The way to the Wunderland and Heartland. Immortals. The abode of Immortals

“Maybe you’re right my son. There could be an ingenious trap, disastrous for the wicked. In their sense, not in ours. And then a terrible death would await you, – Julian spoke sublimely, and even squeezed the cross of God with his dry hand.

Victorius grinned knowingly, and nodded easily, agreeing with the mentor. But, then his face grimaced, as if in terrible pain, and the monk began to speak, as if squeezing out grave words:

– Are you going to poison me, Father Superior?”

Julian bent down, just all stretched out over the old table, and his pectoral cross dragged along the oak tabletop. He grinned slyly, and showed a suede bag. Most of all, he now resembled a snake-tempter, as he is painted on holy icons.

– No, now no… You passed the last test. And its meaning is…

– That you can’t trust anyone?”

– Of course. And any loyalty must be paid, my son… Everything has a price, and everyone should be ready to pay it!

Presbyter looked at such a brilliant monk with pleasure. And imperceptibly removed the already prepared bag of poison. Yes, the abbot at first would really like to poison him in order to permanently close the mouth of this messenger. A book without a diary is interesting to read, but completely harmless. And a person who does not know a diary in life will not read. Presbyter Julian is now quite sure of that. Only the enlightened will keep the secret, and then, when the appointed time comes, they will receive true power and power…

PART 1 Between the old hills

“Not in the stars is our destiny, but in ourselves”

William Shakespeare

CHAPTER 1 Kashchei and his bride

This deer hunter was tracking for a long time. Looking for traces on this rocky soil was generally not easy. But he patiently walked and walked when necessary, ran, not allowing the prey to break away from him, and hide, go into the thickets. It went on for a long time. But finally, the deer again decided to run. The head, proudly crowned with branched horns, held straight on the strong neck of a beautiful animal, and somehow deviated slightly back while running. It was incredibly beautiful, and the pursuer just admired the natural grace of the animal. The dark eyes of the deer mowed back, the male looked with surprise at his tireless pursuer, at such a strange creature. Neither potholes nor branches were a hindrance to him, even the fallen trees, the terrible pursuer jumped over with such ease, as if he even had wings behind his back. The deer ran away from the pack of wolves, once he was able to throw even a lynx from his back, and here, he could not tear himself away from the indomitable and strange creature.

It was covered with short fur, with a very familiar smell. And, apparently, the predator was the most terrible. Strong, strong and unprecedentedly hardy.

Only here is strange, because he ran on only two legs. True, to his regret, this was not a consequence of injury, or ugliness. It was not a giant bird, and not a bear, suddenly standing on its hind legs. Everything was much simpler and worse…

It’s just that a man was running after the deer. A man dressed in leather clothes, summer time. And, the stubborn hunter overtook the beast. The deer bent its head back, protecting its neck from the bite, but the pursuer’s weapons were his hands. With a huge, incredible force, the jerk threw the horned handsome man to the ground, so much so that they only cracked the branches of the dead man. The deer tried to hit the enemy with his powerful forked hooves, but the hunter only laughed, jumped, and grabbing his horns, whispered:

– Sorry, forest giant!

And powerful hands at once tore off the deer’s head. Blood covered the fallen tree, legs became convulsed, and finally everything died down. Fear hung in the overgrowth, no one dared to tweet. Forest inhabitants have seen this more than once, and immediately hid, only smelling the smell of the Hunter.

And so, this man, in a few movements, skinned the prey, pulling off like a stocking from his leg. Then he spread the meat, putting it in a bag, did not forget about the horns, which he simply broke off from the deer’s head, but as if they were only thin spruce branches.

Taking all this, he threw back the hood of his fur jacket, and laughed, looking around his lands. No one dared to challenge them – neither wolves nor bears, everything here was his. In the stream, he busily washed his hands from blood, rinsed his face and head, even though there was only a silver strand on the back of his head from his hair. The hunter was not old, his face seemed very young, about twenty years old, no more. It’s just that his ancestors awarded him with such hair, as well as height, a little change her adult bear.

But finally, this young man went with his springy gait between the hills, where small stones rustled under his soft boots. Finally, he turned off the road, and in front of him there seemed to be a high stone fence surrounding this hidden place. Composed of huge, mossy smoothly combed blocks. But a person is unusual or inexperienced, would take this masonry for a stone rock or ridge. But how could ordinary people do this?

