When Ka reached the Balas River, she turned south, following the road from Balasa to Kell. Unfortunately, she couldn't fly all the way. It wouldn't probably be a good idea to change form near Kell: the Dals could hear it. And she didn't want to draw their attention to her somewhat unusual power. It wasn't very difficult to feel where the border of the dangerous area around Kell was. During one of her rests on the ground, while seeking for something edible, Ka could perceive the peculiar atmosphere in these forests, the presence of something strange. Many people just had a feeling of sanctity of these woods, but Ka was more sensitive. It was a whisper at the very brink of audibility that caused this impression. If she could barely hear the collective mind of the Dals, they'd probably not be able to hear her changing form, but Ka was very careful. It wouldn't hurt to be on the safe side.
As an afterthought, Ka changed the color of her robe into white. She didn't like it, but this couldn't be helped. Since almost all Grolims followed Eriond, Kell was no longer cursed for them. Instead, it was fairly common that Eriond's Grolims and some other followers came here for their studies.
Nevertheless, Ka was not entirely calm when she approached the city that was forbidden for eons. But then, Torak's spirit wouldn't have told her to go to Kell if there was a risk that He'd lose the Mistress of the Black Grolims.
When she was a crow, Ka hadn't looked much at the scenery. Birds have other interests. Now, however, she couldn't help being fascinated by the majesty of the mountains. Ka even stopped for a better look at the incredibly high peak in the shadow of which Kell was. It was the highest mountain in the world, now. Before the cracking of the world, the High Places of Korim were probably higher. It certainly made sense to build Halagachak, Torak's first temple, on the top of the highest mountain, from there, He had a look over a large part of his wonderful creation. And it was the ideal place to show it to His father. Again, Ka mused why UL disliked it. This world was necessary, it was preordained that the meeting between Torak and Belgarion had to be here, as well as Cyradis's Choice. Could it be that UL just was upset because it was Torak's idea? But all the other Gods helped Him, including UL's favorite eldest son, Aldur... This all didn't make any sense. But who could understand UL?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the noise of hoofs, and then, a very old man on a stumpy pony came around a bend of the road. The tools on his pack mule identified him as a goldhunter. His clothes were very shabby, his hair and his beard were white like snow. His bright eyes, however, looked curiously at Ka. He stopped beside her.
"Now that's a surprise," he said, "I haven't seen a human being in months up there in the mountains, and here I meet the most beautiful girl I've seen in my long life."
Ka gave him a warm smile. "Why, thank you, but are you sure 'girl' is the right word? I'm older than I look."
He looked into her eyes for a moment, and then he shrugged. "I don't think you are older than you look to me," he replied with a sly smile, "but I'm about twice as old, so 'girl' seems in place. You're bound to Kell, I take it."
The old fellow had sharp eyes, Ka gave him that. He could be twice her age, indeed. "Yes, I'm going to Kell. Now that the curse is no longer working..."
"I thought you were a Grolim, I haven't seen too many of you up here earlier. But now, many go to Kell in white robes, and often alone. You don't seem to be afraid."
"No, not really," Ka replied. "I don't think anybody or anything would hurt me in these sancted forests."
"Not here, near Kell," the old man agreed, "even the wolves and bears wouldn't hunt. But not far from here, they would, and not all people you meet are friendly."
"My God will protect me," Ka said simply.
The old man looked at her thoughtfully. "Is it only that? I feel that you rely on your own strength even more. But you're right, it isn't too smart to tell everything to strangers. I see you like these mountains, I saw you looking at this giant peak," he said.
"Oh yes, I do," Ka sighed, "I wish I could live here, but I've got too much things to do in other parts of the world."
"I love it here, but sometimes I need to talk with somebody in a human speech, and a good tankard of ale or another." The old goldhunter grinned. "In Balasa, I'll find all of that. Nice to have met you, girl, and may you find what you are looking for!"
Ka watched how he left toward Balasa. For a moment, she considered encouraging him to forget about this meeting, but then she decided against it. She knew that he wasn't the sort to talk about it, and if he should happen to meet Eriond, the God would be able to see her image in his mind, anyway. This was very unlikely, though.
While Ka continued walking toward Kell, she realized that she enjoyed to hear such compliments, even from such an old man. She didn't hear them very often, and almost exclusively from strangers. Men who knew her normally didn't dare even to look in her eyes, let alone to comment on their beauty. Of course, she could see in their minds what they felt, but sometimes she'd like to be told...
Not even Belgarion had done that, though he didn't fear her.
And his son... She remembered the tall Alorn with his red-blond curls and his freckles very well. She was sure that he was impressed by her appearance, but this was certainly not the reason why he saved her life.
Probably, it was Eriond's strong dislike of killing. Her wish to have Geran killed didn't play any role here. Quite obviously, he didn't fear her, too, he didn't seem to fear anything. Even during the fight with his father, he had everything under control, as she understood only later. And he knew that he wouldn't maim his father permanently.
Ka couldn't help smiling when she recalled the rumors circulating not only in the West about the scar around the right wrist of the Godslayer. Most of them were clearly absurd, and this was Belgarion's only answer when the Drasnian ambassador asked him about it. The diplomat made the mistake to hint at the possibility to get rid of all those rumors by revealing the truth. Belgarion answered this only with a single look, telling all what the irascible Rivan King thought about the suggestion. The ambassador changed the subject hurriedly, and nobody brought it up again.
The widely accepted version stated that he had the bad luck to get into a trap while he returned home from Rak Cthol in the form of a wolf. The theory had its merits. It explained not only the injury, but also Belgarion's reluctance to admit it.
