Chronicles of Corum Read Online Free PDF Page B

exactly.”
    “You cannot make them stop this chanting? You cannot make them cease appearing in my dreams?”
    “Their strength weakens daily. Soon they will trouble you no longer. You will sleep tranquilly again.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Oh I am certain. They can survive for only a little while more, before the Cold Folk overwhelm them, before the People of the Pines enslave or slay what remains of their race.”
    “Well,” said Corum, “as you say, these things come and go…”
    “Aye,” said Jhary. “But it will be sad to see the last of that golden folk go down beneath the dark and savage invaders who now sweep across their land, bringing terror where there was peace, bringing fear where there was joy …”
    “It sounds familiar,” said Corum dryly. “So the world turns, and turns again.” He was now fairly well satisfied that he understood why Jhary was harping upon this particular subject.
    “And turns again,” agreed Jhary.
    “And even if I would, I could not help them, Jhary. I am no longer able to travel between the planes. I cannot even see through to other planes. Besides, how could one warrior help this folk of which you speak?”
    ‘ ‘One warrior could help greatly. And it is their invocation which would bring you to them, if you would let it. But they are weak. They cannot summon you against your will. You resist them. It does not take much resistance. Their numbers grow small, their power fades. They were once a great people. Even their name derives from your name. They call themselves Tuha-na-Cremm Croich.”
    “Cremm?”
    “Or Corum, sometimes. It is an older form. It means simply ‘Lord’ to them—Lord of the Mound. They worship you in the form of a stone slab erected on a mound. You are supposed to live beneath that mound and hear their prayers.”
    “These are superstitious people.”
    ‘ ‘A little. But they are not god-ridden. They worship Man above all else. And all their gods are really nothing more than dead heroes. Some folk make gods of the sun, the moon, the storms, the beasts and so on. But this folk deifies only what is noble in Man and loves what is beautiful in nature. You would be proud of your wife’s descendants, Corum.”
    “Aye,” said Corum, narrowing his eye and giving Jhary a sideways look. There was a faint smile on his lips.’ ‘Is this mound in a forest. An oak forest?”
    “An oak forest, yes.”
    “It is the same that I saw in my dream. And why is this folk attacked?”
    “A race from beyond the sea (some say from beneath the sea) comes from the East. The whole land which used to be named Bro-an-Mabden has either gone under the waves or lies beneath a perpetual cloak of winter. Ice covers all—brought by this eastern folk. It has also been said that this is a folk who once conquered this land and was driven back. Others suggest that it is a mixture of two old races or more, banded together to destroy the ancestors of the Mabden of Lwym-an-Esh. There is no talk of Law or Chaos there. If this folk has power, it comes from themselves. They can produce fantasms. Their spells are powerful. They can destroy either by means of fire or by means of ice. And they have other powers, too. They are called the Fhoi Myore and they control the North Wind. They are called the Cold Folk and they can make the northern and the eastern seas answer their bidding. They are called the People of the Pines and can command black wolves as their servants. They are a brutal people, born, some say, of Chaos and Old Night. Perhaps they are the last vestiges of Chaos upon this plane, Comm.”
    Corum was smiling openly now.’ ‘And you urge me to go against such a folk? On behalf of another folk which is not my own?”
    “Your own by adoption. Your wife’s folk.”
    ‘ ‘I have already fought in one conflict that was not my own,” said Corum, turning away and pouring himself more wine.
    “Not your own? All such conflicts are yours, Corum. It is your fate.”
    “And