ThousandOfDevils: переводы

→Tavi heard himself chuckle quietly. "Believe it or not, I've thought of that."
Araris tilted his head slightly to one side, listening.

→"Your claim to that authority is based upon authority derived from the law and from principles of justice," Araris said, his voice quiet and intent. "If you begin your new role by spitting on that law, those principles, you're undermining your own position. Eroding the ethical foundations from which your authority should derive."

→"I know you're doing that," Araris replied. "I question whether or not you're overstepping your… new authority."
"What difference does it make?"

→Tavi sighed. "You think I'm overstepping my authority as a Cursor."

→"Which gives you the right to decide policy that's going to have a great many repercussions? Leaving aside the legality of what you're doing, what you're attempting is going to be viewed very badly from a great many directions, even if you're totally successful."

→"From what you told me, you already did ask him about seeking a diplomatic solution," Araris said. "And he flatly denied you."
"That was before he knew all the details."

→"I'd approach Gaius," Tavi said, "but for whatever reason, he's out of reach. I already tried to contact him via my coin. Ehren, too."

→"It might," Araris said, nodding. "But… I wonder if you have the right to make this choice."

→Araris squinted out at the ocean. "And he loved your mother more than air and light. He defied his father's direct command when he wed her. Gaius had other ideas about who would make him a suitable wife."

→"He would have loved you," Araris said at once. He frowned. "But…"
"He would have been busy making things better?"

→"Do…" Tavi cleared his throat. "Do you think he would have been… a good father?"

→"If," Tavi said. The word carried far more weight than it should have- bitterness, longing, sadness.

→"He had a habit of making allies of his enemies," Araris said. "You should have seen the brawls he had with Antillus Raucus at the Academy-but they ended as friends. He had… a kind of grace, about him. He could face a man down without taking his pride. If he'd lived, he would have…" Araris's voice closed off for a moment. He cleared his throat, and said, "Everything would be different."

→Tavi shook his head. "I didn't."

→"When he fought, it was like a thunderstorm going to war, and I never saw his better with a blade. We would have taken a spear in the heart for him-we, his singulares . We all thought he would become a great First Lord. As great as the original Gaius Primus. He was one of the first Citizens to speak out publicly against slavery, you know."

→"Septimus was never satisfied with things the way they were. Everywhere he went, in everything he did, he tried to leave a place better than when he found it. When he saw injustice, he worked to set it right. When he found victims, he offered them succor-then he avenged them. If he sank his teeth into an argument, he'd hold on until he'd won it or it died. I never saw him speak an unkind word to a child, strike a dog, or take spurs to his horse.

→"Arrogant," he said, finally. "Impatient. Short-tempered." His teeth gleamed. "And compassionate. Intelligent. Generous. Fearless." Araris sighed. "Too much so."
Tavi said nothing, waiting.

→Tavi could see nothing of his expression-only a glitter from his eyes. Araris stared at him for a time, then turned his face back to the sea.

→Between bites, Tavi asked, "What was he like?"
Araris's head turned toward him in the darkness.

→He'd broken stones softer than the stuff, but with enough work he managed to get a few gravelly bits to break off, and they softened in his mouth as he chewed. They tasted a little stale, but his stomach began to feel steadier after only a few mouthfuls.