Here's the next part. I took a while to get it finished because I had
things I needed to do. I'm not entirely happy with this part, so I might
well change it later.
Our first week on Riva was very interesting. Belmakor and Zedar were very curious about the place, as they had never been to the Isle of the Winds when it was inhabited. We still did our best to keep them away from Orb, as we still didn't entirely trust them. Probably the least trusting person in the castle was my wife. Of course, she was especially distrustful of Zedar. "One wonders why you are willing to trust him," she said.
"One is not," I replied. "He has not and probably will not ever earn one's trust again. But he has not done anything yet to make one distrust him."
"One still thinks it is unwise to allow him such free reign. The last time he was free he caused chaos."
"Perhaps this is not the same him as it was the last time we saw him."
"One does not accept that. One has never liked him. He will betray us."
"Perhaps. One will watch him closely. But until he does something contrary to our interests, one must accept him. Without him, we might never get to the bottom of this."
"Very well. But if he betrays us, one will kill him oneself."
"One expected nothing else."
Somewhat surprisingly, Durnik and Garion got on fairly well with Zedar. They were happy to show him all that the Isle has to offer. I can just about understand why Garion could accept Zedar - Garion knows only two well what it's like to have your mind twisted against your will, and I am fairly certain that that was what happened to Zedar. I still can't really fathom why Durnik would be willing to be with Zedar. I think I would be far more bitter towards the man who killed me. I suppose in part it is due to his nature. Durnik has always been far more accepting and forgiving than just about anybody I've ever known. It's one of the qualities that makes him such a good man and a good match for Pol. I think the rest of it is because he felt it was his duty to make sure Zedar didn't do anything harmful and that if he did he would not survive it.
"He seems really lost, grandfather," Garion told me after one of their expeditions into the city. "It's as if his reason for being no longer exists."
"That's quite possible, Garion. Torak is dead. The Orb's back in our hands. His plan is no longer necessary and he can no longer feel the presence of his master. He is probably empty."
"It's really sad. I can understand now why Eriond always said he pitied him. I'm glad most of the world doesn't know he's here. If they did, I don't know what we might have to do."
"Yes. Right now Zedar is to be pitied. If he really is from the past, that's even more the case. He won't even have the time he's in as something to cling to."
"Why has it affected Belmakor so much less?"
"Are you sure it has?"
"Well, Belmakor seems so much more irreverent. He seems to be having too much fun to be feeling out of place."
"That's the way Belmakor always was. If this is the real Belmakor, something I'm still not entirely convinced of, if he is really serious things are really bad. With Belmakor, it's almost impossible to tell how sad he really is. His depression before he died was so out of character that it worried us, but it seems it disguised doubts as severe as those Belsambar had. We need to keep an eye on the two of them. If we don't we could suddenly find the situation spinning out of control."
We continued to make sure Belmakor and Zedar were not left alone more than necessary. In part this was so they didn't hurt themselves and in part so they couldn't plan anything. We had been doing this for almost a week when Garion informed me 'Grandfather, I've been told we should take Zedar to see the Orb when we come back from town. Could you make sure Belmakor is there too?'
'I'll see what I can do,' I responded. 'We'll be in the library until then.'
Belmakor and I spent the next few hours hour pouring over the books in Garion's library. We were trying to find out more about the King of Hell. "Damn it Belgarath," he said in frustration at our fruitless search. "There's nothing about demons here, let alone about their king."
"We have to keep looking. We need to know what we're up against."
"You're the expert in demons Belgarath, not me. I don't have a clue what to look for."
"You've never been this impatient in the past. Or this irritable. What's the problem?" I asked him.
"I feel out of place here. I've missed three thousand odd years of history and I don't even have my tower here to make me feel at home. And to top it all off, I'm not entirely trusted."
"What gave you that idea?"
"Belgarath, I'm not an idiot. Amongst other things, there are parts of the castle that are off limits to Belzedar and me. The most noticeable is the place the Orb is kept. Also, your wife isn't fully able to keep her distrust off her face."
"Í see. Is there anything that would make you feel better?"
"Not really, old boy. I just needed to let off some steam and you were the nearest target. Sorry about that. Let's get back to work, shall we?"
That's Belmakor for you. He always was quick to get over his anger. He just couldn't hold a grudge. "Not right now," I told him. "Right now we need to go to the Hall of the Rivan King. It's time for you and Zedar to be reintroduced to the Orb."
The two of us made our way to the Hall. When we arrived, I half expected the Orb to respond to our presence, but it stayed a cold blue. "Hard to believe all the trouble there's been about that lump of rock isn't it?" Belmakor said.
"Yes," I replied simply.
At that moment, Garion, Durnik and Zedar entered the room. This time the Orb reacted. The instant Zedar entered the room it flared up as if in the presence of an old friend. "It seems you have an answer to your question, Belgarath," the Necessity said through Garion. "The Orb knows the man who loved it more than any other, the one who would risk and lose his soul to try and save it. Belzedar and Belmakor have returned to the world three thousand years after they left it. Try not to let them go this time, Ancient and Beloved."
With that typical last comment, the Necessity left us at least as confused as when we had begun this journey. My two brothers were back. What did this mean for the world?
Well, that's the end of this part. What do you think? I'll probably have the next chapter (this one from Polgara's point of view) up fairly soon. In case you're wondering, Belgarath and Polgara are not going to be the only viewpoint characters. It was just easiest for me to start with them. Other characters will be used later - especially Belmakor. I have plans for him.
