Races in The Belgariad
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The world of The Belgariad by David Eddings is populated by a number of humanoid fantasy races. This setting is shared by The Malloreon, Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress. Most of the races are humans of various ethnic backgrounds, mostly grouped into nation states. Some of the species classified as monsters in the story are sentient to a greater or lesser degree, particularly those that resemble humans. There are no elves, dwarves or other typical fantasy races. Many animals in this setting also display intelligence. This article deals with the sentient humanoid races.
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[edit] Humans
[edit] Alorns
Alorns are the people of Belar, occupying the north of the western continent. Once the people of Aloria, they diverged after that kingdom was divided. They maintain strong military and economic ties; indeed, for most purposes a united Alorn military exists, with each nation contributing a particular specialisation. This is by design, its purpose being the protection of the Orb of Aldur. Aldur told Belgarath to keep an eye on them a few thousand years back. Although he obeyed Aldur, Alorns irritate Belgarath mightily.
- Algars are the people of Algaria. At the dividing of Aloria, Algar Fleet-foot and his followers took the broad grasslands drained by the River Aldur. The Algars are nomadic cattle-herders and horse-breeders. They fight as light cavalry similar to Cossacks (and the Peloi of the Elenium and Tamuli).
- Chereks are the people of Cherek. When the last king of a united Aloria, Cherek Bear-shoulders, divided his empire among his sons, he retained the mountainous peninsula that came to bear his name. The Chereks are primarily sailors, dominating sea trade (and piracy) in the West, forming the Alorn navy and patrolling the Sea of the Winds. On land, they are hunters, miners and foresters, and also fight as shock troops—the feared Cherek berserkers. Polgara once remarked that if you scratch the skin of any Cherek, you'd find a pirate lurking underneath. Similar to Vikings and the Thalesians of the Elenium and Tamuli.
- Drasnians are the inhabitants of Drasnia, the northern moors taken by Dras Bull-neck in the breaking of Aloria. They are best known for their extensive intelligence operations; espionage is a common and respected profession for Drasnians. Also, many are merchants, though it is probably true that most (if not all) Drasnian merchants have at least some connection with Drasnian Intelligence. The core of the Drasnian military is heavy infantry, mainly pikemen. The Drasnians have also developed a Secret Language involving subtle, almost imperceptible movements of their fingers. Because of the subtlety, Polgara was amazed that a thick fingered Alorn could have devised it. These features (pikemen, commercial focus) invite comparison with the medieval Dutch.
- Rivans are the people of the Isle of the Winds. An insignificant Alorn possession before the empire was divided, it became the dominion of Riva Iron-grip, the keeper of the Orb of Aldur. Once a closed nation, trade enclaves exist on the island, and Rivan merchants and artisans are not uncommon in other nations of the West. Militarily, the Rivans are defenders of the fortress-city of Riva, where the Orb is kept; when in the field, they fight as medium infantry. The Rivans are seen as a grim race, known best for their drab grey cloaks, but their personal lives are filled with light and colour. These are stereotypes shared with the Swiss and possibly Icelanders, although they could also be seen as quasi-English.
[edit] Angaraks
Angaraks are the people of Torak. In Mallorea, they are the dominant people of Ancient Mallorea in the northwest, and are common throughout the Empire as soldiers and administrators. In the west, they occupy the southern half of the continent, and the lands east of the Escarpment in the north. These western nations were originally the people of Cthol Mishrak in the far northwest of Mallorea. Separate from mainstream Mallorean society, this population became stratified by social class. When Torak broke the city and drove its people to migrate west, he took the social classes to be racial groups, and sent them in three groups accordingly: the Nadraks, Thulls and Murgos. Somewhat culturally similar to Mongolians.
- Grolims are the hereditary priesthood of the Angaraks. They are found throughout Angarak lands. In Mallorea, their power is balanced by the secular and military authority. The Eastern (Mallorean) Grolims are ruled by Urvon, disciple of Torak. In the west, their power is nearly absolute, particularly among the Murgos and Thulls. The Grolims have ranks of a sort, which are shown by the colour of the linings of their hoods. Low-ranking Grolims have plain black linings, middle-ranking priests have green, and the highest rank has purple. There are then assorted High Priests (some of whom have formidable power as sorcerers). The Western Grolims answer to the Sorcerer Ctuchik, another disciple of Torak, who rules from Rak Cthol. Grolims are identical in appearance to Murgos.
- Malloreans are the people of Mallorea in general, and also the Angarak population specifically. The distinction is not always strongly maintained—a typical Mallorean is only one third Angarak, one third Karand and one third Melcene.
