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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. Choice! 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 the 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,