Alorns are such babies at times.
I hammered the details of the division into them with that same callousness. I didn’t give them time to get all weepy and sentimental. I told Cherek in precise terms just how many warriors he was going to send to each of his sons to help with the founding of the new kingdoms. His expression grew mournful when he realized that I was usurping over half of his subjects. Every time he started to protest, I reminded him pointedly that the retrieval of the Orb had been his idea in the first place. I hadn’t wanted to leave my pregnant wife at the time, so I didn’t have much sympathy for them now.
‘All right,’ I concluded that evening, ‘that’s the way we’re going to do it. Any questions?’
‘What are we supposed to do when we get set up?’ Dras asked sullenly, ‘just stand around and wait for the Angaraks?’
‘You’ll get further instructions from Belar,’ I told him. ‘The Gods are involved in this, too, you know.’
‘Belar doesn’t like me,’ Dras said. ‘I beat him at dice most of the time.’
‘Don’t play dice with him, then. Try to stay on the good side of him.’
‘This is awfully open country around here,’ Algar said, looking out at the vast grassland. ‘I’m going to have to do a lot of walking.’
‘There are wild horses out there. Chase them down and ride.’
‘My feet drag on the ground when I try to sit on a horse.’
‘Chase down a bigger one, then.’
‘There aren’t any bigger ones.’
‘Breed some.’
‘The weather on the Isle of the Winds is really miserable,’ Riva complained.
‘Build houses with thick walls and stout roofs.’
‘The wind’ll blow thatch roofs right off the houses.’
‘Make your roof out of slate, then, and nail it down.’
Cherek finally got as tired of it as I was getting. ‘You’ve got your instructions,’ he told his sons. ‘Now go do as you’re told. You might be kings now, but you’re still my sons. Don’t make me ashamed of you.’
That put the starch back in their spines.
The farewells the following morning were tearful, however. Then we scattered to the winds, leaving Algar standing forlornly on the bank of the Aldur River.
Riva and I went west until we reached the mountains, and then we swung off slightly northwesterly to avoid the northern reaches of Ulgoland. I’d gotten all the entertainment I wanted out of our skirmishes with the Angaraks. I didn’t feel much like playing with Algroths or Eldrakyn.
We came down out of the mountains and crossed the fertile plains of modern-day Sendaria until we reached the shore of the Great Western Sea. We stopped there to wait for the warriors Cherek had promised to send – and their women, of course. I was establishing new countries, and I needed breeding stock.
Yes, I know that’s a blunt way to put it, and it’ll probably offend Polgara, but that’s just too bad. If she doesn’t have that to be offended about, she’ll probably just find something else.
Got you that time, didn’t I, Pol?
While Riva and I were waiting for his people to arrive from Val Alorn, I amused myself by cheating. There was a sizeable forest near the beach, and I utilized my talents to fell trees and saw them into boards. Riva had seen me do all sorts of things with the Will and the Word, but for some reason, the sight of a log spewing out unprovoked sawdust seemed to unnerve him. He finally refused entirely to watch, but sat instead staring out at the sea and muttering the word ‘unnatural’ – usually loud enough for me to hear. I tried to explain to him that we were going to need boats to get to the Isle of the Winds, and that boats implied lumber, but he refused to listen to me. It wasn’t until I had stacks of lumber spread out for a quarter of a mile along the beach that he finally came up with what came fairly close to a reasonable objection. ‘If you make boats out of those green boards, they’ll sink. They’ll have to cure for at least a year.’
‘Oh, not that long,’ I disagreed. Then, just to show him who was in charge, I looked at a nearby stack, concentrated, and said, ‘Hot.’
The stack started to smoke immediately. Riva had irritated me, and I’d gone a bit too far. I reduced the heat, and the smoke was replaced by steam as the green boards began to sweat out their moisture.
‘They’re warping,’ he pointed out triumphantly.
‘Of course they are,’ I replied calmly. ‘I want them to warp.’
‘Warped lumber’s no good.’
‘It depends on what you want to build with it,’ I disagreed. ‘We want ships, and ships have curved sides. Something with flat sides is called a barge, and it doesn’t sail very well.’
‘You’ve got an answer for everything, haven’t you Belgarath? Even for your mistakes.’
‘Why are you being so cross with me, Riva?’
‘Because you’ve torn my life apart. You’ve separated me from my family, and you’re taking me to the most wretched place on earth to spend the rest of my life. Stay away from me, Belgarath. I don’t like you very much right now.’ And he stalked off up the beach.
I started after him.
– Leave him alone, Belgarath. – It was my friend again.
– If I’m going to have his cooperation, I’m going to have to make peace with him. –
– He’s a little upset right now. He’ll settle down. Don’t weaken your position by going to him. Make him come to you. –
– What if he doesn’t? –
– He has to. You’re the only one who can tell him what to do, and he knows it. He’s got an enormous sense of responsibility. That’s why I chose him. Dras is bigger, and Algar’s smarter, but Riva sticks to something once he starts it. Go back to baking boards. It’ll keep your mind off your troubles. –
Somehow he always knew what the most insulting thing he could say would be. Baking boardsl I still get hot around the ears when I remember that particular expression.
Two days later, Riva came to me apologetically. ‘I’m sorry, Belgarath,’ he said contritely.
‘What for? You didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. I have torn your life apart, I have separated you from your family, and I am going to take you to the Isle of the Winds to spend the rest of your life. The only thing you left out was the fact that none of it’s been my idea. You’re the Keeper of the Orb now, and somebody has to tell you what to do. I’m your teacher. Neither one of us asked for the jobs, but we got them anyway. We might as well make the best of it. Now come over here, and I’ll show you the plans I’ve drawn up for your boats.’
‘Ships,’ he corrected absently.
‘Any way you want it, Orb-keeper.’
The Alorns began drifting in the next afternoon. Alorns don’t march. They don’t even stay together when they’re traveling, and their direction is pretty indeterminate, since small groups of them periodically break off to go exploring.
Riva put them to work building ships immediately, and that lonely beach turned into an impromptu shipyard. There were a number of arguments about my design for those ships, and some of the objections raised by various Alorns were even