by Gariongirl
The strangest family in the world, an old gray wolf and two snowy white owls, hurried toward the hut deep in the forests of eastern Drasnia. Actually, nobody exactly knew if the place really belonged to Drasnia, the border to Gar og Nadrak wasn't clearly marked. The nearest village was definitely Drasnian, and the villagers were suspicious about the monk living in the wood. He wore the white robe of Eriond's followers, but the God hadn't encouraged his priests to live like hermits. Maybe he had reasons to hide himself, but he wouldn't be able to stay hidden forever. If he really did something forbidden, his only hope was that they found him first.
Jollon went through the text of the incantation, again. He didn't want to make a mistake. Carefully, he checked every detail of the design he had drawn on the floor, and corrected even the slightest deviation from the picture in the ancient book. He knew that it was dangerous, but his will was certainly stronger and more skilled than that of a howling Karand or Morind. Eriond had forbidden to summon demons, but He was very busy and wouldn't even notice it. Even if He did, Jollon wasn't afraid of his gentle God. Shouldn't they know their enemies? He wouldn't punish him for an attempt to gain valuable knowledge. It was better to learn how to control the demons, power decided everything in the end.
He concentrated so hard that he didn't pay attention to the flap of wings, he hadn't closed the window. When he looked up, he realized his fatal mistake. The dark eyes looking at him were the most beautiful he had seen in his life. They were full of hatred, however, and he knew that this wonderful black-robed woman was death. He thought of translocating himself, but he didn't even have time to draw in the power. Her will knocked him through the small room, and he fell backward over the low table covered with his notices.
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| "Ka" by Gariongirl |
Ka looked at the body lying on the table like on an altar. "How considerate of you!" she said with a smile. Her sharp knife moved as fast as lightning.
The last sensation registering in Jollon's dying brain was the image of his quivering heart in her hand. His scream of terror and pain was only a mental one--the collapsed lungs in his open chest didn't allow for more.
Ka threw the heart of the priest into the fireplace, then she added his books and scrolls. This was Torak's world, demons and their worshipers had no place in it. Her God had forbidden to open the doors for demons, and Ka would see to it that people didn't forget about that. With a single thought, she set fire to the heap. "Please, accept this little gift gracefully, Torak!" she sent out her thought. She didn't have time for a ritual, she felt the presence of the three sorcerers very near already. "You're late, my dear Polgara," she gloated silently. Then, she shimmered into the form of a crow, and left.
Poledra, Belgarath and Polgara changed into their human forms in front of the hut. They had heard the scream, and they needed their full power.
"Do you think he's raised a demon, and couldn't control him?" Polgara asked."We'll see," Belgarath answered grimly, moving toward the open window.
"Be careful, dear," Poledra warned him, "we'd better call Eriond if a demon is loose."
Belgarath peeked inside the hut and started swearing. "Ka was here!" They hurried inside, but the disobedient priest of Eriond was beyond help. His chest was cut open, and the charred remains of his heart smoked in the fireplace.
"She can't be very far," Belgarath mused.
Polgara looked at him. There was something wrong about the silence around, it seemed to be waiting. She saw the concentration on his face. "Father, no! She..."
It was too late. Belgarath screamed when Ka's thought jerked through his open mind like a white-hot wire. Then, he began to drool, he didn't remember how to scream. Clumsily, he sat on the earth, he didn't recall how to stand. His look went blank, he stared in front of himself with open mouth.
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| "Polgara" by Gariongirl |
Poledra laid her fingertips on the head of her husband. At first glance, she seemed calm, but her eyes spoke of super-human pain. After a few moments, a spark of hope appeared in them. "There is something in this fog, but I can't see it..." Eriond! their minds cried in unison. The God appeared immediately. He didn't have to ask anything, naturally. He only looked at Belgarath, and then, he sighed, a deep sigh of relief. "It's all still there, all the seven thousand years which made him what the world knows as Belgarath," he assured the women.
"Why can't we see it, then?" Polgara asked incredulously.
"Our memory is associative," Eriond explained. "We remember something going along those connections between facts. His memories are shattered in disconnected chunks and pieces, now. Imagine a whole library, including the catalogues, reduced to an unordered heap of loose pages."
"In principle, it should be possible to put it back together, piece by piece!" Polgara said hopefully. "Can't you, Eriond?"
"Yes, I can, but I don't know how long that would take, maybe a few years. I don't have a few years right now," Eriond replied sadly.
Polgara stared at him. "Have you forgotten what he did for you, for your world?! You can't leave him like that!" She almost yelled at the God.
