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found that of all that we had gathered, scant few grains
were the true voices of the Fates, and all that remained
was dross, and the knowledge was bitter to us.
And in the midst of our sorrow the Seeress Onatel came
to us with words of comfort, saying:
'Grieve not, nor let your shoulders be bowed down in
despair, for the greatest task lies yet before ye, and all that
has gone before is a preparation and a testing. And this is
the task which ye must perform. All that is needful has
been given. In this Age must ye make the Choice.'
And we heard her words in astonishment, for we knew
not that the Third Age had ended and the Fourth Age had
begun. But in time our kinsman returned from the north
and told us what he had seen in the house of Torak ' and
we began to understand. Torak was not the culmination of
the Fate which ruled him, and we must look further to
find the God who would one day come to us. Yet the
Seeress Onatel had told us that we had all that was
needful to make the choice. How could we choose between
two Gods who had not yet come to us? Clearly we had
received some knowledge which we had overlooked
some sign which had escaped us. And so we gathered on
the plains of Kell to consider all that we had learned.
And in time we despaired, for we found no certainty in
all that we had gathered - no truth which emerged which
could guide us without the possibility of error. And again
the Seeress Onatel came to us, saying:
'Behold! I will tell you a mystery. The choice will be
made by one of ye - not by all. And the choice between the
two Fates will not be made in wisdom, but in desperation.
At a certain time, the Fates will confront each other, and
one of ye will see at last what none have seen as yet, and
that one will choose.'And with that Onatel left us.
And we reasoned that the Fates must meet in one of the
great EVENTS which were written large in the Book of the
Heavens, and we journeyed about the world to be present
at those EVENTS. One of our number was present when
the Rivan King was slain, but there was no choice to be
made at that EVENT. And one of us was present when
Torak set his forces in motion against the West. And one
stood nearby at Vo Mimbre when maimed Torak met in
single combat with the Warder of Riva and was struck
down by the power of the Orb. And one of us was in the
rude village where Belgarion was born and not far from
the burning house in which the Godslayer's parents
perished. We were at Riva when the Orb was delivered
into Belgarion's hand and hovered for an instant on the
verge of choice, but forbore a moment and the EVENT
slipped past us.
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.