Lord Carras waited in the back of the wide audience room as the king passed judgment on a dispute of lands. The hall was spacious and beautiful, stone fitted upon stone with marvelous skill, and the high walls ended in a dim ceiling and a circular window of some pale gem. Men had said it was diamond, but others scorned this, saying that none could find any so large and split it so thin. The light of day shone white through it onto the throne, and the king seated thereon, and his counselors who stood behind it.
The two noblemen walked past him, out the great doors; Lord Carras strode toward the king and bent his knee before him. "Lord Carras of Kenhelm, ambassador from the ruler of Dirion, to my lord king Eofin of Enedhwin."
"Well met, Carras," the king greeted him. "What news from Dirion?"
Carras drew a heavy breath. "My lord, I bring not news but a question."
"A question! Then it must be a grave question to send a man across the length of Legea. Indeed, your face is sober." He motioned with his hand. "Take heart, my friend, and speak."
"My lord king, three months ago King Firas of Dirion summoned me alone to his private chambers, for there is none of his house whom he trusts more than me. And he charged me to go to Enedhwin, for he said, 'Strange rumours have come from those who travel near her. And they are no idle reports, for there are too many, though they are filled with uncertainty and contradictions.
" 'But if it were only my own fear I should have put it instantly to rest. Other men have feared – learned ones and farseeing men, and those who sense evil, and some have come to me and spoken things at which I tremble. Therefore I fear greatly concerning Enedhwin. Carras, I would have you go and hear what her king has to say on the matter of this evil.'
"So, King Eofin, I have come. And such is my question: what is the manner of this evil that grows like a black thing upon Enedhwin, of which we know naught save that it exists?"
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Note on Enedhwyn pronunciation:
dh or dd - soft th, as in the, then
y - short i, as in hit
eo - not a diphthong, but enunciated separately: ay-oh
bh - v as in van
ae - long i, as in pine
í - ee, as in bee
ll - prononunced hl, rolling the h sound right into the l
u - always oo as in spoon
That should be all the odd ones. Feel free to refer back to this as many times as you need to!
YOU ARE READING
A Cold Cry
FantasyOne man against a nameless evil, against deception, and ultimately against himself. Something dangerous lurks in the mountains of Enedhwin, and no-one is willing to search it out... no-one except the cocky and loyal-to-a-fault foreign ambassador. Bu...