- Murgos are the people of Cthol Murgos. Originally the warrior caste and aristocracy of Cthol Mishrak, they were the first group to migrate west, and penetrated the farthest south. Beyond the equator, they conquered the entire southern half of the continent, which was all but unexplored by the other western nations and populated by a Dallish people, later known to the Murgos as the 'slave race'. The region of Cthol Murgos north of the equator is little more than a front for dealing with other nations, keeping most people unaware of the vast size of southern Cthol Murgos. The Murgos are a highly militaristic race, in keeping with their heritage, and practice ritual self-scarification in the name of Torak.
- Nadraks are the inhabitants of Gar og Nadrak. Formerly the merchant class of Cthol Mishrak, they were the last to come west and remained in the heavily-forested north. Their lands border Drasnia, and the Nadraks have more peaceful contacts with other races (including the Alorns) than other Angaraks. The Nadraks are the most independent of Grolim oversight in the West. Their primary industries are mining, hunting and trapping, and drinking. Features invite comparison with the cold-war-era Russian citizens, particularly their environment, occupations, and irreverence towards the ruling ideology.
- Thulls are the people of Mishrak ac Thull. Deriving from the Cthol Mishrak worker caste, they followed the Murgos west and settled in the semi-arid plains between the Escarpment and the Sea of the East. The Escarpment forms a formidable border between the weak Thullish nation and the Algarian Alorns. Economically, the Thulls mostly live in service to their Angarak neighbours north and south. They are also the most common choices for human sacrifice by the Grolims. Thulls are almost invariably described as dull or stupid, although not evil as the Grolims and Murgos are.
[edit] Arends
Arends are the people of Chaldan, inhabiting Arendia on the western continent and the island of Perivor off Mallorea. Arends are often described as slow-witted. The Arendish nobility continue to emphasise pride, honour and military prowess, while the serfs form the downtrodden masses, with little variation in their conditions across the country. As such, while the upper classes strongly identify as Asturian, Mimbrate or (formerly) Wacite, the lower classes are effectively just 'Arendish'. Comparable to the feudal-chivalric cultures of Medieval Europe. For most of its history, Arendia was embroiled in a never-ending series of civil wars among the three major duchies, Asturia, Mimbre, and Wacune. Vo Wacune was destroyed by an Asturian force in events described in Polgara the Sorceress, and the Asturians themselves were effectively fighting a guerrilla war at the time of the multination Battle of Vo Mimbre. After the battle, the heir to the duchy of Asturia was married to the only son of the duke of Mimbre; though this legally united the kingdom, prejudice and local conflicts between Asturians and Mimbrates continued for generations. The Arends are also known for their habit of speaking extravagantly, using archaic language ("Thees, Thous and Foreasmuches" as Eddings puts it in the Rivan Codex) and often taking up to half an hour[citation needed] to exchange pleasantries. This is widely prevalent among the Mimbrates and, to a lesser extent, the Wacites, although the Asturians abandoned it as a sign of defiance towards the Mimbrates.
- Asturians live in the forested northern half of Arendia, the old Duchy of Asturia. The Asturians were long ago defeated by the Mimbrates, and the city of Vo Astur ravaged, but unlike the Wacites they were not destroyed or dispersed. Instead, they lived in nominal subjection to the Mimbrates, but with their soldiers and noblemen engaged in quiet rebellion, assaulting tax collectors and fading into the forest. Their tactics resemble those of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, and like the Sherwood outlaws the Asturians are famed for their archery.
- Mimbrates are now the dominant people of Arendia, the inhabitants of the historical Duchy of Mimbre. The martial traditions of their nobility run along chivalrous lines, with Mimbrate knights in heavy armour forming a fearsome heavy cavalry collectively, and highly trained warriors individually. The Arendish civil war nominally ended when Korodullin, Duke of Mimbre, and Mayaserana, daughter of the Duke of Asturia, married and became co-regent King and Queen. However, the breach was not wholly healed, and the Mimbrates remained the chief authority in Arendia, often not recognising the Asturian nobility at all. The Mimbrates are most closely based on the Normans.
- The people of Perivor are the descendants of the crew and passengers of a Mimbrate ship that, despite the generally poor seakeeping of Mimbrate vessels, managed to sail around southern Cthol Murgos before wrecking on this island off the coast of Dalasia, in Mallorea. The survivors interbred with the native Dals and established the traditions and culture of their homeland, blended somewhat with the mystical ways of the Dals. The practice of serfdom has long been abolished on Perivor.
