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An ethereal blue-black light now bathed the weapon, engulfing it in an unearthly halo. This put forth no
heat. In fact, if anything, the startled Agrath found the sword suddenly ice cold to the touch. Dropping it
as quickly as if he had found himself clutching a cobra, he retreated backwards, pressing up against a
knot of nervous, wide-eyed guards.
As soon as the blade struck the ground it sprang upward. As everyone present watched in awe and
amazement, it rose slowly until it was hovering at chest level above the ground. Still interred in the
stunning steely effulgence, it adjusted its position slightly until the sharp terminus was pointing directly at
the dilating orb overhead.
By now that fierce ghostly globe had swollen to dominate the sky, having grown larger even than the sun.
The tail that trailed behind it was a streak of stark incandescence against the cobalt blue of the heavens.
Among the assembled Chlengguu, troops and nobles alike, the first traces of panic had begun to surface.
 What is this, southerner? Droplets of brown sweat had begun to bead on the noble Agrath s forehead.
 I can still see the rim of the moon, so that is not the moon. What is happening?
Squinting at the sky, Ehomba contemplated the onrushing orb.  I do not know, he informed his
interrogator candidly.  I am only a simple herdsman. Lowering his gaze deferentially, he turned back to
gaze down at the now highly agitated Chlengg.  To know the answer you would have to ask the prating,
ignorant whores of the Naumkib.
The atmosphere was infused with a dull thunder. Unlike ordinary thunder, it did not announce itself and
then steal away into the clouds in a series of gradually diminishing echoes. Despite the efforts of their
officers to maintain discipline, a number of the guards had broken ranks and were running wildly in
several directions. A number of their superiors looked as if they wanted to follow them.
Overhead, the steady thunder had become a screaming, a piercing shrillness that sounded as if the sky
itself was coming apart. Hovering in midair, the sky-metal blade continued to emit the same spectral
shine, a deep blue light that was almost black. As he eyed it interestedly, Ehomba found himself
wondering how something could glow black.
Alarm was now endemic among the Chlengguu. Not only were the guards panicking in the face of the
collapsing firmament, so was the rest of the army. Kicked aside in the mad rush to escape, cook fires
latched on to tents. Soon, flames from numerous blazes were licking at the sky as if eager to greet their
falling sibling. Soldiers clutched and clawed at one another in mad panic, and their massed screaming
nearly rose above that of the descending colossus.
Watching the flawlessly organized bivouac plunge into madness and chaos, Ehomba wondered what the
reaction was among the Queppa. Powerless to stop what Agrath had set in motion, he could only hope
the thousands of refugees were managing their hysteria better than their tormentors.
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 Do something! A trembling Agrath had finally sunk to the level of his terrorized troops.  Turn it from
us, make it go away!
 Free me, Ehomba ordered him.
 Yes, yes, immediately! With his own gold damascened sickle the noble cut the herdsman s bonds. As
he stepped back, his terrified, tapering face was drawn inexorably to the lunatic sky.  Now do
something!
 I will. As mounting hysteria raged around him, Ehomba calmly walked over, stretched out one hand,
and reached through the dark aurora to take hold of the radiant sword. The haft was cold, colder than he
had ever felt it, but it seemed to warm a little at his touch. Or it might just have been the air itself, which
was growing very warm indeed as the onrushing monolith approached the Earth.
Gripping the sword tightly in his fist, he turned around to face the shaken, fearful Agrath. The noble s
two companions had vanished back into the tent, as though the sheer magnificence of its decoration might
somehow impress the fiery plunging immensity and save them from destruction. Putting his left hand
below his right, the herdsman drew back the blade and brought it around in a single swift, sweeping arc.
The expression on Agrath s face did not change even as his head was neatly severed from his shoulders
and sent flying toward the entrance to the tent. It bounced a couple of times before coming to rest in the
dirt. To their credit, a couple of the guards overcame their panic long enough to draw their weapons and
rush toward Ehomba. Pirouetting as nimbly as if he were the lead dancer in a traditional Naumkib
ceremony, the herdsman showed them the sword. That was enough. The pair promptly joined their
comrades in hysterical flight.
Simna was hopping backwards toward his friend.  Cut me loose, bruther! We ve got to get out of
here. Lowering the blade, Ehomba swiftly sliced through the swordsman s restraints.  By Golontai s
gonads, that s icy! He rubbed at his emancipated wrists.  How do you hold on to it? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]