Legend (Drenai Saga, #1)

by David Gemmell

‘Is it not just a word?’ ‘No, it is far more. Egel, who built this fortress, had names carved on every wall. “Eldibar” means “Exultation”. It is there that the enemy is first met. It is there he is seen to be a Man. Power flows in the veins of the defenders. The enemy falls back against the weight of our swords and the strength of our arms. We feel, as heroes should, the thrill of battle and the call of our heritage. We are exultant! Egel knew the hearts of men. I wonder did he know the future?’ ‘What do the other names mean?’ Antaheim shrugged. ‘That is for another day. It is not good luck to talk of Musif while we shelter under the protection of Eldibar.’ Antaheim leaned back into the wall and closed his eyes, listening to the rain and the howling wind. Musif. The Wall of Despair! Where strength has not been great enough to hold Eldibar, how can Musif be held? If we could not hold Eldibar, we cannot hold Musif. Fear will gnaw at our vitals. Many of our friends will have died at Eldibar and once more we will see, in our minds, the laughing faces. We will not want to join them. Musif is the test. And we will not hold. We will fall back to Kania, the Wall of Renewed Hope. We did not die on Musif and Kania is a narrower fighting place. And anyway, are there not three more walls? The Nadir can no longer use their ballistae here, so that is something, is it not? In any case, did we not always know we would lose a few walls? Sumitos, the Wall of Desperation, will follow. We are...