Ka sighed, the strange child, Eriond, had very strong allies...
A few hours later, Ka reached the edge of the forest. Now, she could see Kell lying in a valley. She didn't like the sophisticated architecture of the ancient city. Of course, this was just a matter of taste. Probably, most Dals--and not only the Dals--didn't like the black stone of Rak Cthol, but Ka had grown up there. She knew every tower and every courtyard there, and she had insisted in rebuilding it exactly as it was in the days of her childhood.
When Ka reached the city, her impression slightly improved. With envy, she looked at the gardens with flowers and fountains. Most of Cthol Murgos simply didn't have enough water for that. The stupid Alorns thought that Grolims didn't care much for beauty, which was ridiculous. Torak was the most beautiful God, before Cthrag Yaska destroyed his face. His beauty, and the beauty of His creation, meant very much for the Grolims. Over eons, only their steel masks reminded of Torak's perfect face. Ka felt all warm inside when she thought of Torak's restored body.
The murmuring sound in her mind was very clear now. It was annoying, but this couldn't be helped. The Dals wouldn't try to involve her into their collective mind, and Ka knew better than to open her mind for them.
She had no idea where the library was. As it was customary, she had sent a letter announcing her arrival, but she didn't wait for a reply. The Dals eagerly shared their knowledge with people who came here for studies, everybody in the world knew that.
Ka approached the white-haired Dal leaning on a long staff in front of his house, and bowed respectfully.
"I greet you, revered teacher. My name is Kara, I came here to study all what the Dals know about demons and demon worshiping. We have to know all about this terrible danger for our world, and what we can do against it."
The murmuring sound increased a bit. The Dal nodded gravely.
"Welcome, Kara," he said in a voice that didn't seem to belong only to one person, "we expected your coming. That's a very proper study, indeed. My name is Vard, I'll show you the way to our library. Ardel is waiting for you already. Many of the facts we know about the disciples of the King of Hell she found out herself."
He led the way, and Ka had to adapt to his slow walk. However, she didn't hurry either. Everything seemed to be right, the Dals thought she was a follower of Eriond, and they wanted to help her.
Finally, they reached the vast building of the library. Obviously, Vard didn't plan to go inside. "May you find what you are looking for, Kara," he said. Ka looked at him in surprise, she had heard these words already today. But his face was unreadable. Ka thanked him politely for his help and entered the building. A very young woman was sitting behind a table beside the door, and she rose to her feet when she saw Ka. Ka looked at the smiling girl incredulously. She wore a black robe!
"My name is Kara, I ..."
"Yes, I know, I'm Ardel. Welcome, Kara! So you returned finally." The girl chuckled.
Ka grew slightly irritated. The Dals might know more than other people, but they didn't have a right to make fun of her.
"Sorry, I don't understand you, I've never been here before," she said rather stiffly.
Ardel grew serious instantly. She laid her hand on Ka's arm. "I'm sorry, Kara, I simply couldn't resist," she apologized. "When I prepared for your coming, I found a very old Karandese legend, the legend of Kara. It doesn't say anything new about demons, but it's very interesting. She was a remarkable woman, a sorceress, who lived shortly before the cracking of the world. For all we know, it's the first book mentioning the Sardion. I guess you want to read the story of your namesake."
Ka smiled. "That's interesting, indeed! Of course, I'll read it." She looked at Ardel thoughtfully. A question wouldn't hurt, probably... "Why is it that you wear a black robe? I thought all Dals wear white, like all followers of Eriond."
Ardel chuckled again. "You're not the first who asks this question," she admitted. "Why don't we sit down?"
When they sat at the table, the young Dal continued. "Not all Dals wear white, not if they are necromancers."
A necromancer, that explained a lot. "You try to find out something about demons through the dead?" Ka asked.
"Hell is another universe," Ardel explained. "There is no direct way to get information from there. But the spirits of some people go there after death. In the last moment, before they depart from our world, they can look into Hell. They don't always answer to questions, though, most are just screaming in horror."
Ka shuddered. "To question them in this situation sounds... rather cruel," she said.
"It is cruel," Ardel agreed. "But there's something many of the followers of Eriond forget. Those people were evil, otherwise the King of Hell wouldn't have the power to claim them for Hell. Shall we be gentle to those, and possibly lose something that can save our world? Sometimes, we have to be cruel."
Ka loved this young woman.
Strangely enough, the Legend of Kara was the first what Ka read in the library at Kell. She didn't come here for that, but Ardel's remarks had stirred up her curiosity. And then, she had to maintain the fiction that her name was Kara, and that she was interested in the story of her namesake.
The story was interesting!
"In the end of the first age, the Karands had lost almost all of their culture. Like the Morindim, they summoned stronger and stronger spirits, and finally demons, but unlike their cousins, they did no longer follow the wisdom of their Mothers. Now, their chiefs gained dominion, and their magicians summoned demons to make war on each other. And the Path of the Moon was forgotten, and men led the Karands to degradation.
"But lo, a girl grew up in the mountains of Zamad, and she was the daughter of a chief, and everybody called her Princess Kara. And when she was thirteen, she discovered her gift--the Will and the Word. But the magicians hated her, and they said that a girl should not have that kind of power. And they sought to destroy her, but her father loved her and protected her, and Kara learned to use her gift and became stronger and stronger, until she was sixteen, and no longer a little girl.
"Now it came to pass that a stone fell down out of the heavens, and it was a big oval stone, but it wasn't heavy, as if it were hollow inside. And the men who found it fell in ecstasy and heard a voice, and they took the stone and brought it to Princess Kara, as the voice commanded them to do.
