they must be enlisted by subterfuge, and this is perilous indeed
Then came we at last to accursed Cthol Mishrak in the diseased basin where it lies, and once again the moment escaped us. For behold, the EVENT in that place was not the death of Torak at the hands of Belgarion, but rather it came and passed in the moment that Polgara spurned the God of Angarak. And as Torak fell and all of creation shuddered to a stop, we feared that it might never again grow light. The EVENT had passed and we had not chosen, and we had always believed that in that instant all must be destroyed.
And we came away from Cthol Mishrak shaken and afraid. Had our failure to choose been in fact the choice of EVIL over GOOD? We knew not, and fearfully we watched the Book of the Heavens for some new and dreadful sign.
And at last there came to us the seer Gazad, and his face was stern and angry, and he spake rebukingly to us, saying:
‘Behold! Ye have failed in the task which was lain upon ye by Onatel. All of creation has been marred by your failure. Your task remains the same. Choose! Fail not again, for in your next failure, all that is or was or is yet to be shall perish, and creation shall be no more.’
And the words of Gazad scourged us, and he drove us ever into new efforts to complete the task which we had failed to complete in the previous Age. And as a part of this task we strove more urgently to find that other stone which counters the Orb of Aldur, but the Destiny of which the stone is the center moved ever to conceal the stone from us and from all men and Gods. None among us was powerful enough to break through the barriers of mind and spirit with which the Destiny protected its secret, and we determined at last to follow a dangerous course. Of all the power in this world, that which lay in the hands of Belgarath, Polgara and Belgarion was the greatest. Could we in some way enlist their aid in our search for the other stone, we might succeed; but in so doing we must conceal our intent from them, for they were the servants of the First Destiny. Should they find the other stone before we, they will surely attempt to destroy it, and this cannot be permitted. Thus they must be enlisted by subterfuge, and this is perilous indeed. Moreover, we must seek out and identify the shadowy, veiled woman who is even now moving and shaping EVENTS to her own purposes.
These, then are portions of our great task. Let each strive with all his might to accomplish that which is assigned to him, but keep ever in mind that the paramount task is to choose, and should circumstances compel it, any one of us might be forced to make the choice unaided and alone. Share all of thy knowledge with thy brothers and sisters therefore, for should one of them be compelled to make the choice, it may be that some fragment of knowledge withheld could cause them to choose awry. For Behold, the choice, once made, can never be unmade, and what ye choose shall endure until the end of days.
BOOK 4
THE BOOK OF GENERATIONS
Now These are the Generations of the Seers:
KNOW BEFORE ALL ELSE that thou art not exalted above others by the sight. We know not from whence it comes; we know not why some are chosen to receive it and others are not. Know also that the sight is not thine instrument. Thou art but the tool of the sight, and it will use thee for its own purpose, and thou wilt never know what that purpose may be. Submit, therefore, in humility and in patience.
The sight first came to the woman called Ninal. Now Ninal had been a wife and a mother, but when the sight came to her, she turned forever from her husband and children. And the rapture of seeing brought her to her feet, and to darken her eyes against the common light of day that she might more clearly see what the sight revealed to her, she bound a cloth about her eyes. And from that day until her last, Ninal never again unbound her eyes. And she spake unto the people of what had been revealed to her. And the people listened in wonder as she told them of the Feast of Life and of the Beloved Guest who would one day come. And all knew that her words were truth because of the way her voice reached into their hearts. And when Ninal had finished speaking, the people stood in awe of her—all save one.
Among the people at that time there was an unfortunate man called Jord. And he was taller than any other man and his thews were mighty. But Jord had never spoken or uttered a single sound since the day of his birth. And Jord took up a staff from the earth and went with it to Ninal and put her hand upon the staff and led her out from the midst of the people. And ever after, Ninal and Jord dwelt apart from the people, and he cared for her and protected her from all harm, and though she may have revealed many secrets to him, those secrets were forever locked behind his silent lips. And it hath ever been thus: for every Seer upon whom the sight descends there is a mute to be the guide and protector.
