Knights Of Dark Renown

Informationen zum Autor David Gemmell Klappentext Once the legendary knights of the Gabala defended the nine duchies. Their hearts were beautiful; their armor was beyond compare. They were greater than princes, more than men. But they were gone, disappeared through a demon-haunted gateway between worlds. Only one held back -- Manannan, whose every instinct told him to stay. Now he was the coward knight, and in torment. Murder and black magic beset the land. Rumors circulated that the king was enchanted, changed, that his soul was dead . . . and that a reign of terror was about to begin. Now Manannan realized he would have to face his darkest fears: he had no choice but to ride through that dreaded gate and seek out his vanished companions. And the secret he would learn there would tear his soul apart . . . . "A sharp, distinctive medieval fantasy. Dramatic, colorful, taut." -- Locus1   THE RIDER PAUSED at the crest of the pass, the wind swirling about him and screeching through the mountaintops. Far below him the lands of the Gabala stretched green and verdant, ribbon streams and shimmering rivers, hills and vales, forests and woods—all as he remembered, echoing his dreams, calling for his return.   ‘Home, Kuan,’ he whispered, but his words were whipped away by the wind, and the tall gray stallion did not hear him. Touching his heels to the horse’s side, the rider leaned back in the saddle as his mount began the long descent. The wind dropped as they neared the deserted border fort, its gates of oak and bronze hanging on broken hinges. The Gabala eagle had been hacked from them—only the edge of a wingtip was left on the rotting wood, and this was covered by a brown and green patina that all but merged it with the timber.   The rider dismounted here. He was a tall man wearing a long hooded cloak, a heavy scarf wound about his face and holding the hood in place. He led the stallion into the derelict fort and halted before the statue of Manannan. The left arm was broken and lying on the cobbles. Someone had taken an ax or a hammer to the face, and the chin was smashed, the nose split.   ‘How soon they forget,’ said the newcomer. Hearing his voice, the stallion moved forward, nuzzling at his back. He turned, removed his thick woolen gloves, and stroked the beast’s neck. It was warmer here, and he unwound the scarf, draping it over the pommel of his saddle. As he pushed back the hood, sunlight flashed from the silver helm he wore.   “Let us find you a drink, Kuan,’ he said, moving to the walled well at the center of the courtyard. The bucket was warped by the sun, gaping cracks showing beneath the iron rings. The rope was tinder-dry but still usable if handled with care. He searched the deserted outbuildings and returned with a clay jug and a deep plate, then stood the jug in the bucket before lowering both into the well. When he carefully drew the bucket up, water was gushing from the cracks, but the jug was full and he lifted it clear and drank deeply. Placing the plate on the cobbles, he filled it. The stallion dropped its head and drank. The rider loosened the saddle girth and poured more water into the plate, then climbed the rampart steps and sat in the sunshine.   This was the end of empire, he knew. Not the blood-drenched battlegrounds, the screaming hordes, the discordant clash of steel on steel. Just the dust blowing across the cobbles, limbless statues, warped buckets, and the silence of the grave.   ‘You would have hated this, Samildanach,’ he said. ‘This would have broken your heart.’   He searched inside himself for any grief over the fall of the Gabala. But there was no room … all his grief was for himself as he gazed down at his statue.   Manannan, knight of the Gabala. One of the nine. Greater than princes, more than men. He delved into his hip pouch, pulling clear a silvered mirror, which he held up before...

Product details

• Authors: David Gemmell
• Publisher: Del Rey
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 24.04.1993
• EAN: 9780345379085
• ISBN: 978-0-345-37908-5
• No. of pages: 320
• Dimensions: 106 mm x 175 mm x 16 mm
• Series: Random House Worlds
• Subject: Fiction > Science fiction, fantasy