Sorceress of Darshiva

parchment and read from it in a quavering voice. "’'Behold:' " he read, " 'In the days which shall follow the meeting of the Child of Light and the Child of Dark in the City of Endless Night shall a great despair fall over the Priests of the Dark God, for He shall have been laid low and shall come no more among His people. But lift up thine heart, for thy despair is but the night which shall be banished by the rising of a new sun. For verily I say to thee, Angarak shall have a new birth with the coming of her true god--He who was purposed to lead her since the Beginning of Days. For lo, the Dark God was brought out of nothingness the instant of the EVENT which divided all creation, and was not He who was foreordained to guide and protect Angarak. In the last meeting of the Child of Dark and the Child of Light shall the true God of Angarak be revealed, ye shall render up unto Him your hearts and your devotion.
    " 'And the course which Angarak shall follow shall be "determined by the CHOICE, and once the CHOICE is made, not be unmade and shall prevail eternally for good or for ill. For harken, two shall stand in the Place Which Is More, but only one shall be chosen. And the Child of and the Child of Dark shall surrender up the burden spirits which guide them to the two who shall stand expectation of the CHOICE. And should the CHOICE fall to one hand, the world shall be drowned in darkness, but it fall to the other hand, shall all be bathed in light, that which was ordained since before the beginning of shall come to pass.
    " ‘Abide in hope, therefore, and treat thy fellow creatures and with love, for this is pleasing to the true God, should He prevail and be chosen, He shall bless thee and shall lay but a gentle yoke upon thee.' " The old Grolim lowered the sheet and bowed his head prayerfully. "Thus spoke the voice which filled my heart with joy and banished my despair," he said simply.
    "We're grateful that you shared this with us," Belgarath told him. "Might we offer you something to eat?"
    The Grolim shook his head. "I do not eat meat any more," he said. "I would not offend my God. I have cast away my dagger and will shed no more blood for all the days of my life." He rose to his feet. "I will leave you now," he said. "I came but to reveal to you the words the voice spoke to me, and to assure you that one at least in all of Angarak shall pray for your success."
    "We thank you," Belgarath said sincerely. He went to the door and held it open for the gentle old man.
    "That was fairly specific, wasn't it?" Beldin said after the Grolim had left. "It's the first time I heard a prophecy that got straight to the point."
    "You mean to say that he's really a prophet?" Silk asked.
    "Of course he is. It's an almost classic case. He had all the symptoms—the ecstasy, the radical change of personality, all of it."
    "There's something wrong here, though," Belgarath said, frowning. "I've spent eons reading prophecies, and what he said didn't have the same tone as any that I’ve ever come across—either ours or the others." He looked at Garion. "Can you get in touch with your friend?" he asked. "I need to talk with him."
    "I can try," Garion replied. "He doesn't always come when I call, though."
    "See if you can reach him. Tell him that it's important."
    "I'll see what I can do, Grandfather." Garion sat down and closed his eyes. "Are you in there?" he asked.
    "Please don't shout, Garion, " the voice responded in a pained tone. "It hurts my ears. "
    "'Sorry,'' Garion apologized. "I didn't realize I was talking so loud. Grandfather wants to talk with you.''
    "All right. Open your eyes, Garion. I can't see when they're closed. "
    As had happened occasionally in the past, Garion felt himself shunted off into some quiet corner of his mind, and dry voice took over. "All right, Belgarath," it said Garion's lips. "What is it this time? "
    "I've got a couple of questions, " the old man replied.
    "There 's nothing new about that. You've always got questions. "
    "'Did you hear what the Grolim said?"
    "Naturally."
    "Was it you? I mean, were you the voice that came to him? "
    "No, as a matter of fact, I wasn't. "
    "Then it was the other spirit?"
    "No. It wasn't him either. "
    "Then who was it?''
    "Sometimes I can't believe that Aldur chose you as his first disciple. Are your brains packed in wool?"
    "You don't have to be insulting. " Belgarath sounded a bit injured, but Beldin laughed an ugly, cackling kind of laugh.
    "All right," the