The Diamond Throne

protested.
    ‘Keep thou my ring in the place where I have concealed it. Should all go well, return it to my daughter when she sits again in splendour upon her throne; but should she die, continue thy quest for Bhelliom, though the search takes thee all the days of thy life. And when it comes to pass that thou findest it, seize the spear in the hand which bears thy ring and drive it into the heart of Bhelliom with all thy might. The jewel will be destroyed.
    as will the rings – and in that act shalt thou lose thy life. Fail not in this, Sparhawk, for a dark power doth bestride the earth, and Bhelliom must never fall into its hands.’
    Sparhawk bowed. ‘It shall be as you command, my King,’ he swore.
    A sigh came from the sarcophagus. ‘It is done, then,’ Aldreas whispered. ‘I have done what I could to aidthee, and this completes the task which I left unfinished. Do not fail me. Hail then, Sparhawk, and farewell.’
    ‘Hail and farewell, Aldreas.’
    The crypt was still chill and empty, save for the ranks of the royal dead. The hollow whisper had fallen silent now Sparhawk rejoined the parts of the spear, then reached out his hand and laid it over the heart of the leaden effigy ‘Sleep well, Aldreas,’ he said softly Then with the ancient spear in his grasp, he turned and quietly left the tomb.
    This concludes Book One: The Diamond Throne of T HE E LENIUM .
    Book Two: The Ruby Knight will cover the desperate search for the long-lost Bhelliom through far lands and strange adventures.

The Diamond Throne
    David Eddings was born in Washington State in 1931 and grew up near Seattle. He graduated from the University of Washington and went on to serve in the US Army. Subsequently he worked as a buyer for the Boeing Company and taught college-level English. High Hunt, his first novel, was a contemporary adventure story, but he soon began a spectacular career as a fantasy writer with his bestselling series The Belgariad. He consolidated his immediate success with another enormously popular series, The Malloreon. The Elenium and its sequel The Tamuli mark his most impressive achievement to date in the field of top-class fantasy fiction.
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BY THE SAME AUTHOR
    The Belgariad
    Belgarath the Sorcerer
    Polgara the Sorceress
    The Rivan Codex
    Book One: Pawn of Prophecy
    Book Two: Queen of Sorcery
    Book Three: Magician’s Gambit
    Book Four: Castle of Wizardry
    Book Five: Enchanters’ End Game
    The Malloreon
    Book One: Guardians of the West
    Book Two: King of the Murgos
    Book Three: Demon Lord of Karanda
    Book Four: Sorceress of Darshiva
    Book Five: The Seeress of Kell
    The Elenium
    Book One: The Diamond Throne
    Book Two: The Ruby Knight
    Book Three: The Sapphire Rose
    The Tamuli
    Book One: Domes of Fire
    Book Two: The Shining Ones
    Book Three: The Hidden City
    High Hunt
    The Losers

Copyright
    Voyager
    An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
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    This paperback edition 1995
    7 9 8
    Previously published in paperback by Grafton 1990, reprinted twice, and by HarperCollins Science Fiction & Fantasy 1993. reprinted once
    First published in Great Britain by Grafton 1989
    Copyright © David Eddings 1989
    The Author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
    Set in Palatino
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    EPub Edition © FEBRUARY 2010 ISBN: 978-0-007-36802-0
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