Eriond forgave her that, having to feel her pain was far worse for him. "I'll never forget what he did, Polgara! He served this world, and so do I. Necessity doesn't ask what I would like to do now! The King of Hell is reaching forth his hand to take the Orb and break his chains, he won't wait for Belgarath's recovery." He looked at Poledra. "You are stronger and more patient than your daughter. I'll show you how to do it. Watch me with your mind!"
Poledra saw how the God dived into that "fog", how one of the fuzzy images cleared to a vision of a terrible, furious fight deep under the earth, and she saw her husband come up out of the earth, sealing the rock behind him. Now, they knew how exactly he did it, and how to undo it. She looked at Eriond. "Why was it this memory? Could it be sheer coincidence?"
Eriond smiled without mirth. "You should know the Prophecy better."
"You'll let him out?" she asked, but it didn't really sound like a question, it was rather an accusation. She disliked Zedar since she had met him first.
"I'll even have to make him my disciple, as he was Torak's disciple before. I'm the new God of Angarak in the first place, and I need every bit of potential in this world when we'll face Mordja in the final encounter. Can you guarantee that Belgarath will recover before? We don't know when the final battle will be, but I'm afraid it will be soon," Eriond replied with a sigh.
"I'll do what I can," Poledra promised.
"It will be easier as you go along," Eriond said. "He'll cooperate as soon as he'll remember enough to understand why and how, and it will be very fast after he re-discovers his gift. You can't control what will be restored first, however, and it will be easier for him to learn simple things like eating, drinking, speaking, walking anew, like a baby."
"He'll be like a puppy before he'll become the Old Wolf, again," Poledra murmured. "How remarkable."
Polgara couldn't see it that way. Her father had his faults, any number of them, but to see the Eternal Man helpless like a little child hurt her more than she could stand. Ka had aimed that blow at her, no doubt. "When I'll finally meet that Grolim witch, I'll make her regret that she was ever born," Polgara promised through clenched teeth.
Eriond looked at her calmly. "No, as a matter of fact, you won't. Besides, I'm not sure you'd survive trying that. You should have thought about retaliation earlier, when you destroyed the mind of her father. She didn't destroy Belgarath, he'll be himself, again."
"Couldn't Ka destroy him completely, or wouldn't she?" Poledra asked him.
"I don't know," Eriond confessed. He didn't want to explain why he hoped for the latter.
Poledra gave him a peculiar look. "Weren't you afraid to teach me how to look that deep into a mind?"
This time, Eriond's smile was half amused. "Poledra, I know who you are, you won't misuse it. I guess you know what to do now? Then, I can leave." With these words, he disappeared.
Poledra turned to her daughter. "Well, I trust you'll keep the world spinning around, you're used to it. I'll take care of him. Don't worry, whelps learn those simple things very fast, I've been through that, already."
Poledra and Belgarath shimmered, and then, the she-wolf picked up the the silver-gray puppy by its neck, and loped off into the wood.
The two wolves changed back to human forms. It was a natural precaution, only in this form, they could fully use their powers. Garion looked around with a shiver. "The bank of clouds is gone, but the scenery hasn't improved much yet," he noted. "It will take a few more decades for the wood to recover," he added.
"It's not only that, father," Geran replied. "I'm sure you can feel Torak's spirit here. Where do you think we can find Ka?"
Garion tried to recall what he had seen of Cthol Mishrak, more than thirty years ago. It wasn't easy, the light of the sun changed everything. And his titanic fight with Torak had added quite a bit to the devastation of this place. Then, he saw the remains of Torak's tower. At its foundation, they would find the crypt where Torak had waited for him. It was a logical beginning of their search. "Let's go there, first," he told his son, pointing the direction. There wasn't a crypt any more, naturally, Garion and Torak had brushed aside its ceiling when they grew to immensity before their fight. The bier on which Torak had lain, stricken by his painful, uneasy slumber, was still there, however. The young woman in her black robe pressed to it tightly, as if trying to share the pain of her God many years ago. She didn't even look up, but Garion was certain that she had noticed their arrival. They felt the surge of her translocation, and then, Ka stood in front of them.
"Welcome to Cthol Mishrak, dear guests," she said with faint irony.
Once again, Garion realized how beautiful she was. And he recalled the image of his Ce'Nedra, the image he had shown Torak. Her tiny face was surrounded by the dark red flame of her hair, and her slender, naked body dived into that pool in the Wood of the Dryads...
Ka laughed silently. "Very good, Belgarion! I see you've learned something." She turned to Geran, and her dark eyes seemed to look deep into his mind. "I'm glad you've found your love, former Child of Dark," she said. "My congratulations, your wife is wonderful."
