Legacy of the Darksword by Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman Read Free Book Online Page B

indicated, “if I
take notes?”
    Saryon frowned and shook his
head, but Mosiah said he did not mind and that our experiences might, someday,
make an interesting book. He only hoped people would still be left alive on
Earth to read it.
    I retrieved my small computer
from my bedroom, and seated with the computer in my lap, I wrote down his
words.
    “The Dark Cultists have existed
down through time, although we, in Thimhallan, had no record of them. What we
knew as the Council of Nine on Thimhallan, representing the nine magical arts,
was once the Council of Thirteen here on Earth. At that time the Council
believed that all magi should be represented, even those who held diverse
ethical views, and so those who practiced the dark side of magic were included.
Perhaps some of the more naive members hoped to turn their brothers and sisters
who walked in the shadows back to the light. If so, they did not succeed and,
in fact, they incorporated their own eventual downfall.
    “It was the Dark Cultists who
poisoned the mundane of Earth against magi. Life did not come from life, for
them. Life—or magic—came from death. They engaged in human and animal
sacrifice, believing that the deaths of others enhanced their power. Cruel and
selfish, they used their arcane arts only to indulge themselves, to further
their own ambition, to enslave and seduce, to destroy.
    “The mundane fought back. They
held witch trials, inquisitions. Magi were rounded up, tortured until they
confessed, and were burned or hanged or drowned. Among these were many members
of the Council who had used their magic for good, not evil. Shocked and
saddened by their losses, the Council of Thirteen met to consider what to do.
    “The Four Dark Cults—the Cult of
the White Steed, the Black Steed, the Red Steed, and the Pale Steed—all
advocated war and conquest. They would rise up and destroy those who opposed
them, enslaving all who survived. The Nine Cults of Light refused even to
consider this option. Furious, the Four members
stormed out of the meeting. In their absence, the other members made their
decision. They would leave Earth forever. Realizing now the danger the Dark
Cultists represented to their order, the Council took care that the Dark
Cultists were excluded from all their plans.
    “In A.D. 1600, when Merlyn and
the Council of Nine left this world, the Dark Cultists found out about the
exodus, but—so well kept was the secret—they were too late either to impede the
exodus or to force their way along. They were left behind on Earth.
    “At first, they welcomed the
change, for the Council of Nine had long curtailed the activities of the Dark
Cultists. They saw themselves as rulers of the people of Earth and so they set
out to advance their goals. But during this time on Thimhallan, Merlyn
established the Well of the World, which drew magic from Earth and concentrated
it within the boundaries of Thimhallan. The Dark Cultists found themselves
bereft of their magical power.
    “They were enraged, but helpless.
They knew well what had happened, that magic was being kept within Thimhallan.
Their powers dwindled, except for times of famine or plague or war, when Death
stalked the world and increased their power. Even then, they could perform only
small magicks, mostly for their own personal benefit. They never lost their
ambition, nor their memory of how powerful they had
once been. They believed that there would come a time when they would rise
again.
    “And so, down through the ages,
the Four kept their loose-knit organization. Parents would pass on this dark
inheritance to their children. Worthy recruits were brought into the circle.
Fearful of discovery, the Four worked their Dark Arts in isolation, keeping
apart from others. Yet they always knew each other, one mage recognizing a
fellow mage by certain secret signs and countersigns.
    “A central organization existed,
run by the Khandic Sages. So secret was this that few of the members ever knew
who