The Rivan Codex: Ancient Texts of THE BELGARIAD and THE MALLOREON (The Belgariad / The Malloreon)
Page 31
The mobilization of Mallorea in preparation for the war with the west virtually depopulated the continent. The Angaraks and the Karands were eventually marched north to the land bridge crossing to northern-most Gar og Nadrak, and the Dalasians and Melcenes moved to Dal Zerba, where fleets were constructed to ferry them across the Sea of the East to southern Cthol Murgos. Torak’s overall strategy was profoundly simple. The northern Malloreans were to join with the Nadraks, the Thulls and the northern Murgos for the strike into Drasnia and Algaria; the southern Malloreans to join forces with the southern Murgos, await Torak’s command, and then march northwesterly. The goal was to crush the west between these two huge armies. The disaster which overtook the northern column at Vo Mimbre was in large measure set off by the lesser-known disaster which befell the southern forces in the Great Desert of Araga in central Cthol Murgos. The freak storm which swept in off the Great Western Sea in the early spring of 4875 caught the southern Murgos, the Melcenes and the Dalasians in that vast wasteland and literally buried them alive in the worst blizzard in recorded history. When the storm finally abated after about a week, the southern column was mired down in fourteen-foot snowdrifts which persisted until early summer. And then, with a sudden rise in temperature, the snow-melt turned the desert into a huge quagmire. It is now quite evident that the storm and the conditions which followed were not of natural origin. None of the various theories put forth to explain it, however, is quite satisfactory. Whatever the cause, the results were one of the great tragedies in human history. The southern army, trapped in that wasteland first by snow and cold and then by an ocean of mud, perished. The few survivors who came straggling back at the end of the summer told tales of horror so ghastly that they do not bear repeating.
The two-fold catastrophe which had occurred in the west, coupled with the apparent death of Torak at the hands of the Rivan Warder, utterly demoralized the societies of Mallorea and of the western Angarak Kingdoms. Expecting a counter-invasion, the Murgos retreated into fortified positions in the mountains. Thullish society disintegrated entirely, reverting to crude village life. The somewhat more resilient Nadraks took to the woods, and much of the independence of the modern-day Nadrak derives from that period of enforced self-reliance. In Mallorea, however, events took a different course. The doddering old Emperor emerged from retirement to reassume authority and to try to rebuild the shattered bureaucracy. Grolim efforts to maintain their control were met with universal hatred. Without Torak, the Grolims had no real power. Though most of his sons had perished at Vo Mimbre, one gifted child remained to the old Emperor, the son of his old age, a boy of about seven. The Emperor spent the few years remaining to him instructing, schooling and preparing his son, Korzeth, for the task of ruling his far-flung Empire. When advanced years finally rendered the old Emperor incompetent, Korzeth, then aged about fourteen, callously deposed his father and ascended the Imperial throne.
In the years following Vo Mimbre, Mallorean society had fractured back into its original components of Melcena, Karanda, Dalasia and ancient Mallorea. Indeed, there was even a movement in some quarters to further disintegrate the nation into those prehistoric kingdoms which had existed on the continent prior to the coming of the Angaraks. This movement toward separatism was particularly strong in the principality of Gandahar in southern Melcena, in Zamad and Voresebo in Karanda and in Perivor in the Dalasian protectorates. Deceived by Korzeth’s youth, these separatist regions rashly declared independence from the Imperial throne at Mal Zeth, and other districts and principalities, notably Ganesia, Darshiva and Likandia gave strong indications that they would soon follow suit. Korzeth moved immediately to stem the tide of revolution. The boy-emperor spent the rest of his life on horseback in perhaps the greatest internecine blood bath in history; but when he was done, he delivered a reunified Mallorea to his successor on the throne.
The new Emperors of Mallorea, the descendants of Korzeth, brought a different kind of rule to the continent. Prior to the calamity in the west, the Emperor of Mallorea had quite often been little more than a figurehead, and power had largely rested in the hands of the bureaucracy. Now, however, the Imperial throne was absolute. The center of power shifted from Melcene to Mal Zeth in keeping with the largely military orientation of Korzeth and his descendants. As is almost always the case when power is consolidated in the hands of one supreme ruler, intrigue became commonplace. Plots, ploys, conspiracies and the like abounded as various functionaries schemed to discredit opponents and to gain Imperial favor. Rather than move to stop these palace intrigues, the descendants of Korzeth encouraged them, shrewdly perceiving that men divided by mutual distrust and enmity would never unite to challenge the power of the throne.
’Zakath, the present Emperor, assumed the throne during his eighteenth year and gave early promise of enlightened rule. He appeared to be intelligent, sensitive and capable. It was a profound personal tragedy, however, which turned him from that course and helped to make him a man feared by half the world. In order for us to understand what happened to ’Zakath, we must first examine what was taking place in Cthol Murgos. As is generally the case when a nation survives for more than a few centuries, the Kings of Cthol Murgos may most conveniently be considered in dynasties.