In the years that followed the great revelation, the Seeress Ninal spoke unto the people many times, and the words she spoke were sometimes clear and sometimes dark and obscure. And in time the Sight descended upon others, and they too bound their eyes against the common light that they might better see; and for each of them as well a mute came forth to guide and protect. Now some of the Seers spoke of the revelation which had come to Ninal, and others spoke to other matters. Some spoke clearly while the words of others were a mystery.
But because she was the first and because the great revelation came first to her, the Seers of the First Age of man are called the Generations of Ninal in her honor. And when she was old and filled with years, the Seeress Ninal died, and within the same hour mute Jord also passed from this earth, and they were buried side by side in great honor.
it became the concern of the Second Generation to seek out the children of the Gods
And the Seers aided the scholars who sought to read the Book of the Heavens and those who sought to translate the words spoken in the voices of the rocks. And we discovered that the Seers could speak to each other over great distances and that they seemed all to share in one universal soul which was the source of the Sight; but they spoke not of this, and our questions remained unanswered.
Now it came to pass that the Generations of Ninal ended with the end of the First Age, and the Generations of Vigun began. The Seer Vigun arose and spoke to us upon the day when the Dragon God of Angarak raised the stone which he called Cthrag-Yaska and by its power cracked the earth asunder. And with the cracking of the earth the First Age ended and the First Fate and the First Task, and it became the concern of the Second Generation to seek out the children of the Gods to learn from them the things which they knew of the Gods and of the two Fates which contended for the mastery of creation.
And the Seers of the Generations of Vigun were called the searchers, for they wandered up and down the world, touching the minds of the children of the Gods to learn from them. And the searchers found many strange things concerning the Gods, for Behold! Each God was so caught up in a single idea that he was in all other ways incomplete. But when at last the searchers went up unto the Vale where the God Aldur dwelt with his Disciples, they found a God caught up with the idea of knowing, and the despair which had descended upon them was banished as they came into contact with the mind of Aldur. And Aldur comforted them with his wisdom and counseled them to endure the coming of the Angaraks, who would soon invade their lands. And when they went away, one of their number remained behind for a time. And this was the Seeress Kammah, who awaited the return of the first Disciple of Aldur and she who was to be his wife. And when Belgarath, his task completed, returned to the Vale, his only companion was a snowy owl. And Kammah perceived this in wonder and even unbound her eyes so that they might confirm by common sight what that other Sight had revealed. And Behold! Poledra was an owl, and the Sight revealed to Kammah that she was also a wolf, but that one day she would become a woman and wife to Belgarath. And Kammah began to tremble and she fell down upon the earth in the presence of Poledra, for the vision which came to her shook her very soul. Kammah knew in that instant that Poledra would bear two daughters, and that the one would wed the King who would be the Guardian of the stone called the Orb, and that from their line would spring the Godslayer whom men would call
‘Belgarion’. The other daughter of Poledra, Kammah perceived, would be the mightiest Sorceress the world would ever know, and the name ‘Polgara’ would be inscribed beside that of ‘Belgarath’ in the Book of the Heavens. But it was not Polgara’s power which so awed Kammah. Rather it was the knowledge that the childless Sorceress would be mother to Belgarion, and even more so to the Beloved Guest who would one day come to the Feast of Life.
And of all the things which were learned by the Seers of the Generations of Vigun, this was the most important. And the Seers of the lands of the east and of the lands of the west contemplated it in wonder until the end of the Second Age.