Rather, not quite as a random person who has wandered here would have thought. Well, the Hunter knocked on the gate, and he was opened by a young man who was also tall to match him.

– Hello to you, Kashoy, we were waiting, we didn’t know when you would return!

“Not empty-handed. Here, brought meat. Fresh, otherwise, right, everyone is tired of the fish!

– nothing. Let’s put something on the glacier, and what Visna will bake. Let’s go eat, otherwise the porridge will cool down! Tata excellent porridge millet boiled, in milk! Porridge went inside this house – safe. From the inside, everything looked much more pleasant, more fun than from the outside. The solid building was worked out in the old days, round in plan, in two floors. A dozen small windows allowed the rays of the sun to penetrate inside. The yard was well maintained, cleanly swept out.

Two huskies ran up to the people, one of them poked her nose into Kashey’s hand. He stroked the dogs, sat down nearby.

– Well, what? I haven’t forgotten about you. Come with me.

He stood at the dog kennels, where large clay bowls stood, without traces of dirt, clean and washed. In them and put bones for fluffs.

– Here, eat, well done, – said Tivda, – and you are Gray, and you, Naida. Now you have enough food for a long time!

Dogs gnawed at bones with rumbling, scraping meat, veins and fat clean from them. The hunter didn’t need to think about something yet…

A ring was also dug in the courtyard, in one of the huge basement. A couple of cows were placed further away from the living rooms, so as not to interfere with people. But they gave out their presence with a loud moo. It was necessary to think about the animal.

– Salit, it’s time to drive the cows away for grazing! – Kashchey reminded, – why did you forget, or what?

– Yes I remember, I am now! I’ll do it, Tivda!

This is actually the name of the Hunter, Tivda, and Kashchey is only the nickname given by Alma, the Second of the Dead Princes.

Salit looked like all the inhabitants of this building, the fortress house. Tall, slender, with a shaved head, and a pigtail of silver hair on the back of his head. And this young man, and in appearance no one would have given him more than twenty years, opened the gate, and began to drive the cows out of the gate. One of them was stubborn, not wanting to leave the warm barn. Then the giant, without saying a word, got hooked, put this huge pied on his shoulders, did not sigh and did not bother, as if he had raised a small pebble. The cow, however, did not feel fear, did not moo and did not fight, only turned its head, and licked Salit’s face, rough as a grater. He just grinned, and came out with a cow on his shoulders from the yard, on a puddle. Another cow, another calf, quickly ran, waving her tail cheerfully. A tall girl looked at it with a smile, with silver hair pulled into a tight braid. The elegant sundress and shirt went well for her, as did the low dress.

“Good afternoon, Tata,” said the hunter.

– And you, Tivda, – the girl answered somehow strained, tortured.

But the young man noticed that he was somehow hiding Tat’s eyes, as if something had happened. He looked around again, I think everything was fine, or? Something seemed to hit the heart with a needle, it became harder to breathe.

– Where is Nastasya? What does not meet? asked Kashchei, not yet understanding.

He said, not because he knew, but just wanted to calm down. Remove the ugly sense of expectation from my head and heart. He just hated him.

“So she begged to let her go. Say, he doesn’t love you and that’s it… She cried endlessly, asked to regret… We allowed her to leave. She’s kind and good…

– And who was so clever?

He asked so simply to annoy Tatu. And she could decide with Lut, no one else?

– Have you forgotten to ask me? Nevertheless, you know, I gave her father a whole pound of gold for her daughter, – I didn’t say anymore, but Kashchey shouted, – what are you doing? Don’t you let me live?

– Why did you shout like that? Just think, girl… True, she does not love you!

– Because, as he does not know yet, fooling, what a smart and skillful I am! And we need her daddy, change gold for bread. Or do not remember, – Kashchey already said with the echidza, – how did we sit without bread for a year because of Salitova Duri?

Both recalled how their shepherd killed merchants under the hot hand, who alone went to the monastery, to the Old Believers. Traders – of course, were burnt crooks, while others were afraid to trade in this village.