Upon their first arrival in the west, the Murgos had debated the actual necessity for a king. Their aristocratic background, however, coupled with the fact that the nations around them all had kings, made the establishment of a Murgo throne inevitable. At first the Kings of Cthol Murgos were for the most part ceremonial, with the real power residing in the hands of the commanding generals of the nine military districts. The military commander of the District of Goska was elevated to the throne largely because he commanded the oldest military district in the kingdom and because it was decided early on that Rak Goska would be the capital the nation would present to the world.
In time, however, the Goska Dynasty became corrupt. The trappings of power with no real power behind them all too frequently leads to self-indulgence. While other kingdoms endure periodical bad kings in the hope of better successors, Murgos tend to be more abrupt. Thus, after several centuries of misrule by the admittedly limited kings of the Goska Dynasty, the military commanders of the other eight districts ruthlessly moved against the King and exterminated him, together with all his heirs, ministers and functionaries. The palace coup was followed by several decades of rule by a military Junta until, once again in need of a figurehead to present to the outside world, the generals offered the crown to the most capable of their number, the commander of the District of Gorut. The General of Gorut, however, declined to accept the crown unless the position of king was given a bit more meaning. This procedure has been repeated with every dynastic change-over until presently the King of Cthol Murgos is the most nearly absolute monarch in the world.
The near-disaster which has enveloped Cthol Murgos for the past several centuries has been the result of an hereditary affliction strongly prevalent in the Urga Dynasty. The Urgas came to the throne with much promise, but the inherited affliction appeared in the second King, and has been almost inevitable in every Urga King since. The insanity in the house of Urga is difficult to diagnose, but it is characterized by extreme hysteria, suspicion, rapid fluctuation of mood, and ritualized behavior. In no Urga King have these symptoms been more pronounced than in the present occupant of the throne, Taur Urgas, the tenth Urga King.
The reign of Taur Urgas of Cthol Murgos has been marked by the fear and suspicion which are so characteristic of his disease. Though the mad King fears and hates all Alorns (the Algars in particular), as have all members of his family, Taur Urgas carries his suspicions even further. He is fearful of a possible alliance between Tolnedra, Arendia and the Alorn Kingdoms, and he has saturated the west with his agents with instructions to stir up as much discord as possible. The secret fear which haunts the sleep of Taur Urgas, however, is the dread that Mallorea might move to play a greater role in the destiny of the kingdoms of the western co
ntinent. It is evident that the discovery in his youth that Mallorea was at least twice the size of Cthol Murgos filled Taur Urgas with an unreasoning fear and hatred. The contempt with which the average Murgo views the Malloreans has in the case of their King crossed the line into open hostility.
Thus, when the young Emperor ’Zakath ascended the throne at Mal Zeth, Taur Urgas immediately instructed his agents to provide him with the details of the new Emperor’s background, education and temperament. Their reply filled the King of the Murgos with alarm. It appeared that ’Zakath was precisely the kind of man Taur Urgas had feared would be the new ruler of the world’s most populous nation. Desperately, the King of the Murgos cast about in search of a way to neutralize the Mallorean’s obvious talents.
The opportunity Taur Urgas had been awaiting came when reports filtered back to Rak Goska that ’Zakath was in love— or at least strongly attracted. The lady in question was a Melcene girl of high degree with a powerful family which had nonetheless fallen upon difficult times. The conditions were perfect for the Murgo King. Calling upon the almost unlimited wealth of blood-red gold which yearly poured from the mines of Cthol Murgos, Taur Urgas bought up all of the outstanding debts of the Melcene girl’s family and began applying pressure upon them for repayment. When the family was sufficiently desperate, Taur Urgas, acting through his agents, presented his proposal. The girl was to encourage ’Zakath’s attentions and to lure him into marriage by whatever means necessary. She was then to exert all her influence upon the young man to prevent his ever considering adventures in the west, and failing that, a Nyissan poison was provided and the girl was to be instructed to kill her husband.
The failure of the plan was largely the result of a basic Murgo inability to understand the complexities of Mallorean intrigue. Murgos appear to automatically assume that everyone they bribe will remain bribed. In Mallorea, however, such integrity is the exception rather than the rule. Thus, a relatively minor participant in Taur Urgas’s scheme soon found an opportunity to sell the information to certain officials in the government of Emperor ’Zakath. When the entire matter was placed before the Emperor, the young man, in a sudden fit of outrage, ordered that all participants in the intrigue be rounded up and immediately be put to death. Certain evidence emerged after the order was carried out which suggested strongly that the Melcene girl (for whom ’Zakath appeared to have a genuine affection) was not only innocent of any participation in the Murgo scheme, but may even have been totally unaware of it. When this tragic information was conveyed to the young Emperor, he very nearly went mad with grief, and when he finally recovered, his personality was so altered that even his own family could not recognize him as the same man. The previously open and gregarious young man is now quite often surreptitiously referred to as ‘the man of ice’.
’Zakath’s first act upon his recovery was to direct the now-famous letter of remonstrance to Taur Urgas. The letter read as follows:
To His Majesty, Taur Urgas of Murgodom,
I was unamused by your recent attempt to influence Mallorean internal affairs, your Majesty. Were it not for current world conditions which require that there be no apparent rupture between the two major Angarak powers, I would bring the entire weight of the MalloreanEmpire down upon you and chastise you beyond your imagining for your offense.
