%20Dragons.TXT (430 of 441)22-2-2006 1:19:26
file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruiswijk/Mijn%20d...paar/Jeffre
y%20A.%20Carver%20-%20Parrone%20-%20The%20Dragons.TXT
in which they had been born blazed forth with a white heat that filled them,
and consumed them in a welcoming embrace ...
-And in this place -All things begin-AneuIn the gloom and the emptiness, after
the reverberations had passed and the distant cries had faded to a background
mutter in the underrealm, Hodakai drew himself down into a small, silent
bundle in the cavern of Spirits. He felt lonelier than he had felt in a long,
long time. He missed
Jarvorus. He missed At and Ed. He missed Windrush, and even, in a way, he
missed Rent. Most of all, he missed Jael.
He knew now that she had survived her death, and not only that, but had,
astonishingly, toppled the vast empire of power that belonged to
Tar-skel. Hodakai was glad of that, really he was. But just now in the
silence and emptiness of this warren, he was finding it a little hard to enjoy
the victory.
Sprites! he sighed. Won't even you come out to keep me company.
? Where are you all? But there was no answer, no taunt, no teasing, from the
hidden corners of the cavern. It seemed that even the sprites had gone away.
Perhaps they too had fled to the Dream Mountain, as the ifflings had. As Jael
had. As the dragons all probably wanted to do.
For a while there, he had felt useful. It wasn't that he had done much-he'd
just shouted some helpful encouragement through the underrealm to the Dark
Vale but it was a lot more than he had ever dared to do before. And maybe it
really had helped in the battle.
Kan-Kon, he thought wistfully, peering out of his silent jar into the cold
silence of the cavern, I think you would have been proud of me at the end. I
hope that fellow At makes it back to tell you about it.
Truthfully, there didn't seem much else to do, think, or say.
There was just the silence. He had thought briefly of his rigger fantasies;
but whatever escape they might offer now seemed empty and meaningless against
the memory of what he had just been through. He supposed he could try to
reach out again through the underrealm, but it was all changed now, all
stirred up like a lake after a storm, and he didn't have the skill to see
through it.
He huddled, and waited-but for what, he didn't know.
file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20krui...0A.%20Carver%20-%20Parron
e%20-%20The%20Dragons.TXT (431 of 441)22-2-2006 1:19:26
file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruiswijk/Mijn%20d...paar/Jeffre
y%20A.%20Carver%20-%20Parrone%20-%20The%20Dragons.TXT [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]