Читать книгу Elinor. The Deserted Valley. Book 1 - Mikhail Shelkov - Страница 20

The next morning Do’Ayve woke up in a disgusting mood. He felt that black circles had crept out under his eyes. His temples felt as though someone was squeezing them. But even more, so the young warrior was amazed at E’Do’s face. Not only could the traces of obvious insomnia be read on it, it seemed the udoğan had aged in one night, as though throughout the entire night there was some sort of inner struggle, much more powerful than fighting against demons.

There was also a struggle going on in Do’Ayve, but he understood that the scale of his struggle was much smaller.

What was the reason for the udoğan’s struggle? What is his secret? What lies in his heart? What did he hide from his loyal warriors?

For several days, Do’Ayve did not talk to his commander. And every day, he saw E’Do grow more and more grim, and in turn became gloomier himself.

My question awoke some of his inner turmoil… that which had almost been won over by the udoğan. But what had I said?

The Itoshins made five similar crossings with five stops.

They walked as a black column along the long path, enveloped in white fog. Their swords clanked against the steel protection on their hips. Shoulder and breast shells seemed to absorb all the cold of the stale mist and transmit it to the body. But a true warrior couldn’t be scared of the cold!

On the sixth day, there was an event that became a landmark for Do’Ayve.

About a dozen demons rushed at them from nowhere. It was as though they had long taken them into a ring, slowly crept up and suddenly decided to attack.

Lado struck the first one, thanks to his lightning-fast reaction. With an easy movement, Ğan-Iolai took off the clawed nipper of another one. Todo ran up and finished the third demon with a stabbing blow. Joe screamed wildly and rushed towards two at once. He waved his sword in all directions and soon turned the monsters into a bloody mash.

Do’Ayve rushed forward, exposing the blade in front of him without shouting a war cry or making any drastic, unnecessary movements. While he was emitting as much fury as Joe in that moment, the fury was directed more towards himself and the inability to overcome his passions. Do’Ayve simply cut the first demon in half, evaded the attack of the second, and quickly slashed the third, which let out an ominous screech. He then returned to the second, pushing the blade into its mouth to the very hilt. But he miscalculated the demon’s strength.

While pulling out the strip of steel from the flesh of the monster, Do’Ayve felt his legs tied by an unknown force. He lowered his eyes and saw a disgusting tentacle curl around his limbs. He wanted to slash it with a sword, but it was tightly stuck between the teeth of the previously murdered creature. And the tentacle had already started to drag the warrior. As Do’Ayves let go of his sword and fell, he got a glimpse of the huge jaw, ready to swallow him.

At that moment, the mighty figure of E’Do jumped out of the fog. Hanvet danced a semicircle from shoulder to earth and the tentacle tying the legs of Do’Ayve was cut off. However, another dozen tentacles on the huge monster immediately rushed towards the udoğan. The speed of E’Do’s movement was incomparable. Simultaneously, the commander did not lose composure, doing his job clearly and confidently. Soon the ominous jaw no longer made any sonorous squelching noises; instead it roared with extreme pain. Its two huge eyes filled with red and quickly died out as Hanvet crashed down between them.

Do’Ayve was on his knees breathing heavily.

“Any demons left?” E’Do screamed into the fog.

“No,” answered Lado.

“No!” confirmed Todo.

“This is my first one! This is my first one!” a sonorous girl’s voice babbled joyfully, which Do’Ayve recognized as Leerie.

“Well done, apprentice!” E’Do approved. “Today you took a great step towards becoming a warrior!” After that the udoğan came up to Do’Ayve, who was burning with shame. “Bad, warrior! Very bad!” he began, quickly jumping to quotes from the Code. “The essence of the warrior is not in a rage, but in fearlessness! Fearlessness is not the absence of reason, for mind is necessary to the warrior in battle. And the mind of a warrior must be cold. The essence of the warrior is not in anger, for anger obscures the mind. The essence of the warrior is in the veridical power that is hidden in him!”

Do’Ayve knew the Code by heart. But these words would forever be stuck in his head. Throughout the following days on the way to the Valley, he repeated them over and over again, whenever he began to experience emotional turmoil again.