Читать книгу SPLINTERS OF FAIRY TALES: DRAGON’S STAR CLAW - Э. Григ - Страница 1

Sorcerers have a legend about Storyteller. The greatest wizard who could enchant the imagination.

Writers believed: if you see the shadow of Storyteller, you will create a wonderful fairy tale.

At all times, wizards valued fairy tales.

After all, fairy tales are imagination.

And imagination is magic.

Powerful sorcerers stood on the seashore. Nobody in the world without magic knew about this enchanted land where they met. The wizards looked at each other expectantly.

“What do you say, Danarion? It’s a beautiful place, isn’t it?” a cheerful voice broke the silence.

The wizard who spoke was a head taller than his interlocutor, his soft dark beard with hints of gray fluttered in the sea wind. Folds of a luxurious green robe, embroidered with gold threads, hid the impressive belly of rich meals’ lover. Everything in this magician was round. He looked as if nature had used bow compasses to create him.

“I don’t understand why you’re so happy, Emmerond,” the other sorcerer answered grumpily. “We filled our land with magic, and now crowds of wizards will gather here. This is dangerous and wrong! Someday everything will collapse with a loud crash. Can you imagine how much noise will be here? And it’ll be our fault!”

The man who came to meet Emmerond raised his long, sharp nose and glared at his interlocutor. Unlike the first wizard, he seemed to be created with nothing but corners. His short gray hair stuck out in all directions. He wore a ridiculous long black mantle that looked like a shabby robe. There was a worn belt with a scabbard over the mantle and his short, massive staff stuck out there like a sword.

“We have accomplished something that wizards have never achieved before! And you are behaving like a naughty and guilty dog. Look around!” Emmerond pointed to the sky, where a huge dragon was circling with majestic grace. “We no longer need to hide in the world without magic. This land will become our asylum, our reward for years of wandering and secret life. That world no longer needs wizards, and we’ll be free here!”

“You have always been a speechifier, Emmerond!” a broad-shouldered girl with a short haircut approached them, beaming with a dazzling smile. Her plump figure was covered with a silver silk vest over a blouse with puffy sleeves, and her tight trousers were tucked into high boots. She leaned on a long, thin staff decorated with tiny diamonds.

Gloomy, pale young man with a mane of curly hair trudged behind her. He seemed to come here reluctantly. He looked like a man who didn’t sleep enough. Wrapped in a purple cloak, the young man stood at a distance and casually nodded greeting Emmerond and Danarion.

“Finally! Wizards in love, here they come!” Emmerond announced in the voice of an entertainer.

“Stop it, father! You’re talking like we perform in a circus.”

“You’re too gloomy for the circus,” Emmerond replied, grinning. “What’s happened, my eternally displeased son?”

The young man cast a fierce glance at his father and turned away.

“Raeghar doesn’t like our idea,” the girl answered instead of him. “He’s sure we created the wrong land.”

“You know, Karilla, it’s funny that some mediocre wizards have the same thoughts,” Emmerond responded. “I just heard the same words from Danarion.”

Raeghar snorted loudly.

“Who will rule this land? Did you think about it?” Raeghar asked caustically, narrowing his eyes.

“Rule?” his father was surprised. “Why do sorcerers need rulers? We have Optium.”

“We do. But the more powerful the wizard, the greater his influence in Optium. While we lived separately, it did not affect us much, but now everything will change. We’ll depend on decisions of mighty sorcerers. It’s very unfair, father! Why will they get more power just because they have better magic skills than others? We need a ruler approved by everyone!”

“We can’t rely on Optium, Emmerond,” Karilla supported him. “I agree with Raeghar.”

“We shouldn’t change anything, Karilla! Wizards have never had rulers.” Emmerond replied, giving full value to each word. “We created our land as the asylum. We have no right to force wizards to obey. We don't have kings. We wanted to protect the sorcerers, but not rule them. Look what we did! Aren't you proud of our strength? This is the best place that has been created by wizards of all times. Any of us who needs protection will find it here. We must take care of this land and not let in those who do not belong here. Nothing else.”

“You’re too sure that we did everything right, Emmerond,” Karilla sighed.

“Not just me,” Emmerond shrugged his mighty shoulders. “Axandor is on my side. He enjoys. He says this is the best place he has seen.”

“Isn’t he going to turn back?”

“I don't think so. He seems to enjoy being a dragon more than a human. He adores dragons to the point of madness and constantly extols these creatures. He convinces me that dragons should live next to us. How can we allow flocks of such monsters to fly around here?”

All four wizards looked up at the sky. A dragon soared above the sea, flapping its huge leathery wings. Falling down like a stone, he flew up to the water so close that his mighty paws with yellow claws touched it, and then sharply soared up. They stood and looked at him as if enchanted. The most powerful magicians who performed the unprecedented miracle.

The clock on the rock tirelessly counted down the time that passed since that meeting. The wizards protected their precious land and kept its secret. Soon, the dragons came here. They also looked for asylum, and even Emmerond could not refuse them. Dragons lived on one side of the sea, wizards lived on the other. It was a peaceful neighborhood, because people and dragons did not need anything from each other.

Any uninvited guests have never been here. But one day the killers came.

And time was enveloped in chaos.