 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
Torak that we met at Kell, and there we determined that
we could no longer stand idly aside, observing the course
of EVENTS. The time for study had passed; now the time
had come to act. It was decided that, since the signs in the
Book of the Heavens had become an enigma, we must in
some way control or goad or deceive the participants in
the next EVENT to go to a place which we knew. Thus,
though we could not know what the EVENT was to be,
we could know when and where it was to take place.
And we communicated this decision to the mind of
a Seeress who dwelt in the lands to the west of the great
sea which had divided the lands of this world, and we
besought her that she go up unto the Vale of Aldur, where
dwelt the Sorceress Polgara with her husband and a
foundling Belgarion had rescued from the Disciple Ctuchik,
and to speak to Polgara in such wise that she must perforce
set out upon the journey which must inevitably bring her
to a place of our choosing. And the Seeress in the lands of
the west agreed to our request, and she set forth upon the
journey with only her silent guide for company.
And we all then turned to our preparations, for much
remained to be done, and we were all resolved that this
EVENT should be the last. Whatever the outcome should
mean for this world, the division of creation had endured
for too long, and we were determined that with this
meeting between the two Fates, the division would end and all
would be made one again.
BOOK 2
THE BOOK OF FATES
Now These are the Fates we have known:
IN THE DAYS before the world was divided, a spirit
came unto us and told us of the Feast of Life and of
the Beloved Guest who would one day come to
partake of that feast. And the spirit spake also to us of signs in
the heavens and whispers within the rocks which foretold
the coming. And we lifted our eyes to the sky to read,. and
we bent our ears to the earth to hear, and we learned that a
false voice would speak to us and try to lead us away from
the truth. For behold, the fate of man is not a clear and
straightforward path. Two fates await us, and the one is
true and the other false. And we turned all our effort and
all our care to the task of determining which fate was true
and which fate false. But the Book of the Heavens, which
told us so much, spoke not to that. Clearly we could read
there that which would happen should we follow truth
and that which would happen should we follow falsity,
but the great book written in the stars spoke no word
concerning which fate was which. And we were puzzled
and fearful lest we choose awry'
And we went away from the place where this had been
revealed to us and took up the great task which had been
placed upon us. Clearly, it is the task of our people to learn
all that may be learned of the two Destinies which divide
creation and to judge between them and determine which
is the path of truth. And we sought out the wisdom of