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might hold a dagger, and plunged he the grey sword not at chest
armor nor gorget - for knew he that a God may not be smitten save
where he hath been injured before. Struck Brand, therefore, at the
Eye that was not. And behold, the point of Brand's sword struck true
and did pierce the visor of the Accursed One and passed even into
the Eye that was not.
And Torak cried out and grasped the sword and plucked it out
and cast it away. Then pulled the God his helm away and cast it
aside also. and men saw the seared side of his face which had been
marred when he had raised the Orb of Aldur to crack the world.
And that face was horrible beyond power to describe it, and the
Angaraks recoiled, and the men of the West turned away. And the
eye of Torak was seen to weep blood, and raised he up and pushed
his arms even into the sky and cried out again. And cried he out one
last time as he beheld that jewel which he had named Cthrag-Yaska
and which had caused him to be smitten again, and then, as a tree
hewn away at the ground, the Dark God fell, and the earth
resounded with his fall.
And a great cry went up from the Host by reason of the fall of the
Accursed One, and the Angaraks despaired, for their God had
fallen. Then fell the armies of the West upon the multitudes of the
Host and slew them. And the armies of the Murgos upon the left and
of the Thulls and the Nadraks upon the right fled into the river that
they might save their lives. But swift is the River Arend at Vo
Mimbre, and deep, and the waters swallowed them.up. Few only
escaped the waters and gained the far shore to flee back through the
wilderness to the east. For the hordes of the Malloreans, however,
was there no escape, for the armies of the West encircled them, and
they were slain - yea, even unto the last man. For Behold, the armies
of the West bore torches with them, and when dusky night laid his
mantle of darkness upon the plain before the city set they the
torches ablaze that no Mallorean might escape their vengeance. And
the watchers within the city wept and came forth to beseech the
armies to abate the killings, so great was their pity for the
Malloreans. But grim-faced Brand, Warder of Riva and overgeneral
of all the armies of the West, hardened his heart against their pleas
and abated not the slaughter.
And he spake, saying, 'No more! No more will Angaraks
come into the West. No seed nor root shall escape this cleansing.,
And in the night when the torches had burned low, came forth the
scale-armored warriors of Ulgo and sought out the wounded and
slew them. And none escaped, for indeed, from the warriors of Ulgo
is nothing hidden in the dark.
And when the smoky dawn arose upon the fourth day, the Host
was no more, and the multitudes of the slain were lain in heaps
upon the plain before the city - yea, as far as the eye could see, the
ruin of Angarak did litter the fair plain.
And Brand spake, saying, 'Bring unto me the body of the Accursed
One whom I have slain that I might behold Him who would be King
and God of all the world.'
But lo! The body of maimed Torak was not to be found among the
slain. For it had come to pass that in the night Zedar the Sorcerer
who sat ever at the right hand of Kal-Torak had cast an enchantment
and had passed unseen through the armies of the West, past Sendar
and Tolnedran, past Arend and Drasnian, past Algar and Cherek,