The continuing tale of Torak's Triumph . . . Sorry it took so long, college and a couple other projects ate up my time.
Torak
With mine good eye I gazed upon the bleak, gray fortress that was Riva. I hath heard tales of its majesty from mine spies, but now that I myself gazed upon it, I could not help but secretly be intimidated by it. I knew that I would lose many of mine followers in this assault, but if it meant victory, that the Orb would again be mine, then I would sacrifice a million Angaraks without hesitation. I turned to see Polgara, my Queen, standing loyally behind me, and in her arms our child.
I smiled, "This is it, my beloved," I told her, "This shalt be the day of our victory."
"It shalt be as thou say, my King." She replied dutifully. I knew that deep down she abhorred me, but my hold over her was stronger than even her great talent and the power of her dead mother. My triumph over her was worth the constant struggle I was faced with each and every day.
I turned back to face Riva, and I shouted to mine captains the order to attack. The massive ships—I named them Dreadnoughts—surged forward, the catapults winding back and the stormtroopers preparing their weapons. My smile widened.
Today would be glorious.
Belgarath
I sat on the dais in the Hall of the Rivan King in front of the throne where the Sword and Orb sat embedded in the great seat. Camion stood behind me, just in front of the throne. Beldin had left to watch over the fight outside the city, so all we had to do was wait for Torak to come for the Orb. We knew he could and would; there wasn't much that could stop a mad God.
The twins had contacted me before the fleet of the Dragon God had arrived, saying that they had hidden Geral, Riva's latest descendant, in the Vale, where we hoped beyond hope he would be safe from Torak. That child was going to be our last hope if Torak got the Orb back, or so my friend upstairs said.
"He must survive," he had said, "lest the maimed one retrieves the Orb of Aldur. If Torak wins this battle, Geral will have to grow up to kill Torak and his child, or else the world shall succumb to darkness and misery at the Dragon God's hand."
So we had two last chances before we were sure to lose for good. That made me feel so much better.
Beldin finally reported in. "Those iron ships of Torak's have begun to launch burning stones at the citadel." A thunderous rumble shook the city. "There's one," Beldin commented.
"Tell us something we don't know." I said aloud, and those present looked at me as if I had just said the sky was green. I directed my thought to Beldin this time, and he laughed, but I could tell it was strained.
The battering took hours, from sunrise to sunset, but Torak did not come within striking distance of our archers and catapults. None of us could sleep, partly from the constant barrage from the Angaraks, and partly because we were all afraid of what would come in the morning.
Finally, the barrage stopped, either from a lack of ammunition or if Torak ordered it, I never learned, but soon after the ships stopped shooting, smaller boats filled with stormtroopers—mostly heavily armored Thulls, Nadraks, and Murgos—stormed the beach as fast as they could go. The Rivans, I'm told, put up a hell of a fight, but finally the Malloreans came in and the Rivans were forced back into the city.
Beldin was cursing when he reported the retreat, his ugly faced contorted in rage and fear. The mildest words in his choice of vocabulary to describe the Rivan soldiers were craven and naive, unable to understand the seriousness of this fight.
I stayed where I was, awaiting the inevitable. Beldin took the spot opposite me, still muttering. Camion said nothing, but his face bore that same deadly calm his father had on the field outside Vo Mimbre. I wondered then, when I was the Child of Light and I faced Zedar, if I had the same composed expression plastered onto my face.
"Kind of quiet," Beldin noted.
I then took notice of the lack of noise. There should be the sounds of battle going on outside, shouts, screams, anything. But there was no noise.
No one said a word as we waited.
Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps outside the throne room's doors. Heavy, commanding footsteps. The footsteps of a God.
They grew louder as Torak came closer, and we all could feel his oppressive power bearing down on us.
Soon Torak was before the doors, and we all grew still.
"OPEN!" Torak shouted, and the doors cracked and fell apart, falling to the floor as rubble.
The Dragon God of the Angaraks stood before us much as he had at Vo Mimbre, still wearing that archaic armor, still wielding Cthrek Goru, and his masked face still twisted in that mad smile. Behind him stood Polgara, Zedar, Ctuchik, and Urvon, and behind them were the hordes of Angarak. I stared at my daughter. She wore a black dress, trimmed in red, which clung to her curves, and on her lips was the same sneering visage as was on Torak's face.
Torak's smile widened as he gazed upon the resistance, but when he looked up, he frowned as he saw the blue glow of the Orb turn a bloody red, painting the chamber crimson. The fiery Eye That Was Not burned red with the Orb, mirroring the stone's wrath and abhorrence of the maimed God.
Torak turned his gaze upon me. "Thou art clever, Belgarath." He chuckled. "Hiding the Orb in that shield in hopes that thou might use it against me at Vo Mimbre, thou art truly as cunning as foretold."
I said nothing intelligible, but in my hatred of him I snarled like an animal, baring my teeth like a wolf would do.
Torak clucked his tongue, "I thought mine brother had taught thee better manners. It seems that now I have the opportunity to properly teach you submission to thine betters."
I ignored him. "Pol," I pleaded to my daughter, "I know you're still in there, fight him, please."