"And Kara beheld the stone, and it wasn't beautiful, but had orange and white bands, and Kara felt the power in the stone, and she knew that the stone was holy. And Kara spake unto her father, and he ordered his men to build an altar in a grotto, and the stone was laid on the altar, and Kara listened to his voice every day. And what the voice told her wasn't always clear, but there was a promise in it. If she was the right one, the stone could make her a Goddess. And Kara thought she was the chosen one, because she could do many wondrous deeds with the Will and the Word. She wanted to be a Goddess, because she saw that her Karands needed guidance and protection, and that worshiping demons was not good. And she spake unto the Karands and told them about her vision.
"And many Karands heard her voice, and they saw that Kara was beautiful, and they felt her power, and they fell down on their faces and worshiped her. Now many men noticed that she was a woman, but Kara told them: I'm special, and nobody will touch me and live. He who loves me will die for me in the morning.
"And many young men loved her even more for those words, and after a night with Kara in the grotto, they touched the Holy Stone, and it consumed them with bloody red fire. And the power of the stone was great, and the whole grotto was glowing in the red light, and Kara was a mighty sorceress and like a Goddess, indeed. The stone spake unto Kara again, and it told her that its name was Sardion. But it mentioned another stone, and the message was obscure.
"More and more Karands followed Kara, and they beheld her beauty and listened to her words, and many were glad to die for her, and not only men.
"And the demons grew irritated, and they feared that all Karands would follow Kara, and nobody would worship them. Now one desperate magician summoned the Demon Lord Nahaz, and Nahaz came to him. The magician asked Nahaz what they could do against the new Goddess Kara. But Nahaz laughed a terrible laugh, and he spake, show me that Goddess Kara. And the magician led the way to the grotto. And when Nahaz beheld Kara, he laughed again. He saw that she was but a mortal woman. And Kara touched the Sardion, praying: now keep your promise and make me a Goddess, that I can banish Nahaz and protect my followers. But the Sardion spake, no, you don't have my hated brother, the Orb, you are not the one.
"And Kara saw that all her hope died through the betrayal of the Sardion, and she could not be the Goddess of her beloved people. Her heart broke, and she did not feel how Nahaz ripped her to pieces. Her followers cried, and some were killed by Nahaz and his demons, but most ended their life freely. They did not want to live without their Goddess."
It was only a small footnote in a book about Karandese history, but Ka read it holding her breath. When she looked up from her reading, she had tears in her eyes. Ardel had watched her, and now she came to her and stroked her hair.
"I felt the same when I read this," she confessed.
"She was great, but she didn't have a chance," Ka complained.
Ardel sighed. "That's really hard to say, you know. In principle, she could fulfil all what was necessary. She was a princess, there were sacrifices, and in those days, she was able to touch the Orb. However, Torak had the Orb, then. Maybe if they met each other... Torak didn't even know then that Polgara would be born after more than two thousand years, and he was still beautiful. He wasn't a mortal man, and Kara probably wouldn't have expected him to die for her love. But the Orb and the Sardion would have made her the new Goddess of Angarak and all the world, and Torak would have been second after her, and he had to bow to her. Can you imagine that?"
This was really a hard test for Ka. She liked the Karandese princess who had died so long ago, but to imagine Torak bowing to anybody... Of course, she could not show that the mere notion was an insult for her.
"It wouldn't have been in his character, would it?" she managed to say in a neutral tone.
Ardel laughed. "No, certainly not. And that's how pre-ordination works, there are always choices, but you won't choose randomly. You'll choose out of who you are, it's a choice, and it is not. If Torak had ignored Brand's challenge at Vo Mimbre, he'd have won. But he wouldn't have been Torak, if he did that."
Ka nodded thoughtfully. "If I'm not myself, I'm nothing," she agreed. "And that Karandese princess, I'm sure she didn't even want to live after she realized that she couldn't be the Goddess of her people."
"Yes, I think you're right." Ardel sighed. "It's a shame, though. The Karands were better off with her than with Nahaz, or later Torak."
Ka didn't like the last words, of course. "But there were people sacrificed to her, too," she objected.
Ardel shrugged. "They wanted to die for her, it was their decision."
Ka was lost completely. She wanted to say that there were people who were ready to die for Torak, but she was afraid to give herself away. For a short irrational moment, she was even ready to take that chance. This strange young woman seemed to accept sacrifices out of free will... and she obviously liked the real Kara. Ka felt very close to Kara, and she felt a compulsion to tell Ardel the whole truth. But she could not do that, she could not risk that Eriond knew where she was, and what she planned.
Ka decided to change the subject. "I wonder why Nahaz didn't take Cthrag Sardius, then. Later, he seemed to be very eager to get his hands on it."
"As far as I can tell, he didn't know about the significance of the Sardion at that time," Ardel replied. "Not even Kara could understand it completely. The whole truth was revealed only later, in the Grolim prophecies and in the Ashabine Oracles. And some Grolims were foolish enough to raise demons to help them finding the Sardion. But this happened much later, after the battle at Vo Mimbre, when Torak slept. From these Grolims, Nahaz learned about the power of the Sardion. Zandramas told it Mordja only much later, before the Choice."
"But Nahaz was beaten by the new disciple of Aldur, Durnik," Ka said, "and Mordja still has Torak's sword. Doesn't this make him the first disciple of the King of Hell?"
Ardel sighed. "They aren't the only Demon Lords, Kara. The King of Hell has three disciples, and the name of his first disciple is Athal."
For some reason, Ka shuddered when she heard this name. "I've never heard of him before," she admitted.
