The Shining Ones
David Eddings
the Tamuli book 2
Years ago, the Child-Goddess Aphrael had hidden Bhelliom, the Stone of Power,
at the bottom of the sea. Yet now it is needed again to stop a malign force
from spreading evil and destruction across the lands. Sparhawk, Queen's
champion, sets out to retrieve the Stone. But others seek the gem for their
own diabolical ends. Most fearsome of these are the Shining Ones, whose mere
touch melts human flesh from bone. Now Sparhawk finds himself stalked by these
creatures out of myth . . . whose touch is all too real.

PROLOGUE

Excerpted from Chapter Three of the ' Cyrga
Affair: An Examination of the Recent Crisis'.
Compiled by the Contemporary History Department
of the University of Matherion.

A compilation such as this is the work of many scholars, and
thus inevitably reflects differing views. While the author of this
portion of the work in hand has enormous respect for his eminent
colleague who so ably composed the preceding chapter,
the reader must be candidly advised that this writer differs from
his colleague in the interpretation of a number of recent events.
I most definitely do not agree that the intervention by the agents
of the Church of Chyrellos in the Cyrga Affair was entirely
untainted by self-interest.
I must join with my colleague, however, in expressing my
admiration and respect for Zalasta of Styricum. The inestimable
services to the Empire of this wise and faithful statesman cannot
be overly praised. Thus it was that when the full import of the
Cyrga Affair burst upon his Majesty's government, it was quite
natural for our ministers to turn to Zalasta for counsel. Despite
our admiration for this pre-eminent citizen of Styricum, however,
we must admit that Zalasta's mind is so noble that he
sometimes fails to perceive less admirable qualities in others.
There were grave doubts in some quarters of his Majesty's
government when Zalasta urged that we turn our attention
beyond the borders of Tamuli in our quest for a solution to the
problem which was quite rapidly approaching the dimensions
of a crisis. His suggestion that the Pandion Knight, Sir Sparhawk
was best suited to deal with the situation troubled the
more conservative members of the Imperial Council. Despite the
man's military genius, he is nonetheless a member of one of the
Militant Orders of the Church of Chyrellos, and prudent men
do not lower their guard when compelled by necessity to have
%
Second Zemoch War between the Knights of the Church of
Chyrellos and the minions of Otha of Zemoch. Not even Zalasta,
whose wisdom is legendary, can tell us precisely what took
place in the City of Zemoch during Sir Sparhawk's fateful confrontation
with Otha and with the Zemoch God, Azash. There
have been some garbled hints that Sir Sparhawk may have utilized
an ancient talisman known as 'the Bhelliom' in the struggle,
but no reputable scholar has been able to uncover any details
about the talisman or its attributes. However he managed to
perform the astounding feat, it is undeniably true that Sir Sparhawk
was successful in his mission, and it was clearly that
remarkable success which stampeded his Imperial Majesty's
government into turning to this Pandion Knight for aid in the
early stages of the Cyrga Affair - despite the grave reservations
of some highly respected ministers, who quite correctly pointed
out that an alliance between the Empire and the Church of Chyrellos
might well be fraught with unseen dangers. Unfortunately
perhaps, the faction headed by Foreign Minister Oscagne currently
has the Emperor's ear, and our Prime Minister, Pondia
Subat, was unable to prevent the government from embarking
on a potentially dangerous course of action.
Foreign Minister Oscagne himself headed the mission to the
seat of the Elene Church at Chyrellos to petition Archprelate
Dolmant for Sir Sparhawk's aid in dealing with the crisis. While
no one can question Oscagne's skill in diplomacy, his political
views have been called into question in some quarters, and it is
widely known that he and the Prime Minister have disagreed
Violently in the past. The politics of the Eosian Continent are murky, for
there is
no central authority there. Quite frequently, the Church of
Chyrellos finds itself at odds with the reigning monarchs of the
separate Elene kingdoms. As a Church Knight, Sir Sparhawk