"Be silent, old wolf," she said scornfully, "mine heart belongs to Torak, my king and husband."
Camion hoarsely shouted as the Angaraks poured into the throne room. "ATTACK, ATTACK RIVANS FOR THE WORLD AND FOR THE HOLY GODS, ATTACK!" And so the Battle for the Orb began.
The Rivans fought valiantly, but the Angarak numbers were slowly overwhelming them. Camion had drawn his sword and was dueling Torak, Zedar and Ctuchik singled me out, and Beldin fought both Urvon and Polgara.
Beldin
I had my hands full. Although Urvon was an insect compared to me, Polgara had her father's strength and skill, plus she was boosted by her union with the Dark God. Urvon was screaming incoherently as I defeated each of his assaults, redirecting them at him. I found a perverse pleasure in watching the ugly disciple of Torak dance to dodge his own attacks.
Polgara, however, was hammering away at me without emotion, as if all the years I spent raising her had been forgotten. I wracked my brain for ways to stop her.
I suddenly saw my chance when she slipped up after falling for an unintentional feint. I knocked her off her feet and held her to the floor.
With her out of the way, I focused some more of my attention on Urvon. I summoned a white-hot hook and waved it in front of him. He panicked and fled, ignoring the fight around him in an effort to escape the illusion.
When he was gone, I turned back to Polgara. It was heartbreaking to see her like this, so blindly devoted to the wrong God. If only there was a way to free her, I loved her so much I would . . .
That was it!
Belgarath
"Belgarath!"
"What?" I thought at Beldin, dodging a firestorm from Ctuchik and a tornado from Zedar.
"I need you to love Polgara."
"What are you talking about?"
"I have an idea to free her from Torak's control. Love is supposed to be the most powerful thing in the world, right? If we both concentrate our love on her like we would our Wills, we might break Torak's hold on her."
"But that'll kill her!"
"We don't have a choice! She'll tear us apart if I let her go! She's the key behind winning here today!"
"So if we are going to kill her, why bother loving her to do it?"
"So she can die free." Beldin said simply.
As I hurled lightning at my opponents, I realized that that's the end I would wish my daughter if she had been so enslaved. So, using all of my Will, I called out: "Earthquake!" and, as the whole island began to tremble—knocking everyone off their feet for a moment—I raced over to here Beldin was sweating blood trying to keep Polgara under control.
"Together," he said through clenched teeth.
I merged my love with my brother's, and together we attacked the mental wall Torak had erected around his prize. The earthquake threw off our concentration for a while, but when we got around that distraction, we found a weak link in Torak's wall. I later guessed it was having his hands full fighting the vengeful Camion, but at the time we took advantage of it and dove through.
Once inside of Polgara's mind, we began to try to free Polgara.
Torak
I was faced with a most worthy opponent in the child of Brand the Warder of Riva's vacant throne. He was skilled with the blade, and as our fight progressed, I came to realize that we were evenly matched, much like myself and Brand were at Vo Mimbre.
So, it was this upstart that was the Child of Light this time, not Belgarath. Somehow, that revelation made me feel less confident. I knew Belgarath's powers, but this knave was unknown to me.
Suddenly, I felt my energy being drained from me, like someone was wearing away at a part of me. I felt it pulling at me from Polgara—
Disregarding my duel with Camion, I turned to my beloved, and I saw the two disciples of my pathetic brother hovering over my queen. I cried out in rage as Ctuchik launched a bolt of lightning at them. I used my power to deflect it. When the confused fool turned to ask me why, I simply said: "DO NOT HARM MY QUEEN!" My raw emotions blinding all other thought.
Only then did I realize my mistake. "NOOO!" I howled in despair as I felt my control over Polgara break underneath the weight of my resulting madness.
Belgarath
Suddenly, Torak's hold on Polgara snapped, it just broke off. Polgara gasped as she was freed.
Still in her mind, I felt her elation and relief at being free of Torak, and I quickly departed as she sealed up her mind so hard that I doubt anyone could have gotten back in.
She looked up at me. "Father," she said weeping with joy.
"Pol," I murmured as I fiercely embraced her. Beldin simply stood over us, tears falling in earnest from his eyes into his beard.
Torak
In my madness, I turned on the closest living being to me, the knave Camion. I lashed out at him with abandon, unable to strike at anyone else. I hammered at him till his sword shattered and I plunged Cthrek Goru through him. I could feel the life draining from his body, and it soothed me.
I then turned to the Orb, and I strode for it, my confidence in my latest victory urging me on. I created an iron casket and I took the Orb in my hand, enduring its fire and ire, and placed it within the casket. I had won!
Belgarath's earthquake was getting too quiet for my taste, so I bestowed my own touch upon it, allowing it to build to the point of it shaking the whole earth. I let all know that I had won!
I strode from the fortress to the coast, where my people awaited me. I drew my hood over my face, hiding my ecstasy from them. I did not look back. I had won, that's all that mattered.
Belgarath
I knew what had just occurred, I knew the consequences, but none of that mattered right now. My daughter was free, that's all that mattered.