"Almost nobody has," Ardel agreed. "Nobody in his right mind would try to raise Athal. A part of the Morindim worshiped him long ago, but they were drowned during the cracking of the world. The beaver clan was exterminated completely, some others partially. But all who knew the incantations to raise Athal died."
"Maybe that's better for our world," Ka murmured hesitantly. She didn't doubt that it was true, but she was dubious if it was prudent to say it.
"I'm afraid you're right," Ardel agreed, "Athal is much more dangerous than Mordja and Nahaz together."
"Even now, when Mordja could challenge him, with Cthrek Goru?" Ka asked. Then she bit her lip. Wouldn't Ardel be surprised how much she knew about Torak's sword?
"I don't think he'd dare," Ardel replied, "Athal has the ear of the King of Hell. And the Demon Lords fear their master even more than they hate each other. Mordja dreams to present him the Orb, then the King of Hell could get out of his prison, and certainly Mordja would be first disciple then."
"Wouldn't Athal want to take steps against that?" Ka asked. "He could decide to adopt Mordja's plans," she added with a shudder.
"He doesn't believe that Mordja can do that, he doesn't care much for Mordja, and I hope he's right," Ardel said. "And he and his demons can't come here, they don't have a door into our world. As far as we know, Athal was successful in several other worlds and has dominion there. I think that's the reason why the King of Hell is so fond of him. UL and Chaldan are trying to win back one of those worlds right now."
Now this was interesting, and there was some hope that Athal was busy with those other worlds, but...
"Are you sure nobody here can raise Athal? The thoughts of people don't always die with them," Ka objected. She pointed at the many books she could see already in this one room of the giant library.
"Don't worry, Kara! We collect almost all of the knowledge of mankind in this library, but you won't find anything here about how to raise demons. This knowledge is too dangerous. There'll always be people who are insane enough to try and use it, be it for personal power, or just from curiosity. Probably, you know that some of Urvon's Grolims still try to raise demons."
Ka knew that. She had not found them all, yet.
"But did you know that even a few of the Grolims converted to Eriond tried the same?" Ardel continued.
Ka stared at her with wide eyes. "Does... Eriond know about that?" It was the most stupid question she could ask, but Ka was simply shocked. If he knew and didn't want to interfer, this would be even worse than her worst fears. He was not Torak, but he couldn't be that weak!
Ardel looked at her in surprise. "Of course, He knows! The problem is that He can't do anything against it before He met the person who did that."
"And what does he do... after he met him? Eriond is... very gentle." Ka had some trouble formulating this in a more or less neutral way, and she was still afraid it could sound ironic.
"You don't know Him, I see," Ardel said. "Eriond can be very angry if He has to."
Unfortunately, this was beside the point here. Ka remembered how she felt Eriond coming at Rak Cthol, and "angry" was certainly a gross understatement for his feelings at that moment. Quite obviously, he was very much disappointed in Belgarion then. But...
"Maybe," she said, and she even managed to let it sound dubious, "but he wouldn't punish them, I think."
"You're wrong, Kara," Ardel replied. "Of course, He won't kill them, but He shows them the possible consequences of their deeds, visions of what demons did to people, in any detail. None of them tried to raise demons again. Two went insane, though."
Ka didn't know what to think of that. Naturally, this was a harder punishment than just death, and she wouldn't have expected something like that from a naive child. But was it really wise? Two madmen with that kind of knowledge were a danger for the whole world. She tended to mercy in this case, maybe she could find those two...
Suddenly, Ka felt how tired she was. "I'm sorry, Ardel, but I need some rest now. It's a long way to Kell from where I live."
Ardel smiled. "Yes, of course, Kara, I was wondering already when you'd ask for that. You must be very strong. We have rooms for our visitors right here in the library. I guess you're hungry, too."
"No, I'm not very hungry, but I'd like to drink."
"Do you prefer juice, milk or..." Ardel realized already what her guest would answer.
"Just water, Ardel! You can't drink very much juice, and milk doesn't agree with me, unfortunately. But I see you have much water here," Ka said.
"Oh yes," Ardel agreed, "it's very clear and cold, and probably it comes to us from a better world." She laughed when she saw Ka's puzzled look. "It comes out of a glazier, where it was frozen since long before the cracking of the world."
The room Ardel showed her was very simple, but it had all what Ka needed, a table, a very convenient chair, and a bed. And the first thing she'd see when she'd wake up in the morning was the giant mountain. The big window of her room went out in that direction.
Only a moment later, Ardel brought her a meal and water. "Do you want me to stay with you for company?" she asked.
"You know...," Ka said falteringly.
"That's all right, Kara, I understand that you want to be alone. If you need anything--I'll sleep in the next room."
Ka felt a little uncomfortable. "You aren't my servant, after all," she objected.
Ardel smiled again. "I'm glad to help you, Kara. Whether you want to see me as a servant or as a friend, is up to you." And then she left.
Ka felt even more ashamed now. She liked the Dalasian girl with her short brown hair and her big gray eyes. Ka had always thought the Dals were very serious, but this girl seemed to be different, even though she was a necromancer. Her dark knowledge didn't seem to be a burden for her, as it was for Ka. Instead, Ka had the impression that it gave her the strength to bear it. Of course, Ka wanted to see her as a friend, but how could that be, since she had to lie to her?
Ka didn't even notice what she ate, but when she drank the icy water, she remembered that it came from a time when Torak was still beautiful, and alive.
