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Andrey Smirnov. The Storyteller.
Once it so happened that Dithas ken Erbrith met Sofondo R'Haun in a deserted location. Dithas was a covetous teraphim who had devoured many souls, as mighty as a god. Dithas ken Erbrith said, "An alarming thing happened to me. I have sworn an oath to kill any who dare to speak in my presence and by doing so, attain great glory and create an expression of my true self that will, regardless what my own fate will be, sprout into Power like a seed sprouts into a tree. I came to a town under the guise of a mortal, and entered an inn and listened to the sounds that escaped the mouths of those paltry creatures. In accordance with my oath I killed every one of them. Yet there was one man, who spoke more than the others, whom I spared. He was an old storyteller, talking about a righteous man named Khetvarian. I have long thought about it, yet I cannot understand the reason for my breaking of the oath" Sofondo R'Haun said, "The reason was that you did not wish to destroy him who had just given you life. Had you met the storyteller a day later your hand would not falter." Dithas said, "I do not understand your words Sofondo, though there are many who call you a wise man (and others - a skilled liar). How could that storyteller have given me life at that very moment? I am over six hundred years old and my late father's noble name was Alzar ken Erbith." Sofondo said, "An act of creativity is an act of Power. And if you consider that the energies of many kay'i provide the existence of the created world, and that it does not matter when does a Power enter the world, for its influence affects all Creation from Hell to Heaven, from Madness to the Boundary, from the beginning of time to its end, creating dreams*** from nothing and turning dream into reality, then what is unthinkable about the idea that you owe your existence or at the very least the specific form it took to the old storyteller?" Dithas said, "I did not feel any hidden strength in him. Are you saying that I have met a Power?" {у Желязны в Джеке из тени Лорды, по-моему, были Powers} Sofondo said, "It is possible, though not necessary. A Power can manifest itself before a Lord is born from it. All creativity is its' manifestation, all self-identification its fuel, all awareness a glint of its radiance" Dithas said, "If what those who believe in the existence of eternal uncreated kay'i then it was I who created myself and not the old storyteller." Sofondo said, "You speak true, but different beings enter creation at different times and by different means. Though the sources of Powers are not similar in any way and there is no connection between them, in Creation the Powers are woven tightly together. Thus the expression of a Power affects not only the one who may one day embody the Power perfectly, becoming a Lord, but all that exists." Dithas said, "Why are you speaking with such certainty about this things? How do you know the storyteller and what makes you think there is a connection between us?" Sofondo said, "Though I am a warrior, I have a talent for divination. In your past life you used to be the righteous Khetvarian and did many good things until you realised that you would not become whole and achieve perfection through doing good. You, who possessed a divine power of Light, wished to start your path again without leaning to either good or evil, but to do that you had to get rid of the enormous righteous karma that you had accumulated by doing good. For that purpose you were born again as Dithas ken Erbrith and became a murderous teraphim . When you commit an amount of evil deeds equal to that of good you have done before and end as many lives as you have saved, then your path in this world will end and you will be able to begin anew, though as to what forms your existence will assume it evades my eye." Dithas said, "A curious tale, if I assume that it is true. But if I have lived before as righteous Khetvarian, then why do you say that it was the old storyteller whom I heard yesterday who created me? He had learned something about Khetvarian and that is it. There is nothing unusual about learning something about a man who had lived before and telling a story about him." Sofondo said, "It is possible that he had heard of Khetvarian but it is certain that the storyteller gave live to him. If he did not write a song about the saint, then an act of Power that spreads to the past and the future and creates the present in the past would not occur. Then Khetvarian would not have existed in the past and your kay'i would not have taken his form but would have to be satisfied with another, murkier and less accurate image, and Khetvarian would not have become the reason for your existance and behaviour, and you would not have come to that inn to hear the song of the old storyteller." Dithas said, "He was old and weak. I could have killed him and ten more like him with a single movement of my finger. How could he be my creator? Must not the creator be better than his creation?" Sofondo said, "It is not necessary. Creation is an expression of the creator, but what is the point of expressions that do not lead to greater perfection? However, it is pointless to compare the degrees of perfection between you and the storyteller, for neither of you are created by a single creator. It is possible that you will one day take part in creating him who would become the old storyteller." Dithas said, "Your philosophy is exceedingly complicated and I do not know what else could you add to it. However, if you were an attentive listener, then you know what was an oath i have sworn, and if truly you are a augur you must know what happens next." Sofondo said, "Undoubtedly, I must know and I do know." Thus a terrible battle started between them, for Dithas desired to take the soul of him who dared to speak in his presence and Sofondo came to that place to slay a demon and thusly conquer the heart of a certain lady***. So happened what was destined to happen, for Sofondo's far-sight was true on this occasion. Thus was defeated Dithas, for the term of his life was coming to an end and the amount of evil he did balanced out the amount of good done by Khetvarian, and Sofondo collected his burning blood and sold it for a good price in one of the cities of Hellaen {тут тоже вопрос, как транскрибировать Хеллаэн} before going to visit his lady.
====================================== {примечание переводчика на английский: вот как эту секцию оформлять тоже не совсем понятно}
Translator's comments. *In the beginning of the text information is given about Dithas ken Erbith, that he was a teraphim etc., but nothing is said about the other character, Sofondo R'Haun. This is not a mistake on the author's part, because Sofondo R'Haun is a hero of numerous Nimriano-Hellaenian {Хеллаэнских. Не знаю, может лучше Hellaeni или Hellaenese или еще какой-нибудь вариант} legends, one of the most popular folklore characters. According to a number of stories, Sofondo R'Haun was an incarnation of a god or a Lord, but the legends are contradictory as to what specific god or Power this character was an incarnation of. Sofondo R'Haun, or rather his folk-tale version, Sofonndorhaun is attributed numerous labours and deeds that historic Sofondo R'Haun could not have possibly committed. **In the original a specific term used for referring to the Kingdom of Dreams {Царство чар: Dreams Charms ...? не знаю, что лучше. Charms не подходит по-моему, но может я не прав.}. Therefore, Sofondo's speech mentions all six Kingdoms. ***The lady's name is unknown. In Sofonndorhaun legends several ladies are mentioned whose heart the hero must win by slaying demons and monsters. In some cases he is sent on these quests by the lady's father, in others by the lady herself, in others yet the hero himself decides to take up such an oath. Most likely those are all versions of the same story, but it is also possible that Sofondo was attributed the heroic deed committed by other characters whose names are lost to the ravages of time.
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