Lorwyn by Cory J. Herndon & Scott McGough

Author:Cory J. Herndon & Scott McGough [Herndon, Cory J. & McGough, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Elves -- Fiction; Magic -- Fiction; Fantasy; Elves; Magic; Fantasy fiction, https://archive.org/details/lorwyn0000hern
ISBN: 9780786942923
Google: d6_ZAAAACAAJ
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Published: 2007-01-15T07:00:00+00:00

* * *

Taercenn Nath stood at the center of his command tent with his sword clenched tight in both hands. The weapon was heavy, but he hefted it easily, holding it before him with his arms extended. The wide, single-edged blade—almost a cutlass—gleamed in the light. He’d recovered his weapon from the battlefield not long after he had found Gryffid impaled in the boughs of the tree. After an hour of attention the weapon had gleamed, with a day’s worth of caked bloodstains wiped away.

He examined the blade’s razor edge and planned his next move. The disgraced elf’s continued existence was an ongoing insult to the entire elf nation and to Nath himself. Hiring the giants was enough to warrant Rhys’s ouster alone, perhaps his permanent banishment. But Rhys’s wholesale slaughter of his fellow elves by use of his damnable and uncontrolled treefolk magic demanded the ultimate punishment. It seemed the outlaw had fled to Kinsbaile, which enabled Nath to pursue two of his immediate goals at once. Kinsbaile had a value all its own, but with Rhys there it was too tempting a target to overlook.

Already, the few survivors of the Gilt Leaf packs, along with fresh recruits, were dismantling the camp and preparing to march. Nath had sent for additional forces and as soon as they arrived he would lead the packs to Kinsbaile. He would have Rhys’s head on a pike before the next day’s end, and then he would have a long talk with Cenn Teeg about Kinsbaile’s future service to the Blessed Nation of Gilt Leaf. If Teeg protested, Nath would take great pleasure in beheading the kithkin toad with his new sword.

Nath lowered his blade and took cold comfort in another fact. Rhys’s potential role in the elf nation was moot, and his preferred status no longer applied. Not even the oldest and most respected treefolk could save the former daen from the nation’s vengeance. Gryffid appeared outside Nath’s tent. “The vinebred are ready for review, taer,” Gryffid said. “And the cuffhounds are howling to be let loose.”

Nath’s eyes darkened. “You’re keeping them separate, of course?”

“Of course, taer. Also, the warriors you sent for have arrived. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of them … the vinebred, I mean.”

“They aren’t damaged?” Nath rose angrily, slinging his armored chest plate over his torso. “They’re unblemished and ready to fight?”

“Yes, taer. They’re in excellent shape. In fact, they’re… they’re”

“What are they?”

“They’re magnificent,” Gryffid said. “The most perfect I’ve ever seen. All proud and noble elves. I am honored to serve alongside them, taer, but.”

“But what?”

Gryffid lowered his eyes. “They put the vinebred we’ve cobbled together to shame, taer.”

“There is no shame in adapting to the terrain when on the hunt, Gryffid.”

“No, taer. But we’ve been enchanting whatever low creatures we could find. The vinebred you sent for might well be insulted if we field them alongside such rabble.”

“The honor of serving me directly will counterbalance any shame they might experience,” Nath said. “Is that all you came to say, Gryffid?”

“No, taer.

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