The swan lifted its head. In a voice that sounded like distant church bells, she said, "I am Princess Tamuna. Rothgar’s curse binds me. By day, I am a swan. By night, for one hour after sunset, I become myself again. He comes for me at the third moonrise. After that, I will be a swan forever."
Gela carefully pulled the arrow from her wing. He tore a strip from his wool chokha and bandaged the wound. swan princess qartulad
"I have no army," Gela said. "I have only my hammer and my two hands." The swan lifted its head
"So," the sorcerer laughed, "the peasant brings a key. Do you know what that key opens, fool? It opens nothing. It was a test of hope—and hope is the first thing I destroy." By day, I am a swan
He returned to the frozen lake on the final night. Rothgar was there, standing over the swan-princess, his hands crackling with dark magic.