Our first week on Riva was very interesting. Belmakor and Zedar were very curious about the place, as they had never been to the Isle of the Winds when it was inhabited. We still did our best to keep them away from Orb, as we still didn't entirely trust them. Probably the least trusting person in the castle was my wife. Of course, she was especially distrustful of Zedar. "One wonders why you are willing to trust him," she said.
"One is not," I replied. "He has not and probably will not ever earn one's trust again. But he has not done anything yet to make one distrust him."
"One still thinks it is unwise to allow him such free reign. The last time he was free he caused chaos."
"Perhaps this is not the same him as it was the last time we saw him."
"One does not accept that. One has never liked him. He will betray us."
"Perhaps. One will watch him closely. But until he does something contrary to our interests, one must accept him. Without him, we might never get to the bottom of this."
"Very well. But if he betrays us, one will kill him oneself."
"One expected nothing else."
Somewhat surprisingly, Durnik and Garion got on fairly well with Zedar. They were happy to show him all that the Isle has to offer. I can just about understand why Garion could accept Zedar - Garion knows only two well what it's like to have your mind twisted against your will, and I am fairly certain that that was what happened to Zedar. I still can't really fathom why Durnik would be willing to be with Zedar. I think I would be far more bitter towards the man who killed me. I suppose in part it is due to his nature. Durnik has always been far more accepting and forgiving than just about anybody I've ever known. It's one of the qualities that makes him such a good man and a good match for Pol. I think the rest of it is because he felt it was his duty to make sure Zedar didn't do anything harmful and that if he did he would not survive it.
"He seems really lost, grandfather," Garion told me after one of their expeditions into the city. "It's as if his reason for being no longer exists."
"That's quite possible, Garion. Torak is dead. The Orb's back in our hands. His plan is no longer necessary and he can no longer feel the presence of his master. He is probably empty."
"It's really sad. I can understand now why Eriond always said he pitied him. I'm glad most of the world doesn't know he's here. If they did, I don't know what we might have to do."
"Yes. Right now Zedar is to be pitied. If he really is from the past, that's even more the case. He won't even have the time he's in as something to cling to."
"Why has it affected Belmakor so much less?"
"Are you sure it has?"
"Well, Belmakor seems so much more irreverent. He seems to be having too much fun to be feeling out of place."
"That's the way Belmakor always was. If this is the real Belmakor, something I'm still not entirely convinced of, if he is really serious things are really bad. With Belmakor, it's almost impossible to tell how sad he really is. His depression before he died was so out of character that it worried us, but it seems it disguised doubts as severe as those Belsambar had. We need to keep an eye on the two of them. If we don't we could suddenly find the situation spinning out of control."
We continued to make sure Belmakor and Zedar were not left alone more than necessary. In part this was so they didn't hurt themselves and in part so they couldn't plan anything. We had been doing this for almost a week when Garion informed me 'Grandfather, I've been told we should take Zedar to see the Orb when we come back from town. Could you make sure Belmakor is there too?'
'I'll see what I can do,' I responded. 'We'll be in the library until then.'
Belmakor and I spent the next few hours hour pouring over the books in Garion's library. We were trying to find out more about the King of Hell. "Damn it Belgarath," he said in frustration at our fruitless search. "There's nothing about demons here, let alone about their king."
"We have to keep looking. We need to know what we're up against."
"You're the expert in demons Belgarath, not me. I don't have a clue what to look for."
"You've never been this impatient in the past. Or this irritable. What's the problem?" I asked him.
"I feel out of place here. I've missed three thousand odd years of history and I don't even have my tower here to make me feel at home. And to top it all off, I'm not entirely trusted."
"What gave you that idea?"
"Belgarath, I'm not an idiot. Amongst other things, there are parts of the castle that are off limits to Belzedar and me. The most noticeable is the place the Orb is kept. Also, your wife isn't fully able to keep her distrust off her face."
"Í see. Is there anything that would make you feel better?"
"Not really, old boy. I just needed to let off some steam and you were the nearest target. Sorry about that. Let's get back to work, shall we?"
That's Belmakor for you. He always was quick to get over his anger. He just couldn't hold a grudge. "Not right now," I told him. "Right now we need to go to the Hall of the Rivan King. It's time for you and Zedar to be reintroduced to the Orb."
The two of us made our way to the Hall. When we arrived, I half expected the Orb to respond to our presence, but it stayed a cold blue. "Hard to believe all the trouble there's been about that lump of rock isn't it?" Belmakor said.
"Yes," I replied simply.
At that moment, Garion, Durnik and Zedar entered the room. This time the Orb reacted. The instant Zedar entered the room it flared up as if in the presence of an old friend. "It seems you have an answer to your question, Belgarath," the Necessity said through Garion. "The Orb knows the man who loved it more than any other, the one who would risk and lose his soul to try and save it. Belzedar and Belmakor have returned to the world three thousand years after they left it. Try not to let them go this time, Ancient and Beloved."
With that typical last comment, the Necessity left us at least as confused as when we had begun this journey. My two brothers were back. What did this mean for the world?
Well, that's the end of this part. What do you think? I'll probably have the next chapter (this one from Polgara's point of view) up fairly soon. In case you're wondering, Belgarath and Polgara are not going to be the only viewpoint characters. It was just easiest for me to start with them. Other characters will be used later - especially Belmakor. I have plans for him.