Now, as all men know, the Third Age began when ancient Belgarath, in the company of the King of the Alorns and the King’s three sons, went up unto Cthol Mishrak, the City of Endless Night, to reclaim the Orb of Aldur from the iron tower of the maimed God of Angarak. But what some men do not know is that at the same time—indeed within the same moment—another EVENT of equal importance took place half around the world in the Vale of Aldur. There it was at that particular time that Poledra, Wolf-wife to Belgarath, labored and brought forth twin daughters and died in bearing them. And the birth of Polgara and Beldaran and the death of Poledra shaped the future as much as did the recapture of the Orb. And as we read in wonder of these EVENTS in the Book of the Heavens, a strange Seeress came down to us from the mountains above Darshiva, and she spake unto us, laying upon us the task of gathering. And we went up and down in the world, gathering the Prophecies whispered into the hearts of diverse men by the two Fates which rule creation.
And Behold, there arose yet another generation of Seers to consider the Prophecies and to speak of their meaning. And these were the Generations of the unknown Seeress, whom men called the Speakers. And we carried to the Speakers both Prophecy and the ravings of the demented, for we determined that no possible word of either Fate should escape us. And the Speakers who were of the Generations of the unknown Seeress went down to the city of Kell, where the priests of the God of Angarak feared to come, and there they received what we had gathered. And we beheld there a wonder, for the documents which reported our gatherings were delivered into the hands of the mutes who guarded the Seers, and the mutes read the documents. And if the Seer spake not, the document was known to be false, and the mute who had read it committed it immediately to the fire. But if the document was truly Prophecy—of either of the two Fates—the Seer would begin to speak almost as soon as the mute began to read. And we perceived from this that the Seers communed with the minds of their silent guides, and despite the binding of their eyes, they were not blind, but saw rather through the eyes of their mute protectors.
Now from all that we gathered, but little was truly Prophecy, and the Prophecies all spake the same story—that one day the Child of Light and the Child of Dark would meet and that in their meeting would be decided the Fate of all creation. And this was bitter to us, for we had known of it before, having read the self-same words in the Book of the Heavens. But the aged Seer Encoron of the Generations of the unknown Seeress spake in his last days, and at last we understood the meaning of what was taking place and had been since the beginning of time.
‘Variations,’ quoth Encoron. ‘Each EVENT is but a variation of the same EVENT which hath repeated itself innumerable times down through all the ages. The Child of Light and the Child of Dark will meet—as they have met times beyond counting before. And they will continue to meet in these endless variations of this same EVENT until at one meeting a choice is made between them.’
‘What is the choice, Master?’ we urged him, ‘and who must make it?’
But he spake not, and his mute guardian sighed and gently laid his master in a posture of repose. Then he also laid himself upon the earth beside his master and he also died.
And at the beginning of the Fourth Age the Seeress Onatel came, and she also spake of the choice. And the Seers of the Generations of Onatel probed with their minds toward the very center of Prophecy and of the Destiny which was at the core of Prophecy. But the visions came darkly and seemed without meaning. We saw the whirling of stars and entire worlds suddenly touched into fire, but none knew what such visions meant. And at last came Dallan, a Seer of the Generations of Onatel, and he spake the great truth unto us, saying:
‘Behold what I have seen. The life of man is but the winking of an eye, and the life of a star is but a breath in length. The contention between the two Fates hath endured throughout eternity, and the outcome will encompass EVENTS so vast that thine imagining cannot grasp them. Should the Fate which is EVIL triumph over the other Fate, the result will not so much rebound upon the lives of men, but rather shall be seen among the stars. And if the stars perish, all will perish.’
And then at last we understood. The choice between GOOD and EVIL was a choice between existence and destruction for all of creation, and GOOD and EVIL were but human terms, and had no meaning among the stars. That which might be foulest evil in the eyes of men might well be that which would save creation from destruction. And as we considered this, we grew afraid, for Behold, it was our stern duty to protect creation— even should our choice enslave or even destroy mankind.
we must move the figures on the board of time ourselves
And thus it was when we saw in the Book of the Heavens that the time was drawing nigh for the meeting between the Child of Light and the Child of Dark, sent we five Seers of the Generations of Onatel to Cthol Mishrak, the City of Night, to make the choice.
