Читать книгу The Rivan Codex: Ancient Texts of The Belgariad and The Malloreon - David Eddings - Страница 14

TRULY

I say unto thee that the world was made with a word. For the Seven joined together and spake the one word – Be –

And the world was.

I say again, in the speaking of the word was the world made, and all that is in the world was made thus. And Truly, I say unto thee also, thus may the world be unmade.^† For in the day that my brothers and I join again and speak the words – Be Not – in that day shall the world perish.

Infinite is the power of the word, for the word is the breath and soul of the mind, and as I have taught thee it is in the mind that all power lies. If thy mind have power, put that power into the word, and that which thou dost desire shall come to pass. But if thy mind be untutored or if it should be that thou falter or fear or doubt, the greatest words of power shall avail thee not – for with thy mind and with the word must be joined the will. And thus has it ever been.

It has come to pass that I must now go from thee and our paths must part. There is discontent and turmoil abroad in the land, and if it should come to pass that my brothers and I were drawn in to this conflict, our contention would destroy the world. Thus, that we might preserve the world and that we never again be forced to raise our hands against our beloved brother who has been maddened by his afflictions must we go from this world.

In sorrow I go from thee, but know that my spirit will be with thee always to aid thee and to comfort thee.

As I leave thee, I charge thee with a duty and lay upon thee a heavy burden. Verily, my beloved Disciples, thou art not as other men. Together have we sought out wisdom that we might more perfectly understand the meaning of the power of the word. That power is with thee, and thy minds have been bent to its use. Upon thee therefore falls the duty of preserving the world now that I and my brothers must depart. Some will remain here in this Vale to seek out further the meaning of the power of the word; others must go forth into the lands of strangers and use the power of the word to preserve the world and to stand as a barrier against my brother until the appointed one shall appear who will do that which must be done.

It will come to pass that some among thee will sicken of this endless burden, and with will and mind and the power of the word will they cause themselves to no longer be – for it is a simple thing to say ‘be not’ and to perish. For them I grieve, knowing that which is to come to pass.

And behold, one among thee shall bend his mind and will and the power of the word to exalt himself above all men, and he too shall perish, and I grieve for him as well.

In parting I abjure thee, seek not to pit thy will and thy mind and the power of the word against my brother Torak. Know that he is a God, and though thy mind be as strong as his and thine understanding of the power of the word be as perfect, his will is to thine as is thine to that of a child. Know that this it is that makes him a God. In the invincibility of his will is Torak a God, and in that only. In the day that thou seekest to raise thy will against the will of Torak, in that day shalt thou surely perish. But more than this – if it should come to pass that the power of the word be raised against Torak, no power that exists in the endless starry reaches of the Universe can save the world. For I say unto thee, if Torak in his madness turn mind and will and the power of the word against thee, shall the world be shattered, and the shards thereof scattered like dust among the stars.

Lest ye grow fearful and disconsolate at the enormity of thy task, know that the Orb which I have made hath the power to curb the will of Torak. For it hath confounded him, and not without cost hath he raised it against the world.

And it shall come to pass that in a certain day shall come the One who is to use the Orb, and if he be brave and pure, shall Torak be overthrown. But if he falter or be tempted by the power of the Orb, shall Torak overcome him and recapture the Orb, and then shall the world be Torak’s forever.

But behold, the madness of my brother Torak is a disease and a canker unto the Universe, and if it should come to pass that he prevails in this, it must be that my brothers and I raise our hands against him, for the madness of Torak unchecked shall rend the Universe even as he hath cracked this world which we made and which we love. And thus will we come against him with the most fearful power. In sorrow shall we pronounce the dread words – ‘Be Not’ – and our brother Torak shall be no more, and, as it must needs be, this lovely world also shall be no more.

Guide well therefore the child and the man who is to be the Appointed One and prepare him for his great task. Know that if he fail, Torak shall conquer, and my voice must be joined with the voices of my Brethren to speak that final – ‘Be Not’ – which will unmake all that we have made. And, though it will grieve me beyond thy power to understand, I will bend all of my mind and all of my will into that fateful word, and this world will shimmer and vanish as morning mist beneath the weight of the noon sun.

Thus I leave the world in thy keeping, my sons. Fail not in thy duty to me and to the world.

I will go now to seek pleasant fields among the stars and shaded pathways to strange suns; and, if all passeth well, shalt thou join me there when thy task is done.

– And, so saying, did Aldur turn and ascend into the star-strewn skies, and no man hath seen him more –