"Books - David Eddings - Polgara the Sorceress" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

though, had been the presence of mother's thought, and as long as
that would still be with us we were sure that we'd be all right.
For a number of reasons it was necessary for me to be born first.
Aldur's alterations of my mind and my personality had made me
more adventurous than Beldaran anyway, so it was natural for me
to take the lead, I suppose.
It was actually an easy birth, but the light hurt my eyes right at
first, and the further separation from my sister was extremely
painful. In time, however, she joined me, and all was well again. Mother's
thought - and Aldur's were still with us, and so we drowsed
together in perfect contentment.
I'm assuming here that most of you have read my fathers'History of
the World'. In that occasionally pompous monologue he frequently
mentioned 'The humorous old fellow in the rickety cart'. It wasn't
long after Beldaran and I were born that he paid us a call. Although
his thought had been with us for months, that was the first time we
actually saw the Master. He communed with us for a time, and
when I looked around, a sudden panic came over me.
Mother was gone.
'It's all right, Polgara,' mother's thought came to me. 'This is
necessary. The Master has summoned one who'll care for you and
your sister. That one is short and twisted and ugly, but his heart's
good. It'll be necessary to deceive him, I'm afraid. He must believe
that I'm no longer alive. No one - except you and Beldaran - must
know that it's not true. The one who sired you will return soon, but
he still has far to go. He'll travel more quickly without the distraction
of my presence.'

And that's how uncle Beldin entered our lives. I can't be entirely
sure what the Master told him, but he wept a great deal during
those first few days. After he got his emotions under control, he
made a few tentative efforts to communicate with my sister and me.
To be honest about it, he was woefully inept right at first, but the
Master guided him, and in time he grew more proficient.
Our lives - my sister's and mine - were growing more crowded.
We slept a great deal at first. Uncle Beldin was wise enough to put
us in the same cradle, and as long as we were together, everything
was all right. Mother's thought was still with us - and Aldur's
and now uncle Beldin's, and we were still content.
My sister and I had no real sense of the passage of time during
our first few months. Sometimes it was light and sometimes dark.
Beldin was always with us, though, and we were together, so time
didn't really mean very much to us.
Then, after what was probably weeks, there were two others as
well, and their thought joined with the ones which were already
familiar. Our other two uncles, Beltira and Belkira, had entered our
lives.
I've never fully understood why people have so much difficulty
telling Beltira and Belkira apart. To me, they've always been separate
and distinct from each other, but I'm a twin myself, so I'm probably