Alive or not, the forger took care as it dipped the gleaming metal into the dark stream. This one’s two hands held a sword blade in long tongs, a blade already quenched, pale like moonlit snow. Nor were they smiths as such they made nothing but the swords. The forgers were not truly alive carried any distance from Shayol Ghul, they turned to stone, or dust. One of the forgers emerged, a thick slow-moving man shape that seemed hacked out of the mountain. Their blades failed after a time and had to be replaced, no matter that raids into the Borderlands had been curtailed. But so few the Myrddraal must be gnashing their teeth. Prisoners from a raid down into the Borderlands, no doubt. A ragged woman crouched in a hopeless heap against the forge’s rough stone wall, clutching a babe in her arms, and a spindly girl buried her face in the woman’s skirts. Hammers rang inside, and with every ring, white light flared in the cramped windows. There was water, of a sort, an inky rivulet oozing down the rocky slope beside a gray-roofed forge. A few hundred leagues north the world was pure ice, but Thakan’dar was always dry as any desert, though always wrapped in winter. Feathery mist marked his breath, barely visible before the air drank it. Despite the steam it was bitter cold, now he did not allow himself to feel it, but instinct made him pull his fur-lined velvet cloak closer. In what was now called the Age of Legends, this had been an idyllic island in a cool sea, a favorite of those who enjoyed the rustic. Besides, here only a fool would want to see or smell or feel too clearly.
The absence of saidin left him hollow, yet here only a fool would even appear ready to channel. He released the One Power immediately, and with the vanished sweetness went the heightened senses that made everything sharper, clearer. Across the slope steam and smoke rose from scattered vents, some holes as small as a man’s hand and some large enough to swallow ten men. Lightning streaked up at the clouds, and slow thunder rolled. Below, odd lights flashed across the barren valley, washed-out blues and reds, failing to dispel the dusky murk that shrouded their source.
Above, roiling gray clouds hid the sky, an inverted sea of sluggish ashen waves crashing around the mountain’s hidden peak. The lions sing and the hills take flight.ĭemandred stepped out onto the black slopes of Shayol Ghul, and the gateway, a hole in reality’s fabric, winked out of existence. Note that the excellent Maps and chapter Icons may not render on some hand-helds but are perfect on desk and laptops. I haven’t posted my html for this, since the other guy wrote better html than me, and I only changed it to accomodate the peculiarities of MSReader. scan attributed to Nadie and redone by someone else who added the excellent chapter icons. [22 May 02 - reproofed and converted to from orig. Published by Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.Īll rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
0 kommentar(er)
