The Rivan Codex
Ancient Texts Of The Belgariad And The Malloreon
David & Leigh Eddings
For Malcolm, Jane, Joy, Geoff and all the staff at HarperCollins.
It’s always a genuine pleasure to work with you. With all our thanks
DAVID & LEIGH
Table of Contents
PREFACE: THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF BELGARATH THE SORCERER*
UNIVERSAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES*
BOOK SEVEN THE BATTLE BEFORE VO MIMBRE
IV PRELIMINARY STUDIES FOR THE MALLOREON
A CURSORY HISTORY OF THE ANGARAK KINGDOMS
BOOK 4 THE BOOK OF GENERATIONS
VI A SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS 5376-5387
From the Personal Journal of King Anheg of Cherek*
My decision to publish this volume was made in part because of a goodly number of flattering letters I’ve received over the past several years. Some of these letters have come from students at various levels, and to make matters worse, I’ve also received letters from teachers who inform me that they’re actually encouraging this sort of thing. Aren’t they aware that they’re supposed to wait until I’m safely in the ground before they do this?
The students, naturally, ask questions. The teachers hint around the edges of an invitation to stop by and address the class. I’m very flattered, as I mentioned, but I don’t write – or grade – term papers any more, and I don’t travel. To put it idiomatically, ‘I ain’t going no place; I been where I’m going.’
Then there are those other letters, the ones which rather bashfully confide an intention to ‘try writing fantasy myself’. I don’t worry too much about those correspondents. They’ll get over that notion rather quickly once they discover what’s involved. I’m sure that most of them will eventually decide to take up something simpler – brain surgery or rocket science, perhaps.
I’d more or less decided to just file those letters and keep my mouth shut. A prolonged silence might be the best way to encourage a passing fancy to do just that – pass.
Then I recalled a conversation I had with Lester del Rey on one occasion. When I’d first submitted my proposal for the Belgariad, I’d expected the usual leisurely reaction-time, but Lester responded with what I felt to be unseemly haste. He wanted to see this thing – now, but I wasn’t ready to let him see it – now. I was in revision of what I thought would be Book I, and since I was still doing honest work in those days, my time was somewhat curtailed. I wanted to keep him interested, however, so I sent him my ‘Preliminary