Even though she was weary, Ka couldn't find sleep. It wasn't only the murmuring sound of the communication of the Dals that kept her awake, her own thoughts were enough for that. She had chosen the name "Kara" more or less at random, just because of the similarity with her real name. And now, the first book she read in this library was about a real Kara, who wanted to be a Goddess to fight demon worshiping long ago. Was it really a mere coincidence? Ka found it hard to believe that. But if it was not, what did it mean? Torak's spirit wanted her to go to Kell. Did He intend to show her the story of Kara? Since she had chosen the name "Kara" herself, this could mean only one thing... Ka almost wept, this simply wasn't fair. She didn't want to be exalted, she had only one dream: that the strong and beautiful Dragon God of Angarak returned! She had no desire to become a Goddess.
It made all too much sense, unfortunately. Time was a relentless enemy, Torak's spirit grew weaker and weaker. He almost wasn't able to speak to her already. Her sacrifices could delay it, but not indefinitely. It didn't make sense to sacrifice all of Angarak to His spirit, just to return Him as a God without subjects! Her personal wishes didn't matter. If Torak wouldn't or couldn't return, and chose her as His successor, she was honored beyond comprehension, and she would obey. His will was her will. But how could she know if it was that what He wanted, and how could she become a Goddess?!
Cthrag Sardius didn't even exist any more. Cthrag Yaska had destroyed it, and absorbed its power. Probably, it could make her a Goddess, but could she join her will with that of the stone? Was she ready to pay the price? Ka swallowed hard. Yes, she was. Torak sacrificed His beauty to save His last Angaraks, when He raised Cthrag Yaska, and she would do the same, if she had to. For a moment, Ka tried to convince herself that it didn't matter. Probably, no man would ever touch her, anyway. But she knew this was a lie. A woman wasn't beautiful for a man, it was a part of herself.
However, she would do it, if it was necessary. But how could she know it would work? She had no right to kill herself in a desperate try to do the impossible.
Maybe there was a more secure way? Cthrag Yaska certainly would obey Eriond, but he wouldn't resign in favor of her. Belgarion would rather kill her instead of making her a Goddess. His son, Geran, didn't seem to hate her, but he was a true follower of Eriond, and from him, the stone would go to his son...
Suddenly, a thought appeared in her mind: what if this son was her child?! If she was able to seduce Geran somehow, he wouldn't even know if nine months later a little Grolim would be born, with a silvery mark on his right palm...
The idea seemed to have its merits only at first, unfortunately. When Ka considered it more thoroughly, she realized that it simply wouldn't work. Geran knew her, and he wasn't a fool, it wouldn't be easy to seduce him. In principle, it could happen that he didn't think of possible consequences in a moment of passion, though. However, she couldn't be sure that the child was the heir of Cthrag Yaska, it could even be a girl. But this wasn't the main problem, she simply didn't have enough time. Ka felt that the final of this story would be sooner than her child would grow up, though she couldn't tell how she knew that.
Ka smiled ironically at herself. She had found her idea fascinating, and it was the second time today that she thought of the tall blue-eyed Alorn. Was she more impressed by him than was good for her? The mere fact that she could analyze her feelings seemed to indicate the contrary. But he was interesting, and if she really had to do something like that, she wouldn't see it as a sacrifice...
It didn't change the fact that there was only one man she dreamed of, Torak. And if her fears were unnecessary, and he returned, he'd claim his promised bride, Polgara.
For a moment, Ka was afraid the Dals could feel her hatred for that woman. She could but hope that they wanted to keep her out of their collective mind, and built up some kind of a barrier. Anyway, Ka had studied her enemy already, and she knew the weak spots. Whether Torak could be resurrected or not, Polgara would pay for what she had done to Ka's father.
Strangely enough, this thought gave her some comfort, and she fell asleep finally.
Ka woke up early in the morning, when the whisper of the thoughts of the Dals increased again. She wouldn't find much rest here, but she wasn't at Kell for sleeping, after all.
Ka rose from her bed and looked out of the window. One side of the mountain was bathed in the reddish morning-light, the other was covered with deep blue shadows. Soon, the shadows would reach the city, the mountain was north-east of Kell. Again, she wondered what it was like to stand on the top of it and look down at the world.
A slight knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Hastily, she put on the disgusting white robe. The job of a necromancer had its merits...
Ka resisted the temptation to send out a probing thought. That wouldn't be a good idea here. "Come in!" she shouted.
It was Ardel, of course. "I've brought your breakfast, and mine. I hope you don't mind if I eat with you."
Since there was only one chair in the room, Ka had to sit on her bed, but she didn't mind. She had been alone with her thoughts long enough by now.
"I wonder how you get anything done here," Ka sighed. "I could look at the scenery for hours."
Ardel smiled. "You get used to it after a while," she assured her, "but it is beautiful, indeed. I hope you slept well."
"No, not really," Ka admitted. Naturally, she didn't want to tell her why, but Ardel didn't ask.
"The place of the necromancers is even more interesting, it's higher up the mountain," Ardel said. "I came to this part of Kell only to meet you," she explained while they ate.
The Dals seemed to be vegetarians, but white bread, fruits and juice were not so bad.
"That footnote yesterday," Ka remembered, "...I understood it that way that the Karands and the Morindim not always raised demons. Do we know more about that?"
Ardel nodded. "Yes, that's more or less known. At first, they raised spirits from our world, spirits of animals, sprites and the like. Some people call that witch-craft, others shamanism. However, the various groups and tribes are usually at war with each other, and they always tried to raise stronger spirits than their neighbors. It's not surprising that they ended up with demons."
"I wonder why the Morindim feel a need to kill each other," Ka mused. "I always thought that it's easy enough to die in Morindland without that."
