"To what end? What task hast thou for this man that demands his restoration?"

She bit her lip again. "To be my husband, Master," she blurted finally with a trace of defiance in her voice.

"And was that also so very difficult to say? Art thou sure, however, that this love of throe derives not from thy grief, and that once this good man is restored, thy mind might not turn away from him? He is, thou must admit, most ordinary."

"Durnik has never been ordinary," she flared with sudden heat. "He is the best and bravest man in the world."

"I meant him no disrespect, Polgara, but no power loth infuse him. The force of the Will and the Word is not in him."

"Is that so important, Master?"

"Marriage must be a joining of equals, my daughter. How could this good, brave man be husband to thee, so long as thy power remains?"

She looked at him helplessly.

"Couldst thou, Polgara, limit thyself? Wouldst thou become his equal? With power no more than his?"

She stared at him, hesitated, then blurted the one word, "Yes."

Garion was shocked - not so much by Aunt Pol's acceptance but rather by Aldur's request. Aunt Pol's power was central to her very being. To remove it from her would leave her with nothing. What would she be without it? How could she even live without it? It was a cruel price to demand, and Garion had believed that Aldur was a kindly God.

"I will accept thy sacrifice, Polgara," Aldur was saying. "I will speak with my father and my brothers. For good and proper reasons, we have denied ourselves this power, and we must all agree to it before any of us might attempt this violation of the natural order of things." And he returned to the sorrowful gathering about Torak's bier.

"How could he do that?" Garion, his arm still about Ce'Nedra, demanded of his grandfather.

"Do what?"

"Ask her to give up her power like that? It will destroy her."

"She's much stronger than you think, Garion," Belgarath assured him, "and Aldur's reasoning is sound. No marriage could survive that kind of inequality."

Among the glowing Gods, however, one angry voice was raised. "No!" It was Mara, the weeping God of the Marags, who were no more. "Why should one man be restored when all my slaughtered children still lie cold and dead? Did Aldur hear my pleas? Did he come to my aid when my children died? I will not consent."

"I hadn't counted on that," Belgarath muttered. "I'd better take steps before this goes any further." He crossed the littered ground and bowed respectfully. "Forgive my intrusion," he said, "but would my Master's brother accept a woman of the Marags as a gift in exchange for his aid in restoring Durnik?"