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One good thing that did come of the conference is that
Belgarion managed to make peace between Drosta and
Kheldar. The peace was not to the liking of either
party, but in the end, both of them bowed to the Rivan
King's will Drosta will be allowed to keep the
expropriated holdings, but he will be obliged to pay Kheldar and
Yarblek a certain royalty percentage, such amounts to be
determined by a Rivan accountant. Thus, Drosta has to
operate his stolen holdings at his own expense and pay a
royalty; Kheldar and Yarblek have no operational expenses,
but their profits are substantially reduced. It's an
interesting arrangement, but it will only succeed for as long as
Belgarion stands over all parties with a club.
5387
THE die is finally cast. Brand approached Belgarion
with a near-ultimatum, pointing out that producing
an heir is the King's foremost responsibility. Belgarion
agreed to consult with Polgara
about the problem of Ce'Nedra's childlessness. Brand
then regretfully stated,
'Should Polgara's aid fail, it will be necessary for you to put
aside your barren Tolnedran queen. We will then conduct a
search to find a fertile Alorn girl for you to marry.' In some
unknown way, Ce'Nedra overheard this statement. The
scene which followed, I'm told, was absolutely dreadful.
it is difficult to foretell what the future will bring. I had
thought that with the death of Torak, the world might
return to that golden age which had existed before the God
of Angarak took the Orb and used it to crack the world. The
peace of that simple former age will never return, I'm
afraid. The cracking of the world seems to have been more
than just a physical event. The hearts of men were also
divided, and we will never again return to our previous
innocence. In some ways that's a shame, but I'm not
entirely sure I'd care for a bovinely placid world. The world
we have now is full of dangers, but at least it is not dull.
ANHEG ,
KING OF CHEREK
* The amount of labor involved in creating a world tends to make most
fantasists a little reluctant about manufacturing another one. An
accidental conversation between my agent and another publisher, however,
resulted in Elenium/Tamuli, and I discovered that building the second
world isn't nearly as difficult as that first one was. I built the world of
Elenium in six weeks. Experience does pay off, I guess. Alternating
between two entirely different worlds as we did when Malloreon and
Elenium were coming in tandem, however, is an open invitation to
schizophrenia. It splits your head right down the middle. I found myself
unconsciously reaching for Sparhawk when I was in the middle of a
Garion book. Maybe someday we'll manufacture a third world-just to
find out if we still know how to do it. We'll see.
AFTERWARD
Wasn't that educational? My training (regardless of what it might