"You're right," Ardel agreed, "there are hunger, cold, white bears... The Morindim know death. The main problem is hunger, though. If you don't eat enough, you can't resist the cold in winter. And hunt can sustain only so many people. If others hunt in your area, the whole tribe will starve. That's why they usually try to kill strangers."
Ka nodded thoughtfully. "It's a cruel logic, but it definitely makes sense."
"Unfortunately, it gives the magicians much influence," Ardel sighed. "The Morindim certainly could use arrows and spears to kill each other, but they won't, as long as their neighbors raise demons for that."
"If it gives them power, the magicians probably don't hurry to share their knowledge with others," Ka guessed.
"Oh no, they don't," Ardel agreed. "Only the perspective to have a slave for the rest of his life can pursuade a magician to take an apprentice at all. They keep their trade secrets very jealously. Only a total of several hundred Morindim know how to raise demons."
Several hundred... It was a challenge, but it was possible, after all. The world wouldn't miss those half insane men very much, Ka thought. Nobody needed their dangerous knowledge.
"It's hard to believe that all Morindim are the subjects of a few madmen," she said. "Probably, they wouldn't be that primitive if they were freed from those magicians."
Ardel smiled. "Don't let your prejudices block your mind, Kara," she warned her. "If you know them better, you'll understand that they are less primitive than the half-civilized, but half-degenerated Karands. Of course, it's hard to understand them, because they are so close to the incredibly cruel nature of the North. The magicians rule only half of the Morindim, Kara. The women follow the Path of the Moon."
Now, Ka remembered that she read something like that already yesterday. "The Path of the Moon, what does that mean?"
"That's really difficult to explain in a few words," Ardel replied, "no such explanation would make very much sense, anyway." She frowned. "Let's try... In our words, it's something like a mystical philosophy. Essentially, it states that life is just a composition of love and death, but even those two aren't really different, they are two sides of the same, like the light and the dark phases of the Moon."
Ka stared at Ardel incredulously. "You call them close to nature? That's about as far from real life as you can get! I wonder how a woman can think that way, unless she's very old and forgot all about love, and knows of death only that he somehow forgot about her."
For a moment, Ardel looked at Ka in surprise. Then, she started laughing.
Though Ka liked Ardel, she felt irritated by her laughter. This attitude of the Dals was hard to endure, and certainly it was not the best base for a friendship. And Ka decided to tell her that, because she liked her.
"I understand that you, the Dals, know far more than we do, and you look down at our earthy problems like from the moon, and maybe you really find such a philosophy natural, but it's not nice to hit us over the head with it."
Ardel blushed. "Forgive me, Kara, I didn't mean to offend you. You're right, it's sometimes tempting to smile at the ignorance of others, even though we can't take the merit for the knowledge of our ancestors. In this case, however, I laughed for another reason. Probably, it was just my attempt at a summary, the Path of the Moon is very earthy! You'll see that yourself when you read the original sources. We have a very old book about it, written long before the cracking of the world. Honestly speaking, I laughed because I imagined your reaction to it. I guess you finished your breakfast?"
They went to the library, and Ardel looked something up in a heavy index. Then, she turned to one of the shelves. Ka noticed that the bookshelves had marks on them. She sighed with envy, she could only dream that her library was in such a perfect order.
Ardel smiled when she returned with the book. "You're lucky that you're a woman, the Path of the Moon is taboo for men," she said. "It's the ancient knowledge of the Mothers, and it's passed from the mothers to their daughters. Fertility is very important in a country where most children don't survive, and most girls have watched several childbirths before they are ten, if they live that long. The Path of the Moon tells them all, and I mean all, about it, and not only about the end of pregnancy.
Now, Ka smiled, too. "I see. But most girls manage to get pregnant without detailed instructions."
"That's true," Ardel admitted, "but the Morindim believe that only animals do it always in the same way. Humans know more about it, and that knowledge is a part of the Path of the Moon."
"Maybe," Ka said sceptically, "there are variants, of course, but... It's very difficult to explain that with words, except the general things everybody knows anyway."
Ardel giggled. "That's a joke you'll like. The Morindim don't write and read books, but they draw pictures on leather. They call them 'Resoon Kee', and they don't even remember what these words in their old language meant. However, it's absolutely clear what the pictures mean. Our kinswoman not only wrote down the words of the Mothers of the beaver clan, she made careful copies of all the Resoon Kee. She had to give her word that this book will never be shown to a man, and we keep her word." She opened the book and showed Ka the two pages she had in mind.
Ka gasped. The pictures were drawn in a peculiar symbolic style, but they didn't leave much to imagination. "Are you trying to say that the girls learn from these pictures at the age of ten?" she asked.
"No, that's not what I meant. Probably, they pick up a lot already before, but this part of their education starts only when their bodies begin to follow the Moon."
Ka agreed, that seemed to be a more reasonable age. "When their bodies follow the Moon, that's a very poetic way to say it," she murmured with slight irony.
Ardel shrugged. "It's fairly precise, though."
Ka's curiosity was stirred up, and she started reading. Soon, she discovered that her preconceptions were hopelessly wrong. Those old women knew all about love, and they seemed to remember every minute of it. And they lived every minute of their life as if it were the last one, because they knew all about death.
"I'm afraid you were right laughing at me," Ka sighed. "However, your remark was misleading, this isn't really a philosophy, it's rather a way of life. I doubt that we can fully understand it, unless we live there ourselves."
Of course, she realized that this would be extremely hard. The Morindim didn't count your years, they counted winters you had seen. And the wisdom of those who had managed to survive many winters was held in the highest regard.
