05.09.2005: Answers to reviews removed. See chapter 3 for details.
Current Music: None, got a slight headache...
Disclaimer: I do not own any of David Eddings' worlds and characters, and I do not intend to make money off this fic.
CHAPTER 20
It took a good part of the night filling Dorgatan in on what exactly had happened: why the innkeeper in Lenda had killed his mortal coil, what Zoltach's dominating snake had told them, and how they had decided to follow the general direction of the original energy flow instead of being fooled by those hundreds of branches it was flowing in now.
Finally, when they had ended, Aphrael asked Dorgatan: "What is it like to lose an incarnation by murder, cousin? All my incarnations died from old age or never got discarded, so I wouldn't know."
The Messenger-God, who had appeared like a boy to his mortal companions until he was forced out of this vessel and appeared as a handsome young man now, looked at her, a grave expression on his face.
"It is like having all of your extremities ripped out. Imagine the pain, imagine it ten times as strong, then imagine having it in your head instead of the severed joints."
Aphrael blanched a little and did not bring up the topic anymore. Dorgatan, obviously, had already forgotten about her asking, and now addressed Belgarath and Pogara, his voice curious.
"Very well, you told me that the minion of Zoltach mentioned the name 'Ctuchik', before our sneaky friend obliterated it. Please tell me, who exactly is this man?"
Polgara's face darkened with Anger. "Ctuchik is a Grolim. He was one of the disciples of the Dragon God Torak in our world, and he accidentally obliterated himself when he tried to tell our Master's Orb, a most potent treasure, to 'be not'. That must have been his doorway into this world. He is a most devious man – my father and I competed with him in elaborate games of 'hide-and-seek' for the better part of two millenia. It seems that he is up to the same thing again – with a different master and a different board to play the game on."
Dorgatan pondered on this in silence for a while; finally, when he talked again, it was more to himself than to anyone else, as he tried to conclude from the facts he had been given.
"So we have a steady stream of energy from another realm traveling to a certain point further northeast. We know that Zoltach initiated it, and that a man from this realm he is tapping, Ctuchik, is aiding him... it makes no sense! Yes, the amount of energy he could collect would be vast, but it would most likely not be enough to break out of his prison... or would it?"
Silence fell on the group for a few minutes, while everyone eagerly awaited Dorgatan's next words. Finally, the Messenger-God repeated himself, louder this time.
"OR WOULD IT?"
He jumped up, a hint of triumph in his eyes.
"Belgarath, Polgara, if I remember right, you told us that your Will and Word are almost as strong as the powers of the Younger Gods. Have you ever experienced your sorcery to grow weaker when a lot of sorcerers exist in a small area all at once?"
The disciples of Aldur shook their heads, which caused Dorgatan to flash them a quick smile.
"I believe I finally have a theory of what is going on with both our worlds."
He sat down, his smile vanishing from his face again. "Now, I am sorry, but you probably won't like my hypothesis. Let us start at the beginning: Ctuchik must have found an idol of Zoltach after he arrived here, and, instead of bringing him worshippers, like Otha did with Azash, he offered a different, more subtle approach. He must have told Zoltach how unbelievably strong your sorcery is, and the Elder God concluded the same things I am concluding now: First, that the magical constant in your realm must be multiple times higher than the one here, and second, that he had a being from this realm at his hands to guide him to it."
He stopped there, but, when he saw the wide-eyed looks of many of his listeners, he hastened to explain:
"The magical constant is set by the natural laws of the individual realms. They must be slightly different in Belgarath's and Polgara's world to allow for such a high amount of magical energy to be present. And Ctuchik resonated with that magical energy, as he was a sorcerer back in this world, as well. Zoltach could use that to find a way into this realm and began collecting energy. He can only try one thing..."
He waited to see whether any of his companions had gotten his point by now, but it didn't seem that way – the knights appeared baffled, while Aphrael and the two sorcerers seemed to be lost in thought about his elaborations.
Finally, he gave up. "Aphrael, you know how worlds come to be here – the Maker Spirits form them. However, I do not believe this is true for their realm. I think that there, the Gods themselves formed the world they come from, and their power is hidden in every stone, every plant, every animal and every human. Those vast amounts of energy, more than a thousand times stronger than the energy of our world, constantly renew themselves, and the Gods can live off the world – other than here, where we are dependant on prayers and adoration by worshippers. Their Gods are like farmers, and they farm energy off their creation! And Zoltach tries to capture those powers now, and bind them."
Now, understanding began to dawn in Aphrael's bright eyes. "You think...", she began.
"Yes," Dorgatan took over again. "I think that Zoltach is trying to coalesce all that is their world into a solid object... say, a gemstone?"
That brought forth collective gasps from the knights – they all remembered the Blue Rose well. Sparhawk, after the initial shock, managed to ask:
"Would the thing that is captured resemble Bhelliom?"
Dorgatan thought about it. "No, I don't believe so. Keep in mind that, although the energy of our world is not nearly as strong as that of theirs, Bhelliom has created millions of worlds out there." He pointed up to the sky. "This stone will be less powerful than the Blue Rose – but it will be powerful enough to break Zoltach out of his prison, and powerful enough for him to do for the thousand Younger Gods, the Elene God and all the other deities out there. Remember: Belgarath and Polgara can both do nearly as much as Aphrael and I can – and they are but two of the nearly hundred known sorcerers of their world, which doesn't even account for the magical potential found in normal people, and in the environment. We also can't know whether he will be able to capture the Gods of this world – if he can, he will be able to do anything he pleases with the stone.
"Keep in mind: This stone might not be quite as powerful as the World Maker, but it has one advantage over Bhelliom for its user – it does not have a will, nor does it distinguish between good and bad. Bhelliom knew how to play its game, and it wouldn't work for everybody. This stone will not deny service to Zoltach, neither will it be difficult to use or impossible to touch. That is what makes it even more dangerous than the Sapphire Rose."
"Then Aldur was right," Belgarath spoke up. "This matter is of the utmost importance. If Zoltach takes as much energy as possible from our realm, our world will die, because everything will fall apart without the Breath of the Gods being present."
Dorgatan nodded gravely, his tanned face almost as pale as those of the knights sitting around the fire.
"And if we don't stop him, and Zoltach creates his talisman, he will have enough power to convert our world over to his worship with magic and sword. He will achieve what Azash dreamt of – ruling as the one and only God over all things living. He will be the only one, because destroying all of our family will be the very first thing he is going to do. And trust me: You don't want to be ruled by the Snake God."
So THAT is what Zoltach is up to! ;-) Next chapter coming soon – please review!