other portents. Since none of these has occurred, as far as I know, I don't believe that too much weight should be given to the seeming fulfillment of one or two of the prophecies. They're quite vague, after all.
'Regarding the Sword of Bheleu, that's not really within my area of expertise, but it seems to fit in with the start of the new age. I have no idea where it came from or what it is capable of.'
She sat down.
Shandiph rose and said, 'We have a second astrologer on hand; Veyel of Nekutta, have you anything to add?'
The old man robed in black shook his head. 'No. She covered the general topic well, and I cannot deal with specifics without casting a proper horoscope of this overman, something I do not have sufficient information to attempt.'
'In that case, I call on Miloshir the Theurgist to inform us regarding the nature of the Sword of Bheleu.'
The theurgist was a middle-aged man wearing white and gold, of nondescript appearance except for his flowing brown hair. He got slowly to his feet, and spoke.
'I am afraid that we may be in serious trouble very soon. As Herina has told us, this is now the Fourteenth Age of the world, ruled by Bheleu, the god of destruction. Bheleu is the second most powerful of the Lords of Dыs, the evil gods, second only to The God Whose Name Is Not Spoken. Among all the gods, only the ineffable Dagha and the gods of life and death are reckoned his superiors, and Bel Vala, god of strength and courage, is his only near-equal. Furthermore, Bheleu is not a god who can be accommodated and lived with, as we have lived with the goddess P'hul for these past three centuries; he demands constant destruction, unlimited death and chaos. Herina said that this age would last for thirty years; my own studies indicate that it will last for only three, since it will take no longer than that for the world to destroy itself utterly under the influence of Bheleu.
'As for the Sword, every god, in his time, uses tools to work his will in our mortal world. Each deity has some token, some powerful magical object, through which his power is channeled and by which he dominates the age given to him. Each such token has existed, it is said, since the very beginning of time, when the First Age began, but each remains hidden and powerless until it is found at the proper time and used by the mortal being or beings chosen by the god to wield it.
'I am very much afraid that this overman, Garth, is Bheleu's chosen agent and has already found and begun using the sword that is the god's token. This means that he has at his command, should he learn to use it, the full might of the god and all the supernatural powers and abilities attributed to the god. While I might ordinarily suspect that this overman is a fraud and the sword a fake given a prestigious name-such hoaxes have occurred-I fear that is not the case here. You will recall, some of you, that idols of Bheleu always depict him as an overman, and that, as the astrologer mentioned, this Garth has already fulfilled at least one, and probably two or more of the relevant prophecies.
'As the agent of destruction, this Garth-or, if you prefer, the god Bheleu-will be most eager to destroy the forces that help preserve order. The foremost force for order in this decadent world of ours is this very Council. Therefore, we will be one of his prime targets.'
He stopped speaking. Karag asked, 'Then do you say there is nothing that can be done?'
'Oh, no! I never said that. It is entirely possible that Garth can be defeated and much of the havoc he would cause averted. Only three of the gods are so mighty that they cannot be thwarted, and though Bheleu, in this age, is fourth among the gods, he is not one of the three. He can be defeated, his agent destroyed, and his token suppressed. However, any such action must be taken immediately, since the god's power will grow steadily for some time as the new age asserts itself.'
'You are saying, then, that if we do not immediately destroy this overman, he will destroy us?'
'Yes, and the world with us. Exactly.'
Chalkara said, 'You spoke of tokens of all the gods. Could we find these other tokens and use them against this overman?'
'I suppose so, yes. Of course, the tokens of the Arkhein are of very little power and would be of no use at all against the Sword of Bheleu. I believe the tokens of the Lords of Eir may have been destroyed in the Eighth Age, when the balance first shifted in favor of the Lords of Dыs; I certainly know of nothing that would indicate that they still exist. That leaves us only the tokens of the other six dark gods. We already possess one of the six, and I know what the others are, but not where they might be found.'
'We already possess one?'
Miloshir was suddenly hesitant and uncertain. He glanced at Shandiph. 'I have spoken out of turn.'
Shandiph rose again; his knees were growing tired. 'That's all right. Yes, we already possess one; it was the Ring of P'hul that first permitted the Council of the Most High to gain what power we now hold, at the end of the Twelfth Age. It has been kept carefully hidden ever since, because it is far too dangerous to use; it was the Ring which caused the Great Plague that wiped out the Royal Eramman Army and thereby put an end to the Racial Wars before the overmen could be wiped out. It was the Ring that laid waste the Plain of Derbarok. It always did what was asked of it, but never in the way desired; it ended the Racial Wars only by killing the army and ended the war with Orыn only by ruining what both sides fought for.'
'What are the others?'
Miloshir replied, 'The White Stone of Tema, the Black Stone of Andhur Regvos, the Whip of Sai, the Dagger of Aghad, and the Book of Silence are the remaining five.'
'And each of these is as mighty as the Sword of Bheleu, yet we know where none of these potential menaces are?' Karag demanded.
'Oh, no, they are not equally powerful; none of these is the equal of the Sword of Bheleu except the Book of Silence, which holds the fate of the world in its pages.'
'But we know where none of them are?'
'That's right.'
'Where does the basilisk fit into this?' Deriam asked. 'Surely it's the equal of one of these mysterious objects!'
'Ah, there's debate about that. Some say that the basilisk is the true token of The God Whose Name Is Not Spoken, and that the Book of Silence is a lesser item, or a myth, or perhaps the token of Dagha himself.'
'I can readily believe that that thing is the symbol of the death-god. If it is, then we possess two of the tokens, including one mightier than this sword; Garth stands no chance.'
Miloshir looked at Deriam, and then up and down the tables at the thirteen other councilors present. 'I hope you're right,' he said.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
It was plain that there would be no shortage of fuel in Skelleth that winter; partially burned beams and rafters were plentiful, and charcoal abounded. Nor was building stone lacking, since the ring of ruins provided all that might be needed. It was sound wood, for roofing, flooring, and furniture, that was most sorely missed. Ceilings could be constructed of arched stone and roofs made of thatch, but such work took vast amounts of time, as well as consuming great quantities of stone and requiring elaborate scaffolding.
There were no forests or even groves anywhere in the vicinity; firewood had traditionally been gathered from bushes by those fortunate enough to use wood at all, rather than dried dung. No building had been done in Skelleth since the completion of the Baron's mansion some two hundred years earlier. Prior to that, wood had been shipped in by caravan in great wagons, as had much of the stone and other material.
What wood could be salvaged was used, but the supply ran out when some twenty-odd houses had been erected and before any had been furnished.
There was talk of using the wood, chairs, and tables from the King's Inn, but that was quickly abandoned when it became clear that neither Garth nor the Forgotten King thought much of the idea.
Therefore, Saram decided that it was time to re-establish communication with the south, so that wood could be bought. He said as much to Garth.
Garth had been doing very little since Selk's arrival and the killing of the warbeast. He had made a