Garion couldn't believe his ears. Was there regret in her voice? Geran had saved her life then, after all. Her proud face didn't show emotions, however.
"Thank you, Ka, but that's not exactly why we came here," Geran replied. "The division of Light and Dark ended long ago, there's only one Destiny now for our world. Next summer, we will confront the forces of chaos in Morindland, and I will meet Mordja in single combat. He will seek to win the Orb of Aldur, but I will take back Torak's Black Sword of Shadows from him--or die. As you know, we can't trust the demons to play fair, and that's why our God wants to invite you. Please, Ka, add your power to the forces of this world!"
This time, Garion was positive that there was more than respect in her look at his son.
"The little boy chose his messengers well," Ka admitted. "I'm glad he confirmed my hope. The presence of Torak's spirit makes Cthol Mishrak safe for me, Eriond would come here himself, otherwise. Here's what I want in exchange: He won't try to look into my mind when I join you in that battle."
Garion cleared his throat. "You misunderstand, Ka. Eriond can come here, and He was in Cthol Mishrak. Do you feel Zedar's presence here any more? Eriond freed him, immediately after your revenge incapacitated Belgarath. He had to fill the gap, you know. He won't promise what you are asking for, that's impossible. Could you avoid looking through empty air? Torak's spirit is just enough to veil your mind from a distance, and He didn't come here in person only to protect your privacy."
Ka's eyes went absent for a moment. "Eriond freed Zedar?! What does he intend to do with that loser?" Her voice was so full of hate and contempt that Garion shuddered. "Zedar, the Apostate--do you think only you call him that? He failed in every single task my God gave him! He betrayed Torak, as he betrayed his former master, and he'll betray you, again."
Geran shrugged. "My God can look into his mind, He'll know better. And He had to replace Belgarath."
Ka sighed. "All right, I made a mistake." She hesitated, then she continued. "What I did to the Eternal Man, can be undone, but it takes time. I'm ready to help you to restore him. Only my God can decide his fate finally, when he returns. Is there any hope Eriond will put Zedar back where he belongs, if Belgarath recovers?"
"You know the answer, Ka," Geran said softly. "Would you really help us to reconstruct Belgarath's memory, without any further attempts at vengeance?"
"I hope Polgara got the message. I don't have quarrel with the old man, or with his wife," Ka declared.
"Or with her daughters?" Garion asked.
Ka sighed. "You're wrong, Belgarion, I wouldn't touch them. They are mortal women, Polgara will watch them growing old, and dying." Her smile was cruel. "Why would I want to spoil that?"
"That you chose not to destroy Belgarath completely was a hard lesson," Geran said. "I think it humiliated her that you showed more mercy than she did with your father."
"She noticed," Ka stated with deep satisfaction.
"Eriond drew her attention to that fact, after he told her that she should have thought of revenge before she killed your father," Geran said in an offhand manner.
Ka gasped. "He did not!"
"That's what Polgara told my wife, I can't imagine she invented it," Geran replied calmly.
Garion had trouble hiding his surprise. Why didn't anybody tell him anything?! It wasn't fair, and it didn't make things easier that he always was the last to be informed.
Ka's face was unreadable. "How interesting," she murmured.
"That's all beside the point," Geran pressed on, "we aren't here because of that; Poledra will take care of her husband. You still didn't answer our question: Will you help us to face Mordja next year, will you help us to defend this world against chaos?"
"How can you doubt that, Geran?" Ka's voice was silent and sad. "I'll fight for Torak's world as long as I'm alive. I don't think the naive little boy is strong enough to defend it against the King of Hell, but I will try to help. I don't do it for him, it's for the world Torak created together with his brothers. Tell him I'll come."
To Garion's surprise, Geran bowed before the Mistress of the Black Grolims. "I'm sorry, Ka, I didn't want to offend you. I'll inform our God about your decision. Good bye!"
"Good luck, Geran, you'll need it! We all will need it. Good bye, and give my best to your wives, your images of them are really interesting!" Ka said with an ironic smile.
"Thank you, Ka, and good bye!" Garion replied, and then, they turned to leave.
"Eriond will kiss us," Geran said when they were out of earshot. "Her cooperation will be valuable, and she's a very interesting woman." He grinned. "No wonder He dotes on her."
That explained a lot, Garion thought, but not all. They really needed the help of the powerful Grolim. "She likes you," he said.
"Maybe," Geran said after a moment of thought. "It's flattering, but I don't agree with Eriond who's the most beautiful woman in his world."