"I wished the women ruled there," Ka said. "They seem to be much more sensible than the magicians."
Ardel was a bit surprised. "But they do, Kara! Men are only responsible for the contact with the outer world, for hunt and war. That's why outsiders encounter only the men. However, the whole inner life of the clans is controlled by the Mothers. The women own all you could call property, the men have only their weapons and their clothes. Indirectly, the Mothers can sometimes moderate even the hostilities between the tribes. It's not their business, of course. In fact, everything concerning war is taboo for women. They aren't even allowed to discuss it."
This didn't make any sense, and Ka protested immediately. "How can they influence things they can't even discuss?!"
Ardel winked slyly. "They don't speak about fights, they speak about kinship."
She enjoyed Ka's confusion. "Kinship is very important. If a Morind happens to get into the area of another tribe, he risks to be beaten or even killed, unless he has relatives there. Morindim always marry a partner from another clan, and the marriages are arranged by the Mothers. In principle, the girls choose a husband, but it's easy for the Mothers to make suggestions, the girls tend to listen to them."
Ka laughed. "After what I read in this book, I don't wonder why."
She looked at Ardel thoughtfully. "I think the Morindim survived only through the wisdom of their old women. Maybe my namesake was right, and this world needs a Goddess."
Ardel didn't answer immediately. She looked at Ka for a while, and then she said "But we have Eriond now, the belated guest to the Feast of Life for whom the Dals waited for eons. Do you think Cyradis choice was wrong?"
Ka didn't believe her ears. "Wrong?! Of course, not, she chose right!"
Ironically, there couldn't be any doubt. Even Torak called the alternative proposed by the Ashabine Oracles "the ultimate horror", and he wasn't frightened easily. Then, Ka smiled. "But you'll have to admit that he's still only a man."
Somehow, she managed to remember that using the word "boy" wouldn't be a good idea given the circumstances, though it seemed much more appropriate to her.
Ardel's eyes widened, then she laughed out loud. "That's exactly the reasoning of the Mothers of the Morindim! They are very fond of their men, because they are strong and brave and excellent hunters, among other things, but they seem to think that they aren't quite bright enough for rulership."
Ka tended to make one exception here, but probably it wouldn't make much sense to discuss Torak's personality with a Dal. In general, however, she agreed, she couldn't help smiling when she remembered the visit of the Godslayer at Rak Cthol.
"You do have a sense of humor," Ardel noted with what seemed like relief. "I worried already that you are much too serious."
Ka frowned. "The tasks we have to perform aren't always very funny," she objected.
"But sometimes they are," Ardel insisted, "and I think that's a part of our reward for following Necessity. We'll miss a lot if we close our minds and simply don't notice that."
Ka knew this theory, it was discussed now and then in the books by Belgarath and Polgara which were now in her library, copied from Belgarion's memory. However, she had seen mostly the other, the dark side of it. Torak had refused to follow the Dark Prophecy in the end, He had tried to change its meaning, and He'd even warned Belgarion. And the Dark Prophecy dropped Him, as it always tossed away its tools.
That's why Ka preferred to speak not of rewards or punishments, but only of consequences, like her God. At second thought, however, Ka had to admit that Ardel's words were worth considering. For all she knew--and she didn't really know very much about it--she had a long, long way to go yet, and maybe she wouldn't have the strength for that if she didn't learn to enjoy it every now and then. Again, she felt a deep sadness that she couldn't speak about it with that remarkable girl. Strangely enough, she was almost sure that Ardel knew about her sadness, and shared it.
Ka decided to change the subject.
"Don't you think the Morindim would live much better if they could get rid of the magicians?" she asked.
Ardel shook her head. "That won't work, I'm afraid. They worship demons for eons now. It's one half of their culture, whether we like it or not. The Path of the Moon is fascinating, but men can't follow it, it's taboo. We'll have to give them something else instead."
"You mean to convert them to Eriond," Ka said silently. It was very hard for her to say that, and she just hoped that Ardel didn't notice that.
Ardel sighed. "That's the idea, but Eriond's missionars didn't make much headway yet."
Much to her surprise, Ka didn't feel much like gloating. She wasn't stupid, and she realized that there was even less hope to convert them to Torak, not before He returned. It was hard enough to convince even the most fanatic Angaraks to believe in the impossible.
"But they didn't always worship demons," Ka said. "Why can't they return to the believes they had before?"
Ardel smiled a sad smile. "People often dream to return to some better time in the distant past, but that doesn't happen. There were reasons why those times didn't last forever. And we can't give them a reason to try, can we?"
"Fear, maybe," Ka proposed.
"Oh no, Kara, the Morindim worship demons because they fear them. They don't know how dangerous this is for our world, and I'm afraid they don't care."
Of course, this was not what Ka meant, and she knew better than to explain her thought, it was a dead end, again.
"Maybe we can change that," she remarked darkly.
Ka stayed in the library for almost a week. She read all she could find about Karands and Morindim, and she understood where the Grolims converting the Karands had erred. They had destroyed a culture, but they couldn't replace it by something new. It wasn't surprising that some Karands returned to demon worshiping just because they disliked Angarak domination.
In the morning and in the evening, Ardel and Ka sat in Ka's room and ate together. Ardel had brought her chair, and they talked a lot. It was a bit one-sided, though. Ka asked about the life of the Dals, and Ardel answered. At first, Ka had worried that Ardel could ask dangerous questions, but she didn't. Ka suspected that Ardel waited for her to talk about her life in Rak Cthol, and she didn't feel very comfortable.
Eventually, Ka came to the question why she was here in the first place. "Do we know how dangerous demons really are? I mean, do we have a chance at all to fight them?"