– Well, I got excited from old memory, could not restrain myself, – even Visna, who came here, stood up, – well, and killed… Cheat his bargains. Sil did not calculate, and pulled out both hands, because by chance it turned out…

“Why nailed heads to a tree?” Why nailed something? It is good that stories went to the monastery about some evil spirits, they did not send the police here, and the Cossacks too.

“What do you remember?” It was already sixty years ago, so you will reproach us for everything? And do you remember Lyut’s paper wings? Visna was angry now.

– So my house, I built. They came to me, promised, – Kashchey said wearily, – that you will not give yourself away. And Lute too… Well, for what? He flew over the monastery, but drowned in the river. And I again suffered, dug the grave. Well, at least he waited for darkness, and only then left the cemetery.

– And you did it all alone? – and Tata now stood up – in the sides, – forgot how we pressed the stones, the water conduits and plums got along? And now, he alone turns out, everything was arranged here? And I was probably tired, I slept off my face, even walked…

– Okay, I’ll go look for Nastasya myself, otherwise it will disappear here, on these paths…

And sighing, Kashchey went to his cell, all looking back at his comrades’ friends. No, well, of course, living together is always more fun, and he did not hold his evil. But the girl easily here, in these places, the abyss could, that’s for sure. So thinking, went into his chambers. Several rooms with a stove, and a great bedroom. And what didn’t you like? The bed is rich, covered with sables, and the furniture, as the merchants brought it from Severouralsk, brought it from the monastery on its back. And in the closet, Japanese porcelain replaced sable skins with five magpies. Yes, even he has a gramophone! And Nastasya escaped. And what did the girl need? I could not understand.,.

He opened the closet, carved, beautiful, walnut tree, took out unusual clothes to look like a traveler from a wealthy family. He looked at himself in the mirror. It seemed that he looked good. Wool knitted sweater, breeches, leggings, boots with laces. Leather jacket to the knee, and kepi complemented the appearance. He also took a “hard drive” with a hundred rounds of ammunition, threw a backpack with supplies behind his back.

And something remembered again those distant days when I met Tsarevna Alma for the first time…

CHAPTER 2 Remember to Forget

He walked and walked along the path in these deserted places. I looked for, and found the slightest trace – a trampled flower, a trace of skating rinks, a place on gravel where a heavy load was placed. As his twin brothers walked with granite coffins on their shoulders, all six… Those with whom he loyally served Ella the sovereign, and saw the Magi Ramid and his unots Pakal and Zend take them, the Immortals, to a distant tract. I watched, from a distant hill, as Pakal and Unod cut off their heads, and then the remains, alternately, were boiled in a huge bronze cauldron. As a wolf, Ramid takes the bones personally to the dungeon, and then the skulls placed in clay taverns.

All his friends did not resist the orders of the Magi, but he, Tivda, did not want! No, I didn’t want to! Why should he wait for the End of Time, and Resurrection, and lie covered with a web in a dark cave? He wanted to help people, and to begin with, help his brothers. He must decide, and resurrect them. None of the Immortals could die. It was only necessary to combine the skeleton and the skull, and wait, wait, almost two weeks, until the bones sprout again with new flesh.

Tivda felt, no, he was just sure it would be better. In every way they will do such things, they will perform so many feats! And there, you see, the New Dead Princess will appear, as everyone was promised. And they will still serve her faithfully. So Tivda consoled himself.

– Well, I think I went through all the traps – the Immortal Knight whispered quietly.

Indeed, he passed the traps and walked around a dozen traps, strangles and self-arrows. He passed a ridge of stones, crawled through a destroyed arch, walked around a terrible gate. I almost lit a torch, but I remembered that I saw perfectly in the dark.

So he went down and down, down several steps of a huge black staircase, leading even deeper, to the lower level, into this terrible blackness pressing on the brains. He erased, crawled almost squatting, trying not to touch even more sophisticated traps.

It should be black and black, there was complete darkness for an ordinary person. But for his eyes, the eyes of the Immortal, everything was painted only in different tones of gray. But, it was possible to navigate, heavy blackness could not take him prisoner so easily. Tivda felt like a master and winner here, and not a victim.

