"David Eddings. Pawn of prophecy queen of sorcery magician's gambit (The Belgariad, Part one)" - читать интересную книгу автора

The sword was set against the black rock that stood at the back of
Riva's throne, with the Orb at the highest point, and the sword joined to
the rock so that none but Riva could remove it. The Orb burned with cold
fire when Riva sat upon the throne. And when he took down his sword and
raised it, it became a great tongue of cold fire.
The greatest wonder of all was the marking of Riva's heir. In each
generation, one child in the line of Riva bore upon the palm of his right
hand the mark of the Orb. The child so marked was taken to the throne
chamber, and his hand was placed upon the Orb, so that it might know him.
With each infant touch, the Orb waxed in brilliance, and the bond between
the living Orb and the line of Riva became stronger with each joining.
After Belgarath had parted from his companions, he hastened to the Vale
of Aldur. But there he found that Poledra, his wife, had borne twin
daughters and then had died. In sorrow he named the elder Polgara. Her
hair was dark as the raven's wing. In the fashion of sorcerers, he
stretched forth his hand to lay it upon her brow, and a single lock at her
forehead turned frost-white at his touch. Then he was troubled, for the
white lock was the mark of the sorcerers, and Polgara was the first female
child to be so marked.
His second daughter, fair-skinned and golden-haired, was unmarked. He
called her Beldaran, and he and her dark-haired sister loved her beyond
all else and contended with each other for her affection.
Now when Polgara and Beldaran had reached their sixteenth year, the
Spirit of Aldur came to Belgarath in a dream, saying, "My beloved
disciple, I would join thy house with the house of the guardian of the
Orb. Choose, therefore, which of thy daughters thou wilt give to the Rivan
King to be his wife and the mother of his line, for in that line lies the
hope of the world, against which the dark power of Torak may not prevail."
In the deep silence of his soul, Belgarath was tempted to choose
Polgara. But, knowing the burden which lay upon the Rivan King, he sent
Beldaran instead, and wept when she was gone. Polgara wept also, long and
bitterly, knowing that her sister must fade and die. In time, however,
they comforted each other and came at last to know each other.
They joined their powers to keep watch over Torak. And some men say
that they abide still, keeping their vigil through all the uncounted
centuries.

Part One SENDARIA

Chapter One
THE FIRST THING the boy Garion remebered was the kitchen at Faldor's
farm. For all the rest of his life he had a special warm feeling for
kitchens and those peculiar sounds and smells that seemed somehow to
combine into a bustling seriousness that had to do with love and food and
comfort and security and, above all, home. No matter how high Garion rose
in life, he never forgot that all his memories began in that kitchen.
The kitchen at Faldor's farm was a large, low-beamed room filled with
ovens and kettles and great spits that turned slowly in cavernlike arched
fireplaces. There were long, heavy worktables where bread was kneaded into
loaves and chickens were cut up and carrots and celery were diced with