documents
which reported our gatherings were delivered into
the hands of the mutes who guarded the Seers, and the
mutes read the documents. And if the Seer spake not, the
document was known to be false. and the mute who had
read it committed it immediately to the fire. But if the
document was truly Prophecy – of either of the two Fates
– the Seer would begin to speak almost as soon as the
mute began to read. And we perceived from this that the
Seers communed with the minds of their silent guides,
and despite the binding of their eyes, they were not blind,
but saw rather through the eyes of their mute protectors.
Now from all that we gathered, but little was truly
Prophecy, and the Prophecies all spake the same story
that one day the Child of Light and the Child of Dark
would meet and that in their meeting would be decided
the Fate of all creation. And this was bitter to us, for we
had known of it before, having read the self-same words
in the Book of the Heavens. But the aged Seer Encoron of
the Generations of the unknown Seeress spake in his last
days, and at last we understood the meaning of what was
taking place and had been since the’beginning of time.
‘Variations,’ quoth Encoron. ‘Each EVENT is but a
variation of the same EVENT which hath repeated itself
innumerable times down through all the ages. The Child of
Light and the Child of Dark will meet – as they have met
times beyond counting before. And they will continue to
meet in these endless variations of this same EVENT until
at one meeting a choice is made between them.’
‘What is the choice, Master?’ we urged him, ‘and who
must make it?’
But he spake not, and his mute guardian sighed and
gently laid his master in a posture of repose. Then he also
laid himself upon the earth beside his master and he also
died.
And at the beginning of the Fourth Age the Seeress
Onatel came, and she also spake of the choice. And the
Seers of the Generations of Onatel probed with their
minds toward the very center of Prophecy and of the
Destiny which was at the core of Prophecy. But the visions
came darkly and seemed without meaning. We saw the
whirling of stars and entire worlds suddenly touched into
fire, but none knew what such visions meant. And at last
came Dallan, a Seer of the Generations of Onatel, and he
spake the great truth unto us, saying:
‘Behold what I have seen. The life of man is but the
winking of an eye, and the life of a star is but a breath in
length. The contention between the two Fates hath endured
throughout eternity, and the outcome will encompass
EVENTS so vast that thine imagining cannot grasp them.
Should the Fate which is EVIL triumph over the other Fate,
the result will not so much rebound upon the lives of men,
but rather shall be seen among the stars. And if the stars
perish, all will perish.’
And then at last we understood. The choice between
GOOD and EVIL was a choice between existence and
destruction for all of creation, and GOOD and EVIL were but
human terms, and had no meaning among the stars. That
which might be foulest evil in the eyes of men might well
be that which would save creation from destruction. And
as we considered this, we grew afraid, for Behold, it was
our stern duty to protect creation – even should our choice
enslave or even destroy mankind.
And thus it was when we saw in the Book of the
Heavens that the time was drawing nigh for the meeting
between the Child of Light and the Child of Dark, sent we
five Seers of the Generations of Onatel to Cthol Mishrak,
the City of Night, to make the choice.
But the moment for the choice came and passed – for lo,
we had believed that the EVENT was to be the meeting
between Belgarion and Torak, but it was not. The EVENT
which slipped so swiftly past us was the spurning of
Torak by Belgarath’s daughter, Polgara.
And, sorrowing that they had failed in their task, the
five Seers of the Generations of Onatel returned to Kell,
and the Fifth Age had already begun.
And the Fifth Age was the Age of the Generations of
Gazad, the stern Seer who berated us that we had failed in
our task. And the Generations of Gazad were to be known
as the Choosers, and they moved into the affairs of this
world as none of us had done before. The necessity for
choice now lay heavily upon us, and the time of
indifferent contemplation of EVENTS had passed. Now is the
time to act, to shape EVENTS rather than to be shaped by
them. We must move the figures on the board of time
ourselves and place them in such fashion that the final
meeting will take place at a time and place of our
choosing. For Behold, should this meeting pass without our
choosing, all that was, is and shall be must surely perish.
BOOK 5
THE BOOK OF VISIONS
Now These are the Five Visions:
* This is the vision of Cyradis.
BEHOLD! A GREAT LIGHT came into mine eyes,
and I was dazzled by it and could not see; but in
time, as mine eyes grew accustomed to the
brilliance, I saw a great table lain with fine cloth and dishes of
gold. And I saw the seven guests at the feast and the
empty seat for the beloved one who had not yet come.
And the seven guests ate that which pleased them and
looked about often for the one who had not yet arrived.
And I looked upon this in puzzlement, for I knew not why
it should be shown to me.
And I became aware of a robed and hooded figure
standing by my left hand and another upon my right,
and both figures insisted with imperious gesture that I
continue to watch the feast. And in time, the seven guests
rose from the table, having eaten their fill, and lo, much of
the feast remained, and still was I filled with wonder and
puzzlement.
And then the figure upon my right spake unto me,
saying: ‘This is the Feast of Life, and the seven guests are
the seven Gods, who have chosen that which pleased
them.’
And the figure upon my left spake also unto me,
saying: ‘One guest hath not yet arrived at the feast, and
that guest is also a God. And when he cometh, he will
choose all that the other guests have not taken.’
And still I perceived not the meaning of their words,
yet felt I the emnity which stood between them. And
each strove to some great end but failed in its
accomplishment because of the other. And then they turned
their shadowed faces to me and spake unto me in one
voice, saying: ‘The choice is upon thee, for two guests
shall come to the Feast of Life, and thou shalt bid one
stay and the other go, and it shall be as thou shalt decide.
And thy choice shall be for all that was, all that is and all
that is yet to be.’
And I was bowed down by the weight of the burden
they had placed upon me, for now at last I understood the
vision and why it had been sent. The figure upon my right
and the figure upon my left were the Destinies which had
striven the one against the other adown all the endless
corridors of time, and each was as strong as the other, and
they remained locked, each in the grip of the other. And all
that was, all that is, and all that is yet to be is divided
equally between them. So equal is this division that the
weight of my choice between them will tip the balance, and
I will make this choice for all of creation. And I turned to
the figures in anguish to protest the burden, that I was not
wise enough to decide, and they replied, saying: ‘No man
..nor God nor spirit is wise enough for this choice. Thy selection
for this task was at the whim of random chance. We
‘care not how the choice is made, only that it be made. The
‘division strains the very fabric of creation, and if the
division doth not soon end, all of creation will perish. Choose
wisely; choose ill; choose by whim alone – but choose!’
And at these words I fell into a swoon and saw no more.
“All as in a dream I wandered across a barren heath under
,a lowering sky. And by the tokens which tell of such
things I knew that a great storm was approaching and