Dragonlance Elven Nations Trilogy 03 The Qualinesti

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is no real danger."
"Unless you have Clovanos for a landlord," muttered Irthenie.
Laughter rippled in the ranks around her. The Kagonesti woman's soft words were
repeated through the ranks until everyone in the hall was chortling in appreciation.
Clovanos's face turned beet red, and he stalked angrily out, with Xixis on his heels. Once
the two senators were gone, the laughter increased, and Kith-Kanan could afford to join
in. Much of the tension and anxiety of the past few days slipped away.
Kith-Kanan sat back down on his throne. "Now," he said, stilling the mirth swelling
across the hall, "if you are here to petition for help due to damage caused by the darkness
or the lightning, please go to the antechamber, where my castellan and scribes will take
down your names and claims. Good day and good morrow, my people."
The Qualinesti filed out of the hall. The last ones out were the royal guards, whom
Kith-Kanan dismissed. Irthenie remained behind. The aged elf woman walked with quick
strides to the window. Kith-Kanan joined her.
"The merchants in the city squares say the lightning isn't in every country as the
darkness was," Irthenie informed him. "To the north, they haven't had any at all. To the
south, it's worse than here. I've heard tales of ships being blasted and sunk, and fires in
the southern forests all the way to Silvanesti."
"We seem to be spared the worst," Kith-Kanan mused. He clasped his hands behind
his back.
"Do you know what it all means?" the senator asked. "Old forest elves are incurably
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curious. We want to know everything."
He smiled. "You know as much as I do, old fox."
"I may know a deal more, Kith. There's talk in the city about Ulvian. He's missed,
you know. His wastrel friends are asking for him, and rumors are rampant."
The Speaker's good humor vanished. "What's being said?"
"Almost the truth that the prince committed some crime and you have exiled him for
a time," Irthenie replied. A sizzling lightning bolt hit the peak of the Tower of the Sun,
just across the square from the Speaker's house. Since the strange weather had begun, the
tower had been struck numerous times without effect. "His exact crime and place of exile
remain a secret," she added.
Kith-Kanan nodded a slow affirmation. Irthenie pursed her thin lips. The yellow and
red lines on her face stood out starkly with the next lightning blast.
"Why do you keep Ulvian's fate a secret?" she inquired. "His example would be a
good lesson to many other young scoundrels in Qualinost."
"No. I will not humiliate him in public."
Kith-Kanan turned his back to the display of heavenly fire and looked directly into
Irthenie's hazel eyes. "If Ulvian is to be Speaker after me, I wouldn't want his youthful
transgressions to hamper him for the rest of his life."
The senator shrugged. "I understand, though it isn't how I would handle him. Perhaps
that's why you are the Speaker of the Sun and I am a harmless old widow you keep
around for gossip and advice."
He chuckled in spite of himself. "You are many things, old friend, but a harmless old
widow is not one of them. That's like saying my grandfather Silvanos was a pretty good
warrior."
The Speaker yawned and stretched his arms. Irthenie noticed the dark smudges under
his eyes and asked, "Are you sleeping well?" He admitted he was not.
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"Too many burdens and too many anxious dreams," Kith-Kanan said. "I wish I could
get away from the city for a while."
"There is your grove."
Kith-Kanan clapped his hands together softly. "You're right! You see? Your wits are
more than a little sharp. My mind is so muddled that I never even thought of that. I'll
leave word with Tam that I'm spending the day there. Perhaps the gods will favor me
again, and I'll discover the reason behind all these marvels."
Kith-Kanan hurried to his private exit behind the Qualinesti throne. Irthenie went to
the main doors of the audience hall. She paused and looked back as Kith-Kanan
disappeared through the dark doorway. Thunder vibrated through the polished wooden
floor. Irthenie opened the doors and plunged into the crowd still milling in the Speaker's
antechamber.
* * * * *
There were no straight streets in Qualinost. The boundary of the city, laid out by
Kith-Kanan himself, was shaped like the keystone of an arch. The narrow north end of
the city faced the confluence of the two rivers that protected it. The Tower of the Sun and
the Speaker's house were at that end. The wide portion of the city, the southern end, faced
the high ground that eventually swelled into the Thorbardin peaks. Most of the common
folk lived there.
In the very heart of Qualinost was the city's tallest hill. It boasted two important
features. First, the top of the hill was a huge flat plaza known as the Hall of the Sky, a
unique "building" without walls or roof. Here sacred ceremonies honoring the gods were
held. Convocations of the great and notable Qualinesti met, and festivals of the seasons
were celebrated. The huge open square was paved with a mosaic of thousands of hand-set
stones. The mosaic formed a map of Qualinesti.
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The second feature of this tall hill, lying on its north slope, was the last bit of natural
forest remaining within Qualinost. Kith-Kanan had taken great care to preserve this grove
of aspens when the rest of the plateau was shaped by elven spades and magic. More than
a park, the aspen grove had become the Speaker's retreat, his haven from the pressures of
ruling. He treasured the grove above all features in his capital because the densely
wooded enclave reminded him of days long past, of the time when he had dwelt in the
primeval forest of Silvanesti with his first wife, the Kagonesti woman Anaya, and her
brother Mackeli.
His time with Anaya had been long ago . . . four hundred years and more. Since then
he had struggled and loved, fought, killed, ruled. The people of Qualinost were afraid of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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