The Rivan Codex: Ancient Texts of THE BELGARIAD and THE MALLOREON (The Belgariad / The Malloreon)

by Eddings, Leigh;Eddings, David

  Pondering this, we went out from beneath the shadow of the mountains of Korim and into the lands beyond, where we abode. And we put aside the concerns of man and bent all our efforts to the task which lay before us. And we sought out all manner of wisdom to aid us in distinguishing the true God from the false when the two should come to us, each saying, ‘I am the way.’ Our witches and our seers sought the aid of the spirit world, and our necromancers took counsel with the dead, and our diviners sought advice from the earth. But lo, the spirits knew no more than we, and we found that they were as confused and troubled as we.

  Then gathered we at last upon a fertile plain to bring together all that we had learned from the world of men, the world of the spirits, the Book of the Heavens and the voices of the earth. And

  Behold, these are the truths that we have learned from the stars, from the rocks, from the hearts of men and from the minds of the spirits:

  Know ye, oh my people, that all a’down the endless avenues of time hath division marred all that is—for there is division at the very heart of creation. And some have said that this is natural and will persist until the end of days, but it is not so. Were the division destined to be eternal, then the purpose of creation would be to contain it. But the stars and the spirits and the voices within the rocks speak of the day when the division will end and all will be made one again, for creation itself knows that the day will come.

  Know ye further, oh my people, that two spirits contend with each other at the very center of time, and these spirits are the two sides of that which hath divided creation. And in a certain time shall those spirits meet upon this world, and then will come the time of the choice. And if THE CHOICE be not made, the spirits will pass on to another world and confront each other there, and this world will be abandoned, and the beloved guest of whom the Seeress spoke will never come. For it is this which was meant when she said unto us: ‘Behold, he may not choose ye unless ye choose him.’And the choice which we must make is between good and evil—for there is an absolute good and an absolute evil, and the division at the heart of creation is the division between good and evil, and the reality which will exist after we have made THE CHOICE will be a reality of good or a reality of evil, and it will prevail so until the end of days.

  now the

  Second

  Age of

  man

  began in

  thunder

  and

  earth-

  quake

  Behold also this truth; the rocks of the world and of all other worlds murmur continually of the two stones which lie at the center of the division.76 Once these stones were one, and they stood at the very center of all of creation, but, like all else, they were divided, and in the instant of division were they rent apart with a force that destroyed whole suns. And where these stones are found, there surely will be the next confrontation between the two spirits. Now the day will come when all division will end and all will be made one again—except that the division between the two stones is so great that they can never be rejoined. And in the day when the division ends shall one of the stones cease forever to exist, and in that day also shall one of the spirits forever vanish.

  These then were the truths which we gathered from the stars and from the rocks and from the hearts of men and from the minds of the spirits. And it was our discovery of these truths which marked the end of the First Age.

  Now the Second Age of man began in thunder and earthquake, for lo, the earth herself split apart, and the sea rushed in to divide up the lands of men even as creation itself is divided. And the mountains of Korim shuddered and groaned and heaved as the sea swallowed them. And we knew that this would come to pass, for our seers had warned us that it would be so. We went our way, therefore, and found safety before the world was cracked and the sea first rushed away and then rushed back and never departed more.

  And it was in the Second Age that we saw the coming of the chosen ones who had been selected by the Seven Gods. And we studied them to determine if there were yet some mark upon them to distinguish them from the rest of mankind, but we found no such mark or sign. And our seers communed with the minds of the seers of our brothers who had gone into the west before the seas came in to divide the lands of men. And our brothers in the west also studied the chosen ones of other Gods, and their seers spake unto the minds of our seers, and they said that they—even as we—could find no mark or sign. And our brothers in the west looked at the chosen of the Bear God and the Lion God and the Bull God and the Bat God and the Serpent God and found no mark or sign, and we looked at the children of the Dragon God, and it was the same, even though the Dragon God’s people warred with the people of the other Gods.

  Yet was there another God, and some men thought that this God dwelling in solitude might indeed be the God who would in time take up all of the unchosen people. And our brethren in the west went up to the Vale in which he dwelt with his disciples and prostrated themselves before him and besought him that he disclose to them the secrets locked in the future. And the God Aldur spake kindly unto them and counseled them, saying: ‘Abide against the coming of the Beloved One, and know that my brothers and I, and our people as well, strive to insure his coming—and our striving and our sacrifice is for ye, who are destined to become the Chosen of Him who is yet to come.’

  And one of our brethren spake, asking the God

  thus: ‘And what of the Dragon God, Lord, that is Thine enemy? Doth he also strive for the coming of the Beloved One?’ And the face of Aldur grew troubled, and he spake, saying: ‘My brother Torak doth indeed strive, though he knoweth not the end toward which he moves. I counsel ye to dwell in peace with the children of the Dragon God, for ye dwell in lands which shall be theirs, and they will be Lords over ye. Should ye resist them, they will cause ye great suffering. Endure that which they lay upon ye and abide in patience as ye continue the tasks which have been given ye.’