He walked and walked, sometimes winding along the back streets, until he ran into a wall completely covered with inscriptions. He read the warnings drawn by the Magi Ramid

– Scare others, dedicated, – whispered Tivda, you won’t take me for it…

He went on and on. Step by step he ordered himself to go forward and forward, and it seemed that it seemed that at last that cherished door flashed, dwelling in gold… An incredibly powerful and powerful jamb shone with gold splashes in a black stone, as if gold had poured in a fine rain over aspid granite.

Tivda sighed heavily, anticipating the unknown, what he would do now. He looked at the cunning lock, and grinned.

“No, Ramid, you can’t take me with such a trick…” he said quietly.

With a cunning master key, he unlocked the lock, closed the door behind him, and the bolt again fell into the same grooves. Taking his time, Immortal stepped on the polished floor of this shelter, listening for the slightest rustle. Haste could destroy everything… But now, he crept up to a number of sarcophagi, in the headboards of which were clay taverns with skulls. Tivda read the first inscription on the dishes:" Olin.”

On top of the vessel, along the rim there was another inscription: “Since you have come to awaken us, you pray before this.” Below it was another inscription:" We are all from Ella’s deck.”

I remembered Tivd Olina, after all, only three years passed, as six from their deck, went here, to these distant limits. There was a place for him, one sarcophagus stood empty.

– Hello to you all, friends… Olin, Khvylya, Shakra, Ata, Rasta, and you, Tia… Nothing, I can handle it, I will wake you up, – he whispered.

He turned around, lost his guard, rolled down and felt a sharp spear tip enter the body. His chest was pierced through, he could hardly breathe, he pulled like a fish on a prison, trying to get off, but only bled and lost strength. Finally, he himself was forgotten in a bad dream.

It is not known when I woke up, and my head was as if not my own. And he woke up from the light, an oil lamp was burning in front of him. But that’s not the point! Tivda, alone, noticed a priggish girl sitting on a bag. Such was the beauty that it’s scary to think… Immortal, opened another eye, but, the guest really was not lost…

– Immortal, – said the girl, not a drop doubting what was said.

– Tivda, – the young man called himself, – I am Immortal from Ella’s deck. Now I owe you, Chosen, for life.

– I-Alma. How… – everything that the healer was able to say so far.

– I came to help out. Yes, and hung on the edge of seventy years. Thank you, you saved. Now I will serve you. Only my own wake up.

– Don’t do that, warrior. It will be bad.

– So how? – the warrior was confused, – to leave his own?

– For thousands of years you will wait in the wings for what happens, what is predetermined. Pity them. They will see loved ones die endlessly. They will not be able to live among people.

– So I am alone… Too bad. Why, it’s boring!

– In the Urals, in the mountains, Lute hides. From the deck of Ilsa, the first Princess. You can find it easily. There and live, away from people, before the term. And then the unots of the magi will hunt for you, and many people will die.

– Your truth, Alma. And I don’t want to kill unots. Nothing, I will wait for the next Princess, and I will offer my loyalty to her, if you allow it.

– Be your way, – the girl gladly agreed, – but you just need to get out of here.

And then, the fire went out. Tivda, grinning, noticed that the girl was scared. Otherwise, it would be bad to deal with completely fearless!

– Now we will go out, do not worry, – said the Immortal, – I see well in the dark. I’ll take us out.

He gently put one hand around the maiden. Alma only felt his hands on her waist, and heard a cry:

– Cling to your fingers and pull yourself up! In another way!

The girl pulled her body to the floor of the dungeon corridor, and again Tivda’s palm fell on her shoulder:

“I’ll get it out. In the dark I see everything as during the day. Don’t worry, girl.

And they went, and then Tivda grabbed Alma in his arms and ran. It seemed so easy. They got out quickly. Tivda seated the witch doctor on the stones. laying his felt cloak. The girl again looked at his appearance, and unexpectedly, through force, suggested:

– You need to wash, blood scrape. Yes, and cut and shave you need.

“All right, madam,” the warrior chuckled.

Nearby was a stream, cold, worse than ice. Tivda threw off his clothes. Alma turned away hastily. And the Immortal noticed how a bird curls above them, and not simple.

Finally, the big raven began to hurriedly go down, and jumped on a stone next to the girl, croaked deafeningly, and mowed everything with a black eye on the healer. Alma groped for food in her bag, took bread for herself, and treated the bird to smoked fish. But the raven was not going to fly away, only it was important to walk around. and thrust his beak into Tivda’s clothes.

