Page 14 (1/2)

Prologue

The ancient wars of the T'lan Ihut saw the world torn asunder Vast arh, their bone the bones of hills, their spilled blood the blood of seas Sorceries raged until the sky itself was fire …

Ancient Histories, Vol I Kinicik Karbar'n

I

Maeth'ki Ihut War

298,665 years before Burn's Sleep

Ss darted through the clouds ofover the rey, but it had lost its h the air above the ravaged land held the scent of healing

What had once been the inland freshwater sea the Ihut ice-fields — was now in its own death-throes The pallid overcast was reflected in dwindling pools and stretches of knee-deep water for as far south as the eye could scan, but none the less, newly birthed land dominated the vista

The breaking of the sorcery that had raised the glacial age returned to the region the old, natural seasons, but the ered The exposed bedrock to the north was gouged and scraped, its basins filled with boulders The heavy silts that had been the floor of the inland sea still bubbled with escaping gases, as the land, freed of the enorht years past, continued its slow ascent

Jaghra Til's life had been short, yet the silts that had settled on its bottom were thick And treacherous

Pran Chole, Bonecaster of Cannig Tol's clan a the Kron I an ancient beach ridge The descent before hirasses and withered driftwood Twelve paces beyond, the land dropped slightly, then stretched out into a broad basin of mud

Three ranag had becoy sinkhole twenty paces into the basin A bull ed in a pathetic defensive circle Mired and vulnerable, they must have seemed easy kills for the pack of ay that found them

But the land was treacherous indeed The large tundra wolves had succu Pran Chole counted six ay, including a yearling Tracks indicated that another yearling had circled the sinkhole dozens of ti ard, doomed no doubt to die in solitude

How long ago had this drama occurred? There was no way to tell Thecloaks of clay latticed with cracks Spots of bright green shohere windborn seeds had germinated, and the Bonecaster was re — a host ofunreal For the beasts, the struggle had becoether for all time

Someone padded to his side, crouched down beside him

Pran Chole's tawny eyes remained fixed on the frozen tableau The rhythm of footsteps told the Bonecaster the identity of his companion, and now canature as resting eyes upon the man's face

Prologue

The ancient wars of the T'lan Ihut saw the world torn asunder Vast arh, their bone the bones of hills, their spilled blood the blood of seas Sorceries raged until the sky itself was fire …

Ancient Histories, Vol I Kinicik Karbar'n

I

Maeth'ki Ihut War

298,665 years before Burn's Sleep

Ss darted through the clouds ofover the rey, but it had lost its h the air above the ravaged land held the scent of healing

What had once been the inland freshwater sea the Ihut ice-fields — was now in its own death-throes The pallid overcast was reflected in dwindling pools and stretches of knee-deep water for as far south as the eye could scan, but none the less, newly birthed land dominated the vista

The breaking of the sorcery that had raised the glacial age returned to the region the old, natural seasons, but the ered The exposed bedrock to the north was gouged and scraped, its basins filled with boulders The heavy silts that had been the floor of the inland sea still bubbled with escaping gases, as the land, freed of the enorht years past, continued its slow ascent