  And the Seers of the West disclosed what Aldur had told them unto the minds of the seers who dwelt among us, and we took counsel with the seers and considered how we might least offend the children of the Dragon God so that they would not interrupt our studies. In the end we concluded that the warlike children of Angarak would be least apprehensive about simple tillers of the soil living in rude communities on the land, and we so ordered our lives. We pulled down our cities and carried away the stones, and we betook ourselves back to the land so that we might not alarm our neighbors nor arouse their envy.

  And the years passed and became centuries, and the centuries passed and became eons. And as we had known they would, the children of Angarak came down amongst us and established their overlordship. And they called the lands in which we dwelt ‘Dalasia’, and we did what they wished us to do and continued in our studies.

  Now at about this time it came to pass in the far north that a Disciple of the God Aldur came with

  for the

  pupil

  may cor-

  rupt the

  intent of

  the

  master

  others to reclaim a certain thing which the Dragon God had stolen from Aldur. And that act was so important that when it was done the Second Age had ended and the Third Age had begun.

  Now it was in the Third Age that the priests of Angarak, which men call Grolims, came to speak to us of the Dragon God and of his hunger for our love, and we considered what they said even as we considered all things men told us. And we consulted the Book of the Heavens and confirmed that Torak was the incarnate God-Aspect of one of the spirits which contended at the center of time. But where was the other? How might men choose when but one of the spirits came to them? How might man select the Good and abjure the Evil when he could in no wise compare them? The spirit infusing the Dragon God could not help us in our choice, for that spirit perceived its goal as good and could not comprehend the possibility that it might be evil. Then it was that we understood our dreadful responsibility. The spirits would come to us, each in
its own time, and each would proclaim that it was good and the other was evil. It was man, however, who would choose. And some there are who believe that it is man’s choice which will determine the outcome. And we took counsel among ourselves and we concluded that we might accept the forms of the worship which the Grolims so urgently pressed upon us. This would give us the opportunity to examine the nature of the Dragon God and make us better prepared to choose when the other God appeared.

  Now the forms of worship which the Grolims practiced were repugnant to us, but we placed no blame for those forms at the feet of Torak, for the pupil may corrupt the intent of the master and do in his name that which the master had not intended. And so we observed, and we waited, and we remained silent.

  In time the events of the world intruded upon us. The children of the Dragon God, whom men called Angarak, allied themselves by marriage with the great city-builders of the east, who called themselves Melcene, and between them they built an empire which bestrode the continent. Now the Angaraks were doers of deeds, but the Melcenes were performers of tasks. A deed once done is done forever, but a task returns every day. And the Melcenes came among us to seek out those who might aid them in their endless tasks. And we aided them in some measure, but concealed our true nature from them. Now as it chanced to happen, one of our kinsmen who had been selected by the Melcenes to aid them had occasion to journey to the north in performance of a duty which had been laid upon him. And he came to a certain place and sought shelter there from a storm which had overtaken him. Now this certain place was in the care of the Grolims, but the master of the house was not Grolim nor Angarak nor any other man. Our kinsman had come unaware upon the house of Torak; and as it happened Torak was curious concerning our people, and he sent for the traveler, and our kinsman went in to behold the Dragon God. And in the instant that he looked first upon Torak, the Third Age ended and the Fourth Age began. For lo, the Dragon God of Angarak was not one of the Gods for whom we waited. The signs which were upon him did not lead beyond him, and our kinsman saw in an instant that Torak

  was doomed and that which he was would die with him.

  And then we perceived our error, and we marveled at what we had not seen—that even a God might be but the tool of Destiny. For Behold, Torak was of one of the two Fates, but he was not the entire Fate. And as we grew to understand this difficult truth, we realized that the two contending Necessities contained the ultimate power in the Universe and that even the Gods must bow before them. Now the world moved on as we pondered this, and we observed the touch of the two Fates as they guided and turned events into the unalterable courses which must in the fullness of time collide.

  Now it happened that on the far side of the world a king was slain, and all his family with him—save one. And this king had been the keeper of one of the two stones which lie at the center of the division which mars creation. And when word of this was brought to Torak, he exulted, for he believed that an ancient foe was no more. Then it was that he began his preparations to move against the kingdoms of the west. But the signs in the heavens and the whispers in the rocks and the voices of the spirits told us that it was not as Torak believed. The stone was still guarded and the line of the guardian remained unbroken, and Torak’s war would bring him to grief.

  And now for the first time we began to feel the echoes of another presence, far away. Faintly down through the years we had felt the movements of the First Disciple of the God Aldur—whom men and Gods call Belgarath. Now we perceived that he had been joined by another—a woman—and between them they moved to counter the moves of Torak and

  of his minions. And we knew this to be of the greatest significance, for now events which had previously taken place among the stars had moved to this world, and it was here that the final meeting would take place.