Immortal with pleasure while splashing in the water, trying to wash off all the blood. I tried to wipe off my shirt, pants and boots. Although there was such a crust of dirt, but the efforts of the knight still surpassed. He was able to put on his pants and boots, and returned to the girl with the raven.

– Almost frozen, it’s good that I can’t get sick, – he said, as if boasting.

She looked without moving at his slender body. Tivda has already settled down, yet he is not so bad! But it finally got to him! She looks out for scars, and there really, even from this spear on which he hung, and there was no trace left!

– Here, you sing, – and she handed him a fish, – completely emaciated. Straight porridge immortal.

“And for sure,” he laughed, “I’ll call it that now!” Well, nothing, as Ella said, there would be bones, the meat would grow.

He swallowed the treat almost without chewing, and then emptied the entire bag of supplies. The food was over, but the blush began to play on the tanned cheeks of a young man aged ninety years.

– Let’s sit down, I’ll cut my hair now, – ordered Alma.

He nodded his porridge, sat down on a stone and put his throat under the knife. Alma just sighed, soaping her hair. First, she cut off an almost planted beard, and then slowly began to shave her cheeks, she also did not hurt her chin and thickest mustache.

The ward’s hair was first cut off on the shoulders, twisted a pigtail on the back of her head, and then began to shave off the excess. Blond hair fell to the ground like winter snow, such a rather big snowdrift of hair came out. But the young man turned out to be so wonderfully prigozhny and okay that the girl liked a little, for nothing, that she was thin. Yes, it is clear that this did not interfere with his strength at all. Even the bird became interested in such a transformation. The raven, waddling funny, approached a new acquaintance closer, and poked his heavy beak, saying hello.

– Yes, you yourself are already like a witch, you know a lot, and you can see from the signs that you are still a novice, – he noticed that there are no tattoos on the hands.

– Nothing, already one Dedication has passed, – the girl answered with resentment, – Tell me about Ella. And how did she lead her Dead Rat into battle? Was she like Ilsa, or not? Just as beautiful and strong?

– Well, listen… They say that she came unrecognized, to the childless old man and old woman, and began to take care of them. True, everyone was surprised at her face, as if sculpted from snow. Skin, whiter than white. But the character was always kind, attentive, did not do bad to anyone, did not say bad words. Well, to be honest, I didn’t see her myself until the bad times in Siberia began. Here, after all, strangers attacked Siberia – mother. The Black News came to Oum that they had beaten the whole army in the open Field, and there was no one to stand up for the giants. So she found us, our Deck, we swallow blood-ichor, became Immortal knights, and fought for her in all wars where she would not send us. That’s it, girl…

He looked again at her beautiful face, at the mole of her right eye. I didn’t see her alive anymore, only then, on a campaign against Taimyr, when they helped out Lyuta and Tatu, but then the Lady of the Dead Princess became…

CHAPTER 3 ON THE ROAD

I drank Bessmertny kvass on the track, looked in the mirror, luring good luck, and trying to forget the past. Sleep now Alma-Princess, like the others, all Seven. And he, Tivda-Koschey, is alive and healthy, and you have to go for a walk a little…

I looked at the wall, Tivda, where the calendar hung. He emphasized the date with a chemical pencil, it turned out that today is the second of June 1912. Sighed, sat down on the track. I thought really, do I have to go, laziness has become something… There, girl, even put his gift, a golden necklace, on the table. And the weather is good, the sun, here, it shines, it is better to go fishing with Lut in the evening… But here, the tongued Geda and Visna will laugh, they will begin to sneer:" they say promised, but I didn’t intend to go on a hike like that!”

He sighed, went down the stone stairs to the courtyard, where Lute and Tata were doing business, the courtyard was shallow. They worked with brooms to the beat, raking branches and other garbage. They even watered the water so that the dust would not stand in a pillar.

– And really, Kashoy went on a hike, for a girl! – The languid Visna did not calm down, – hey, hero, or maybe you need help, you yourself, you can’t cope!

– It’s you, girl, angry that all the same your Jaromir will not return to you. Everything in the works, the knight, is fighting in Pomerania. Or maybe I found someone, more beautiful. I forgot about you a long time ago! Tivda could not resist either.