But the moment for the choice came and passed—for lo, we had believed that the EVENT was to be the meeting between Belgarion and Torak, but it was not. The EVENT which slipped so swiftly past us was the spurning of Torak by Belgarath’s daughter, Polgara.
And, sorrowing that they had failed in their task, the five Seers of the Generations of Onatel returned to Kell, and the Fifth Age had already begun.
And the Fifth Age was the Age of the Generations of Gazad, the stern Seer who berated us that we had failed in our task. And the Generations of Gazad were to be known as the Choosers, and they moved into the affairs of this world as none of us had done before. The necessity for choice now lay heavily upon us, and the time of indifferent contemplation of EVENTS had passed. Now is the time to act, to shape EVENTS rather than to be shaped by them. We must move the figures on the board of time ourselves and place them in such fashion that the final meeting will take place at a time and place of our choosing. For Behold, should this meeting pass without our choosing, all that was, is and shall be must surely perish.
BOOK 5
THE BOOK OF VISIONS
Now These are the Five Visions:
BEHOLD! A GREAT LIGHT came into mine eyes, and I was dazzled by it and could not see; but in time, as mine eyes grew accustomed to the brilliance, I saw a great table lain with fine cloth and dishes of gold. And I saw the seven guests at the feast and the empty seat for the beloved one who had not yet come. And the seven guests ate that which pleased them and looked about often for the one who had not yet arrived. And I looked upon this in puzzlement, for I knew not why it should be shown to me.78
And I became aware of a robed and hooded figure standing by my left hand and another upon my right, and both figures insisted with imperious gesture that I continue to watch the feast. And in time, the seven guests rose from the table, having eaten their fill, and lo, much of the feast remained, and still was I filled with wonder and puzzlement.
and I will make this choice for all of creation
And then the figure upon my right spake unto me, saying: ‘This is the Feast of Life, and the seven guests are the seven Gods, who have chosen that which pleased them.’
And the figure upon my left spake also unto me, saying: ‘One guest hath not yet arrived at the feast, and that guest is also a God. And when he cometh, he will choose all that the other guests have not taken.’
And still I perceived not the meaning of their words, yet felt I the enmity which stood between them. And
each strove to some great end but failed in its accomplishment because of the other. And then they turned their shadowed faces to me and spake unto me in one voice, saying: ‘The choice is upon thee, for two guests shall come to the Feast of Life, and thou shalt bid one stay and the other go, and it shall be as thou shalt decide. And thy choice shall be for all that was, all that is and all that is yet to be.’
And I was bowed down by the weight of the burden they had placed upon me, for now at last I understood the vision and why it had been sent. The figure upon my right and the figure upon my left were the Destinies which had striven the one against the other a’down all the endless corridors of time, and each was as strong as the other, and they remained locked, each in the grip of the other. And all that was, all that is, and all that is yet to be is divided equally between them. So equal is this division that the weight of my choice between them will tip the balance, and I will make this choice for all of creation. And I turned to the figures in anguish to protest the burden, that I was not wise enough to decide, and they replied, saying: ‘No man nor God nor spirit is wise enough for this choice. Thy selection for this task was at the whim of random chance. We care not how the choice is made, only that it be made. The division strains the very fabric of creation, and if the division doth not soon end, all of creation will perish. Choose wisely; choose ill; choose by whim alone—but choose!’
And at these words I fell into a swoon and saw no more.
All as in a dream I wandered across a barren heath under a lowering sky. And by the tokens which tell of such things I knew that a great storm was approaching and that I must seek shelter. And behold, the thought had scarcely entered my mind when I saw at the farthest edge of that heath a great house, and I hastened toward it to take shelter therein from the gathering storm. But as I approached the house I found that less and less I liked its aspect. Grim and bleak it crouched at the very edge of the precipice which marked the end of the heath. The storm which pursued me, however, gave me no choice, and I reached the door of the house but scant seconds before the deluge.
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