In the Earth Abides the Flame Read Online Free PDF Page A

walk upvalley from the island of Dona Mihst, and as a youth he was apprenticed to his father.
    His mother, however, held higher hopes for her youngest son, and convinced her husband to send him to the School of the Prophets when he was sixteen years old. There he met Pyrinius, the most famous of all teachers, listened to the debates, heard the music, and lost his heart to learning. Twelve years he spent in the School, replacing his mentor when the old man died.
    He paid special attention to one area of lore. Various old and long-neglected scrolls contained words from prophets generally regarded as mentally unbalanced by later generations and, in the opinion of most, not fit for serious study. Yet Pyrinius chose to question the general opinion, and began the exhaustive work of restoring the scrolls, convinced something of the utmost importance lay hidden in their obscure phrasings. Though he died before he discovered what it might be, he passed his passion and curiosity on to his disciple, and Phemanderac still vividly remembered the day when finally he realised what, or who, the common factor in all the writings actually was. More than anything he wished the old man had lived to share his triumph, for he, Phemanderac the blacksmith's son, had uncovered the secret of the Right Hand of the Most High.
    Phemanderac continued his story, completely failing to notice Mahnum stiffen, then lean forward with mounting excitement. The Right Hand, explained the Dhaurian philosopher, is revealed in the scrolls to be a person, the representative of the Most High in the world - some prophets referred to the actual embodiment of the Most High, though the manuscripts were obscure on this point - who would appear at the moment of greatest danger to Faltha. His appearance would herald the thwarting of Bhrudwo's power, ushering in a new age of enlightenment when once again the Most High would concern Himself with the affairs of the First Men. Phemanderac called a meeting of the philosophers, the most senior of the prophets, to share his knowledge, but suffered a rude shock.

    'We are not concerned with Falthan affairs,' his sage elders told him. 'These manuscripts are of dubious origin, are they not? It may be they were written by Falthans and brought here in the days when we of the Vale still had ill-advised contact with the north. So what if the Right Hand appears? We need him not: we are of the Rehtal Clan, descendants of Sthane of the House of Saiwiz; we have access to the benefits of the Most High. Forget such studies, conceived as they were by an old man far advanced in his dotage, and return to the paths of wisdom.'
    The young philosopher argued against the judgment of his elders, but could not convince them of the validity of his growing interest in the Right Hand. They forbade him to pursue it, yet he continued reading the scrolls. They had the scrolls destroyed, a shocking act which pained him still, though he had memorised their contents. He expressed the desire to journey to Faltha in order to verify his theories, but this they would not allow, fearing contamination by the ideas and customs of lesser men. So, obeying his inner prompting, he departed from his family and the land of Dhauria without leave nearly three years ago, and crossed the Deep Desert alone. Aware of the parallel between his rebellion and that of Kannwar two thousand years earlier, he hoped his cause was more just than that of the black-hearted Destroyer.
    About the same time I set out for Bhrudwo, Mahnum thought.
    Phemanderac searched Faltha for knowledge of the Right Hand, but found none. 'Only in the vaults of the Hall of Lore in Instruere might I have been able to find, perhaps, the evidence I sought, but the Council denied me access. 1 continued westwards, persuaded with ever-increasing urgency that time was short, pursuing the only clue as to the whereabouts of the Right Hand: a fragment of a riddle locating that which I seek "in lowly vale on Cape of