- Wacites were the people of the Duchy of Wacune, which controlled territory later held by Asturia and Sendaria. The capital at Vo Wacune was for many years the home of Polgara the Sorceress, who worked to end the Arendish civil war. Polgara described the city as bright and beautiful. Sheathed all in snow-white marble, Vo Wacune was the archetype of every fairytale city; but when civil war broke out again, Wacune was destroyed, largely through Asturian actions. Its people effectively vanished from history—most of the nobility were lost, and the lower classes were either absorbed into Asturia or removed to the north, to Polgara's Duchy of Erat (which later became Sendaria). Unlike the Mimbrate knights and Asturian archers, the Wacites did not have an iconic character to their military.
[edit] Marags
Marags are the people of Mara. They are generally thought to be extinct at the time of the opening of the Belgariad, destroyed in the genocidal war waged by the Tolnedrans; a few surviving descendants live in slavery to the Murgos. Little is revealed about Marag society before its destruction, aside from the known practice of cannibalism (this unforunate practice, considered a religious observation, was begun due to a mistake: a misinterpretation of the word "assume" in one of their holy texts). Marag women outnumbered men greatly as female births were eight to nine times male births, and Marag society was matriarchal. Marriage was relatively unheard of before their downfall. Sexual promiscuity was quite common. Belgarath the sorcerer is said to have taken advantage of this fact on several occasions before the fall of Maragor. They are said to be somewhat similar to ancient Greeks due to their heavy focus on male physical perfection and physical competition being an analogy to the Olympic games, along with a few comparison to the Aztecs because of situational happenings and cultural traits.
[edit] Nyissans
Nyissans are the people of Issa. The state of Nyissa is situated on the swampy equatorial west coast of the western continent, and the head of state is the handmaiden of Issa, Salmissra, who is chosen based purely on physical resemblence to the original Salmissra. Nyissans identify closely with the snake, and this influences their culture. Most Nyissan men shave their heads, as hair provides an ideal nesting ground for the many insects that thrive in Nyissa's swamps. They are described as having a passion for recreational drug use; generally, the only sober Nyissan is a dead one. They are also well-versed in poisons, which season high-ranking courtiers' meals as often as more conventional condiments. To counter this, most Nyissans have built up a resistance to sheerly staggering amounts of poison. Nyissa was also notorious as a major site of the slave trade. Culturally modeled in some respects after ancient Egyptians.
[edit] Tolnedrans
Tolnedrans are the people of Nedra, living in the Tolnedran Empire in the subtropical north of the western continent. Tolnedreans are known for their fixation on trade and money. Tolnedra has been ruled over the centuries by five major families, the Honethites, the Vorduvians, the Borunes, the Horbites, and the Ranites. The Belgariad and The Mallorean take place during the reign of Ran Borune XXIII and his adoptive son, Varana, the Duke of Anadile, later Ran Borune XXIV. The primary military force of Tolnedra are the Legionnaires, a medium infantry renowned for their extensive training and rigid discipline. Comparable to Imperial Rome.
[edit] Sendars
Sendars are a people of mixed background, mostly of Alorn and Arendish descent. They are a nation separate from the other human races for all intents and purposes in the story. Practicality and a strong work ethic are intristic to the Sendarian national identity. They are also quite humble, even their nobility. Their first king, King Fundor the Magnificent, was a rutabaga farmer (though one must never forget that he grew cabbages as well). Somewhat similar to a medieval rural English idyll, which is reinforced by the Arendish resemblance to the medieval French and Germans, and the Alorn resemblance to the Scandinavian peoples (the French and Scandinavians being principal forbears of real-world English people).
[edit] Godless Ones
Other human races are descended from the Godless Ones, chosen by no god at the beginning of the human race. They are widely spread across both continents and have physical diversity comparable to the other races as a result.
- Dals live in the Dalasian Protectorates in the south of the Mallorean continent, with a small remnant population in southern Cthol Murgos. The Dals are mystics and include seers and necromancers.
- Karands are demon worshippers living in the north-east of Mallorea, in the seven kingdoms of Karanda. The kingdoms include Jenno, Zamad and Katakor.
- Melcenes live in the south-east of Mallorea, near their ancestral island, Melcene. Melcenes are characterised as civilized, and are great administrators and architects due to their organized approach to problems.
- Morindim are nomadic, tribal demon worshippers, living in the frozen wastes north of the Kingdoms of the West. Their upper class consists mostly of Dreamers, those who "commune" with the demons, and Magicians, those who control the demon by forming a body to imprison it in. If the magician should fail to control his demon, it will break free to wreak havoc on its former master and the clan, usually until nightfall when it returns to its own reality.