  The preparations of the Dragon God were long, and the tasks he laid upon his people were the tasks of generations. And even as we, Torak watched the heavens to read there the signs which would tell him when to move against the west. But Torak watched only for the signs he wished to see, and he did not read the entire message written in the sky. Reading thus but a small part of the signs, he set his forces in motion upon the worst possible day. Perceiving this, we took counsel with each other. Though our people were perforce gathered up in the great army which was to attack the west, we felt that we should not interfere with the course of either Fate. A different task had been selected for us, and if we were to perform it, we must needs allow the courses of the Fates to continue unhampered. We were troubled, however, that other men and even Gods could not read those messages in the skies which were to us as clear as if they had been engraved upon stone.

  And, as we had known it must, disaster befell the armies of Torak there on the broad plain lying before the city of Vo Mimbre. And we mourned with all of Mallorea, for hosts of our kinsmen perished there. There it was also that the Dragon God of Angarak was overthrown by the power of the stone, and he was bound in sleep to await the coming of his enemy.

  And now was the course of events in the hands of the Disciples of Gods rather than of the Gods themselves. And the names of the Disciples rang from the stars, and we read the accounts of their exploits and of their ordering of events in the Book of the Heavens. Now the Disciples of Torak were Ctuchik and Zedar and Urvon, and their enchantments and sorceries were mighty; but the Disciples of Aldur, who countered those acts with sorceries of their own, were Beltira and Belkira and Beldin. And the most powerful of all the sorcerers was Belgarath, whom men called eternal, and close to him in power stood his daughter, Polgara the Sorceress. Then it was that a whisper began to reach us with yet another name. As all the twisted skeins of events moved into those final channels from which there can be no turning the whisper of that name became clearer to us. And upon the day of his birth, the whisper of his name became a great shout, and we knew him. Belgarion the Godslayer had come at last.

  and all

  the light

  in all of

  creation

  went out

  And now the pace of events, which had moved at times with ponderous tread, quickened, and the rush toward the awful meeting became so swift that the account of it could not be read in the stars, for the Book of the Heavens is so vast that it takes lifetimes to read a single page. But we could hear Belgarion’s power stirring, and the thundershocks of his first efforts were terrible. And then upon the day which men celebrate as the day when the world was made, the Orb of Aldur, which the men of Angarak call Cthrag-Yaska, was delivered up to Belgarion; and in the instant that his hand closed upon it, the Book of the Heavens filled with a great light, and the sound of Belgarion’s name rang from the farthest star.

  Events now moved so swiftly that we could only guess at their course. We could feel Belgarion moving toward Mallorea, bearing the stone with him, and we could feel Torak stirring as his sleep grew fitful. We could also feel the movements of armies, but Belgarion led no army. A great battle was joined in the West, but the outcome of that battle had no bearing upon that which was about to happen.

  yet we

  felt a

  presence,

  shrouded

  and

  veiled in

  darkness

  Finally there came that dreadful night. As we watched helplessly, the vast pages of the Book of the Heavens moved so rapidly that we could not read them. And then the Book stopped, and we read the one terrible line, ‘Torak is slain,’ and the Book shuddered, and all the light in all of creation went out. And in that dreadful instant of darkness and silence, the Fourth Age ended and the Fifth Age began.

  And Behold, when the light returned, we could no longer read the Book of the Heavens! Its language, which had been clear to us, was now foreign and obscure, and we were compelled to begin once again to piece together its meaning even as we had during the First Age. And when we could once again read the pages written in the stars, we found therein a mystery. Before, all had moved toward the meeting between
Belgarion and Torak, but now events moved toward a different meeting. There were signs among the stars which told us that the Fates had selected yet other aspects for their next meeting, and we could feel the movements of those presences, but we knew not who or what they might be, for the pages which told of their births or origins had been forever lost to us during those years when the Book spake in an alien tongue. There was, moreover, a great confusion in the signs which we read, for the Book seemed to say that the Keeper of the Orb was destined to succeed Torak as the Aspect of the Second Fate which was called the Child of Dark. But this we knew to be impossible, for Belgarion was the Keeper of the Orb, and Belgarion was the Child of Light. Further, we read that the mothers of the Child of Light and the Child of Dark would guide them to the meeting, and the signs said most clearly that Polgara was the mother of the Child of Light. But Polgara’s Destiny was to be forever childless, and this had been in her stars since before her birth.77 Moreover, even should the impossible occur and Belgarion be won over to the other Fate and, like Zedar, become Apostate, Belgarion’s mother, Ildera, had died when he was but an infant. Yet we felt a presence, shrouded and veiled in darkness, moving through the affairs of men, and the moon spake most clearly, advising us that this dark presence was a woman, and that her power was even as great as Polgara’s. But this Mother of Dark was also childless.

  And the riddles of the stars baffled us and left us as helpless as the unlettered serf for whom the lights in the night sky were only stars and for whom the voices in the earth were only the sighing of wind or the beat of raindrops. One thing we saw most clearly, however. The Ages of Man grew shorter as each one passed, and the EVENTS which were the meetings between the two Fates were growing closer and closer together. Once there had been time for leisurely consideration of all that we had learned, but now we knew that we must hasten, lest the EVENT come upon us all unaware.