The Rivan Codex: Ancient Texts of The Belgariad and The Malloreon. David Eddings

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СКАЧАТЬ did turn and withstand them, and the Angaraks fled. And again the Angaraks came upon them, and again did Cherek and his sons withstand them, though their numbers were greater.

      And yet a third time did the Angaraks come upon them and with them strode Kal-Torak himself and the great hosts of the Angaraks.

      And Riva Iron-grip saw that his father and his brothers were weary even unto death and that their wounds bled. And the bearer of the Orb did turn and did reach into his bosom and withdrew the Orb and held it forth that the maimed God and his hosts might behold it.

      And great was the confusion of the host by reason of the Orb, and Kal-Torak cried out a great cry and did turn away, but drove he the Angaraks back again and commanded them to regain the Orb.

      But Riva did raise again the Orb of Aldur, and it shone brighter even than before, and the eyes of the Angaraks were dazzled, and they turned away again, but the maimed God raised his hand against them and drave them yet once more against the companions.

      And yet a third time did Riva raise the Orb, and the sky was lit by its fire, and behold, the front ranks of the host were consumed by it. And then did the hosts of the Angaraks flee from the Orb, and in no way could Kal-Torak drive them back again.

      And so passed the companions again unto the north and returned they unto the west. And the spies of Torak did follow them, but Belgarath the Sorcerer assumed again the form of the wolf and waylaid the spies of Torak, and they followed no more.

      And behold, the Gods of the west did hold council, and Aldur advised them. And he spake unto them, saying, ‘It may not be that we ourselves make war upon our brother Torak, for in the warfare of Gods shall the world itself not be destroyed? Must we then absent ourselves from the world that our brother Torak not find us and make war upon us and thus destroy the world.’

      And the other Gods were silent, each loath to leave the people he loved, but all knew that Aldur spoke truth, and that if they remained, would the world be destroyed.

      And Belar, the youngest of the Gods, wept, for he loved deeply the Alorn people, and Aldur relented. And he spake unto them, saying, ‘In spirit might each remain with his people, and guide them and protect them, but in no wise may Gods themselves remain, lest Torak find us and make war upon us and the world be unmade and our people perish utterly.’

      ‘And wilt thou, my brother, bear away the Orb which is thy chiefest delight?’ quoth Chaldan, God of the Arends.

      ‘Nay, my brother,’ quoth Aldur, and sad was his heart in the speaking. ‘The Orb must remain, for only in the Orb lies that which will prevent our brother Torak from lordship of the world. So long as the Orb remains, Torak shall not prevail against it, and thy people will be safe from his enslavement.’

      And so it came to pass that the Gods departed from the world which they had made, and in spirit only did they sojourn each with his people. And Torak only of the seven Gods did remain, but he was restrained by the Orb of Aldur from lordship over the world and prevented from the enslavement of all peoples of the world. And in the wastelands of Mallorea in the east did the maimed God know this, and the knowledge cankered in his soul.

      And Belgarath spake unto Cherek and his sons, saying, ‘Hearken unto the words of the Gods, for behold, this is their judgement and their doom^* upon you. Here must we part and be sundered one from the other even as in the day wherein all men were sundered.’

      And to Riva he spake, saying, ‘Thy journey is longest, Iron-grip. Bear thou the Orb even unto the Isle of the Winds. Take with thee thy people and thy goods and thy cattle, for thou shalt not return. Build there a fortress and a sanctuary and maintain it and defend the Orb with thy life and with the lives of thy people, for know ye that the Orb alone hinders Torak from Lordship and Dominion – even over the whole world.’

      And to Dras he spake, saying, ‘Turn thou aside here, Bull-neck, and maintain the marches of the north against the Angaraks and against Kal-Torak. Take thy people and thy goods and thy cattle also and return no more, lest the marches be unguarded.’

      And to Algar he spake, saying, ‘Turn thou also aside here, Fleet-foot, and maintain the plains to the south against the enemy. Take thy people and thy goods and thy cattle also and return no more lest the plains be unguarded.’

      And to Cherek he spake, saying, ‘Upon thee, Bear-shoulders, lies the doom of the sea. Go thou onward even unto the peninsula of the north that is named for the Alorns. And build thou thereon a sea port and a fleet of swift ships and tall, and maintain the seas that the enemy come not by water against Riva, thy son. And maintain there thy people and thy goods and thy cattle. And teach unto thy people the ways of the sea that none upon the waters may prevail against them.’

      And he raised up his face and spake in a great voice, saying, ‘Hear me, Torak-One-eye. Thus is the Orb defended and made secure against thee. And thou shalt not prevail against it. I, Belgarath, first Disciple of Aldur, proclaim it. In the day that thou comest against the west shall I raise war upon thee, and I shall destroy thee utterly. And I will maintain watch upon thee by day and by night. And I will abide against thy coming – yea, verily, be it even unto the end of days.’

      And in the wastelands of Mallorea Kal-Torak heard the voice of Belgarath and was wroth and smote about him in his fury, destroying even the very rocks, for he knew that in the day when he went against the kingdoms of the west, in that day would he surely perish.

      And then did Cherek Bear-shoulders embrace his sons and turned away and saw them no more.

      And Dras Bull-neck turned aside and abode in the lands drained by the Mrin River, from Aldurfens north to the steppes and beyond, and from the coast to the mountains of Nadrak. And he builded a city at Boktor east of the junction of Mrin and Atun. And men called this northern land the country of Dras, or, in the language of the Alorns, Drasnia. And for a thousand years and yet another thousand years dwelt the descendants of Dras Bull-neck in the north and stood they athwart the northern marches and denied them unto the enemy. And tamed they the vast herds of reindeer, and the horned beast became as cat or dog unto them, and they took from the rivers and marshes furs and skins most luxuriant; and bright gold they found and silver also and did commerce with the kingdoms of the west and with the strange-faced merchants of the east also. And Drasnia prospered, and Kotu at Mrin-mouth was a city of wealth and power.

      And Algar Fleet-foot turned aside and went to the south with his people and his goods and his cattle. And horses were there on the broad plains drained by the Aldur river, and Algar Fleet-foot and his people caught horses and tamed them, and for the first time in the world men rode upon horses. And the people of Algar named their country for their leader and called its name Algaria. And they became nomads, following after their herds and ever keeping watch that the enemy not come upon them. And they builded a fortress to the south of Algaria and called it The Stronghold, and they garrisoned it but they dwelt not there, preferring to remain with their herds. And for twenty centuries they dwelt in these lands and traded horses to other kingdoms.

      And Cherek Bear-shoulders returned even unto Aloria which is to the north and west, and because he had been divided from his sons and the Alorn people were no longer one, he called the name of the country with his own name, and ever after for a score of centuries was the land known as Cherek. And he builded a great city at Val Alorn and a seaport there at the mouth of the Alorn River, and ships caused he to be built unlike the ships of other nations – for behold, the ships of others were for commerce and the carrying of goods, but the ships of Cherek were for war. And the people of Cherek became sea warriors and patrolled they the seas that the enemy not come across the dark water unto the Isle of the Winds. And it was rumored that the people of Cherek were pirates and СКАЧАТЬ