Ardel's face was very serious when she answered. "We don't know very much about that, almost nothing, in fact. There's just one book about how demons come into our world, and what they can do. It's written after the scarce information necromancers collected during the last eight thousand years."
Ardel consulted her index again, and then she went to a shelf to fetch the book.
"There's something I meant to ask you for some time now," Ka said when Ardel returned with the volume. "I think I could find here any book I need, even a child could do that, if he's capable of reading. Why do you waste your time helping me?"
Ardel smiled. "There's no waste of time, I like you. But let's be honest, there's yet another reason. We never leave our visitors alone with our books. Many of them are unique, and there could be people who try to steal a book, or to destroy it."
Ka's eyes widened. There was an attempt at stealing a book from her library, only once, but why would anybody take such a risk to destroy a book? Then she understood. If the library here contained dangerous books, how to raise demons, for one, she'd have to destroy them. And other people probably could have similar reasons, or at least they could think they had them. Obviously, the Dals knew better than to collect such dangerous knowledge, and Ka realized that her opinion about that enigmatic race had changed considerably.
"I see," she said, "but let's hope nobody really tries to do so during your service. No offense intended, Ardel, but you're just a very young girl, and what can you do?"
Ardel laughed silently. "You don't understand, Kara. I'm a Dal, and I can do everything what all Dals together can do. We wouldn't try to fight a God, of course, and maybe we'd have a bit of trouble with a Demon Lord, but anything else we could handle, believe me."
And now Ka understood, indeed. This girl was as young as Ka looked, and she behaved girlish fairly often. But she had the almost infinite power of the Dals, almost infinite at least from the point of view of ordinary humans. It didn't seem to be important for her, but it was there, for the case they'd need it. For a moment, Ka felt the almost irresistable urge to embrace Ardel, but she didn't do that, naturally.
Ardel's bright eyes went dark, again. "You won't find it very comforting what you'll read in this book," she warned Ka.
Ka didn't find it comforting at all. Demons couldn't enter this world without being called, but when they were here, only a very strong power could send them back. They didn't want to stay, all they wanted was to get out of the control of the magician who had raised them. But what if they had other instructions from their lords?
"Can they be killed?" Ka asked.
"No, not really. If the body they use here is destroyed, their spirit returns to Hell. That's not easy, the magicians give them strong and hideous bodies. Fortunately, their imagination is limited. If somebody gave them an indestructible body..." Ardel shuddered.
Ka felt a chill. The barbarian magicians weren't the biggest danger, as it turned out. The skilled brain of an overly curious scholar or a power-hungry Grolim could create a real problem. Well, if they had the bad luck to meet her, the problem would cease to exist. She couldn't be sure, but she had the impression that she understood what Torak's spirit wanted her to do. She would close the potential doors for demons. There weren't all that many people who knew the incantations, and she was certain she could find them.
"Ardel, I think I found all what I was looking for. I'll leave tomorrow in the morning," she said when she closed the book in the evening.
Ardel nodded without a word. She looked very sad, and she didn't suggest to dinner together. She withdrew into her room beside that of Ka early.
When Ka woke up in the morning, she was confused by the disturbing dream she had. Ardel was a pretty girl, but... Ka was more than surprised that she could think of something like that even in a dream.
They had breakfast together, as all the days before. When Ka saw Ardel blushing, she understood--it had been her dream. The Dalasian girl slept right on the other side of the wall, and Ka was obviously sensitive enough to pick it up. She wouldn't show that she knew about it.
Ardel didn't say much, she seemed to wait for something. When they finished eating, Ka made a decision, finally. She didn't want to leave without revealing the truth about her identity, she had lied to Ardel too long already. If the Dals decided to call Eriond, she'd probably manage to escape before his searching thought found her, as she had at Rak Cthol.
"Ardel, I have to make a confession. My name is not Kara, I used it only as a disguise. And I'm not a follower of Eriond."
To Ka's surprise, Ardel smiled. "I hoped you would tell me that, I waited all the time for it. I'm glad you did now, finally!" she said with a sigh of relief. Her eyes were radiant, and she was really a beautiful girl. She noticed Ka's confusion, and pulled her gently in front of a mirror. Ka hadn't seen the mirror before, and she had her doubts whether it had been there. Unimpressed by Ka's will, it showed her in a black robe.
"You knew all the time who I am," Ka said. "Does Eriond know I'm here?"
"I doubt it," Ardel replied. "He didn't ask about you, Ka, and He tries to keep out of our collective mind, He finds it confusing." Her smile was actually slightly amused.
"Don't you regard me an enemy?" Ka asked. She felt confused.
"You still didn't understand, Ka. Have you any doubts that what you do is necessary?" Ardel countered with a question.
"Of course, I'm positive! This world is in danger, and I don't think the gentle methods of your God will be able to protect it."
"There's only one Necessity after the Choice, Ka! You're its tool as well as Eriond is."
Ka stared at Ardel. "Do you think..."
"Yes, He knows about it, I'm certain," Ardel answered her question before she could ask it.
Ka felt regret. Her lie had been a giant waste of time. They could have been friends... "I'm sorry, Ardel! I have to leave now, I have a duty."
"You will do what you have to do, Ka," Ardel agreed.
When Kell was already far behind, Ka still remembered Ardel's smile, and her kiss. Then, the vast mountain got her attention again. Just once stand on its top, and look down at Torak's creation... Suddenly, she realized that there was no need for her to walk, the Dals knew about her talents, anyway. And she wasn't really in such a hurry.
Minutes later, a big crow winged her way toward the mountain-top.