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

will. And thus has it ever been.

      It has come to pass that I must now go from thee and our paths must part. There is discontent and turmoil abroad in the land, and if it should come to pass that my brothers and I were drawn in to this conflict, our contention would destroy the world. Thus, that we might preserve the world and that we never again be forced to raise our hands against our beloved brother who has been maddened by his afflictions must we go from this world.

      In sorrow I go from thee, but know that my spirit will be with thee always to aid thee and to comfort thee.

      As I leave thee, I charge thee with a duty and lay upon thee a heavy burden. Verily, my beloved Disciples, thou art not as other men. Together have we sought out wisdom that we might more perfectly understand the meaning of the power of the word. That power is with thee, and thy minds have been bent to its use. Upon thee therefore falls the duty of preserving the world now that I and my brothers must depart. Some will remain here in this Vale to seek out further the meaning of the power of the word; others must go forth into the lands of strangers and use the power of the word to preserve the world and to stand as a barrier against my brother until the appointed one shall appear who will do that which must be done.

      It will come to pass that some among thee will sicken of this endless burden, and with will and mind and the power of the word will they cause themselves to no longer be – for it is a simple thing to say ‘be not’ and to perish. For them I grieve, knowing that which is to come to pass.

      And behold, one among thee shall bend his mind and will and the power of the word to exalt himself above all men, and he too shall perish, and I grieve for him as well.

      In parting I abjure thee, seek not to pit thy will and thy mind and the power of the word against my brother Torak. Know that he is a God, and though thy mind be as strong as his and thine understanding of the power of the word be as perfect, his will is to thine as is thine to that of a child. Know that this it is that makes him a God. In the invincibility of his will is Torak a God, and in that only. In the day that thou seekest to raise thy will against the will of Torak, in that day shalt thou surely perish. But more than this – if it should come to pass that the power of the word be raised against Torak, no power that exists in the endless starry reaches of the Universe can save the world. For I say unto thee, if Torak in his madness turn mind and will and the power of the word against thee, shall the world be shattered, and the shards thereof scattered like dust among the stars.

      Lest ye grow fearful and disconsolate at the enormity of thy task, know that the Orb which I have made hath the power to curb the will of Torak. For it hath confounded him, and not without cost hath he raised it against the world.

      And it shall come to pass that in a certain day shall come the One who is to use the Orb, and if he be brave and pure, shall Torak be overthrown. But if he falter or be tempted by the power of the Orb, shall Torak overcome him and recapture the Orb, and then shall the world be Torak’s forever.

      But behold, the madness of my brother Torak is a disease and a canker unto the Universe, and if it should come to pass that he prevails in this, it must be that my brothers and I raise our hands against him, for the madness of Torak unchecked shall rend the Universe even as he hath cracked this world which we made and which we love. And thus will we come against him with the most fearful power. In sorrow shall we pronounce the dread words – ‘Be Not’ – and our brother Torak shall be no more, and, as it must needs be, this lovely world also shall be no more.

      Guide well therefore the child and the man who is to be the Appointed One and prepare him for his great task. Know that if he fail, Torak shall conquer, and my voice must be joined with the voices of my Brethren to speak that final – ‘Be Not’ – which will unmake all that we have made. And, though it will grieve me beyond thy power to understand, I will bend all of my mind and all of my will into that fateful word, and this world will shimmer and vanish as morning mist beneath the weight of the noon sun.

      Thus I leave the world in thy keeping, my sons. Fail not in thy duty to me and to the world.

      I will go now to seek pleasant fields among the stars and shaded pathways to strange suns; and, if all passeth well, shalt thou join me there when thy task is done.

      – And, so saying, did Aldur turn and ascend into the star-strewn skies, and no man hath seen him more –

       THE BOOK OF ULGO ^*

      NOTE This is the famous southern copy of this disputed work. It differs in certain crucial details from the seven other fragmentary copies, and is considered by certain scholars to be a corrupt, third-hand copy with no historical or theological value. It is, however, the only complete copy we have, and provides the only clues we have to the understanding of the enigmatic Ulgos. How it came to be in the possession of the Dryads in southern Tolnedra is, of course, a mystery.

      At the Beginning of Days when the world was spun out of Darkness by the wayward Gods, dwelt there in the silences of the heavens a spirit known only as UL. Mighty was he, but withheld his power as the younger Gods combined to bring forth the world and the sun and the moon also. Old was he and wise, but withheld his wisdom from them, and what they wrought was not perfect by reason of that. And they had despite unto him that he would not join with them, and turned they their backs upon him.

      And it came to pass that the younger Gods wrought beasts and fowls, serpents and fishes, and lastly, Man. But by reason of the withholding of the power and the wisdom of UL, it was not perfect and was marred. Many creatures were wrought which were unseemly and strange, and the younger Gods repented their making and tried they to unmake that which they had wrought so that all things upon the world which they had made might be fair and seemly. But the Spirit of UL stretched forth his hand and prevented them, and they could not unmake that which they had wrought, no matter how monstrous or ill-shapen. And he spake unto the younger Gods, saying: ‘Behold, what thou hast wrought thou mayest in no wise unmake, for in thy folly hast thou torn asunder the fabric of the heavens and the peace thereof that thou might bring forth this world of thine to be a plaything and an entertainment. Know, however, that whatsoever ye make, be it ever so monstrous or unseemly, it will abide and be a rebuke unto thee for thy folly. For in the day that one thing which is made is unmade, in that day shall all that is made be unmade.’^*

      And the younger Gods were wroth, and in despite spake they unto each monstrous or unseemly thing they made, saying, ‘Go thou even unto UL, and he shall be thy God.’ And UL spake not.