To insure that there will be no recurrence of this affair,I have taken all Murgos within my boundaries into custody to serve as hostage to your continued good behavior.I am advised that several of these internees are closely related to you. Should you instigate further adventuresin my realm, I shall return your kinsmen to you—piece by piece.
In the past, your madness has filled your world with imagined enemies. Rejoice, Taur Urgas, and put aside your insanity, for you now have a real foe, far more deadly than any of the phantoms of your lunacy. You may be assured that as soon as world conditions permit, I will descend upon you and the stinking wastelandyou call your Kingdom. It is my firm intention to destroy you and the vile race you rule. When I am done, the name ‘Murgo’ will be forgotten.
Keep a watchful eye over your shoulder, Taur Urgas, for as surely as the sun rises tomorrow, one day I will be there.
With My most heartfelt contempt,
’Zakath,
Emperor of Mallorea
When Taur Urgas read this letter, his advisors found it necessary to physically restrain him to prevent his doing himself injury. Though it is possibly an exaggeration, some witnesses maintain that the Murgo King actually began to froth at the mouth, so great was his rage. It must be admitted that the letter of ’Zakath was probably the most strongly-worded which any sovereign has ever directed at another, however, and it signaled the beginning of preparations in the two nations for that war which was now absolutely inevitable.
Occasionally the Murgo King was impelled by his growing insanity to take some kind of action against his implacable enemy. While these actions were usually rather petty, ’Zakath’s response was always the same. Not long after such incidents, Taur Urgas would receive the dismembered body of some cousin or nephew. Since the Murgo obsession with race is exceeded only by their attachment to family, nothing ’Zakath could have done could have injured Taur Urgas more, and as the years passed, the hatred of the two grew stronger until it became in the mind of each man virtually an article of religion.
The tragically altered Emperor of Mallorea has become obsessed with the concept of power, and the idea of becoming Over-King of all of Angarak has dominated his thinking for the past two decades. Only time will determine if ’Zakath of Mallorea will be successful in his bid to assert his dominance over the western Angarak kingdoms, but if he succeeds, the history of the entire world may well be profoundly altered.
V
THE MALLOREAN GOSPELS
BOOK 1
THE BOOK OF AGES
Now These are the Ages of Man:
IN THE FIRST AGE was man created, and he awoke in puzzlement and wonder as he beheld the world about him. And those that had made him considered him and selected from his number those that pleased them, and the rest were cast out and driven away. And some went in search of the spirit known as UL, and they left us and passed into the west, and we saw them no more. And some denied the Gods, and they went into the far north to wrestle with demons. And some turned to worldly matters, and they went away into the east and built mighty cities there.
But we despaired, and we sat us down upon the earth in the shadow of the mountains of Korim, which are no more, and in bitterness we bewailed our fate that we had been made and then cast out.
And it came to pass that in the midst of our grief a woman of our people was seized by a rapture, and it was as if she were shaken by a mighty hand. And she arose from the earth upon which she had sat and she bound her eyes with cloth, signifying that she had seen that which no mortal being had seen
before, for lo! She was the first Seeress in all the world. And with the touch of vision still upon her she spake unto us in a great voice, saying:
‘Behold! A feast hath been set before those who made us, and this feast shall ye call the Feast of Life. And those who made us have chosen that which pleased them, and that which pleased them not was not chosen.
‘Now we are the Feast of Life, and ye sorrow that no guest at the feast hath chosen ye. Despair not, however, for one guest hath not yet arrived at the feast. The other guests have taken their fill, but this great Feast of Life awaiteth still the beloved guest who cometh late, and I say unto all the people that it is he who will choose us.
‘Abide therefore against his coming, for it is certain. The signs of it are in the heavens, and there are whispers which speak of it within the rocks. If earth and sky alike confirm it, how can it not come to pass? Prepare then for his coming. Put aside thy grief and turn thy face to the sky and to the earth that thou mayest read the signs written there, for this I say unto all the people, it is upon ye that his coming rests. For Behold, he may not choose ye unless ye choose him. And
this is the fate for which we were made.
‘Rise up, oh my people. Sit no more upon the earth in vain and foolish lamentation. Take up the task which lies before ye and prepare the way for him who will surely come.’
Much we marveled at the words which had been spoken to us, and we considered them most carefully. And we questioned the Seeress, but her answers were dark and obscure. And we perceived that
evil is
disguised
as good
in the
Book of
the
Heavens
a danger lurked within the promise. And we turned our faces to the sky and bent our ears to the whispers which came from the earth that we might see and hear and learn. And as we learned to read the book of the skies and to hear the whispers within the rocks, we found the myriad warnings that two spirits would come to us, and that the one was good and the other evil. And we redoubled our efforts so that we might recognize the true spirit and the false in order to choose between them. And as we read the Book of the Heavens we found two signs; and as we listened to the earth we heard two voices; and we were sorely troubled, for we could not determine which sign was the true sign nor which voice the true voice. Truly, evil is disguised as good in the Book of the Heavens and in the speech of the earth, and no man is wise enough to choose between them unaided.