- Ulgos live in caves under mountainous Ulgoland, where they migrated after adopting the worship of UL. The Ulgos retreated into the caves after the cracking of the world, which drove many of the non-human monsters mad. Culturally, the Ulgos are similar to the biblical Israelites.
- Godless Ones (would-be Ulgos) were cursed by Gorim to wither and die following their refusal to follow him to Prolgu. Their women were made barren. They believed that Gorim had brought a pestilence upon them. Later, after all were either severely aged or deceased, a boy called Garath stayed for a while with them before becoming Aldur's first disciple, Belgarath.
[edit] Non-humans
- Ape-Bear look a lot like the Eldrakyn and can be easily mistaken for them. They can be found in the mountains of South Mallorea
- Dragons; not so much a name as a description. When the world was still young, only three were created before they were cast aside without being given a proper name. During the first mating season, the two males killed each other and the surviving female has lived alone in its lair at the Korim/Turim reef outside of Perivor. She is described as an enormous bird with only vaguely draconic features, rather than that of a traditional dragon. So impressed with these creatues was Torak, the Dragon-God of Angarak, that he made them his totem animal and did as much as he could to render them invincible.
- Dryads live in the Wood of the Dryads, north of Nyissa and south of Tolnedra. Dryads are always female and capture human males for breeding. Dryads are each bound to a particular oak tree in the wood, and live as long as their tree. One of the great families of the Tolnedran Empire, the Borunes, is closely tied to the dryads through intermarriage. Dryads experience sexual euphoria when given chocolate, a tactic Belgarath uses to his advantage to avoid capture -- as well as for more obvious purposes.
- Eldrakyn, Algroths, and Trolls. Trolls are found in the North of Cherek; little is revealed to the reader regarding them. Algroths are found (at least) in Arendia and Ulgoland. They are pack hunters and their claws are poisonous. Eldrakyn, the strongest and smartest of these three bestial humanoids, are found near Ulgoland and may live for centuries. They have been known to raise and breed packs of Rock-Wolves. A similar creature called an "Ape-Bear" inhabits the Dalasian Protectorates in Mallorea.
- Fenlings are a species of otter-like creature, but larger and more intelligent, that inhabit the Drasnian Fens. With a bit of magical tampering, the Fenlings have developed enough intelligence to speak in the human tongue. Though given a negative role in Drasnian mythology, they are nothing worse than mischievous.
- Harpies are a rare species that inhabits only the remotest parts of Ulgoland. They are seen but once in the series (see: Belgarath the Sorcerer) and no description is given. It is assumed they resemble the classic Greek version, a half-woman/half-vulture monster. Polgara recounts the incident later, describing them as semi-human, though without human intelligence. She also states that their lack of a beak makes them "second rate birds of prey" and shrugs them off as somewhat harmless.
- Hounds of Torak or Chandim were once Grolim Angaraks, changed by Urvon into giant dog-like monsters. They retain their intelligence and gift for sorcery, but the centuries have stripped all remnants of humanity from them (except perhaps sarcasm and sadism).
- Hrulgin are predatory creatures that closely resemble horses except for their fangs and claws. They are pack hunters, led by a single stallion.
- Mud-men are golems constructed of mud and debris to house the snakes of Nyissa. These creatures are the assassins of Divine Salmissra and though they are easily torn asunder, their severed limbs continue to seek completion of their task. They are easily destroyed by a heavy rain.
- Raveners are found in southern Cthol Murgos, and eat the bodies of the dead. In times of famine, pestilence or war the Raveners can go into a frenzy and attempt to eat the living as well as the dead. They are able to run for days, feeling nothing but all-consuming hunger. The only thing they fear is the sea, which they consider even hungrier than they.
- Rock-Wolves. More closely resembling hyenas than wolves, these creatures are fierce pack hunters. One of their few fears is fire. It is not uncommon to see a pack of relatively domesticated rock-wolves under the command of an Eldrakyn.
[edit] Analogs to Belgariad races
The races within the Belgariad are all broadly adapted from real world races from history. In general, politics, ranks, administrative structures, architecture, etc. all match their real world counterparts.
- The Tolnedrans - effectively the Roman Empire at the height of its power, with minor name and theology changes.
- The Mimbrates - 12th Century France - specifically drawing on Knights, chivalry, Arthurian legends, and archaic speech (thee, thou), with feudal politics.
- The Asturians - 12th Century England - a general stereotype lifted directly from the Robin Hood legend.
- The Marags - Ancient Greece, specifically using an obsession with male beauty a la Michelangelo's David, and athletic endeavour in the style of the Olympics.
- The Chereks - directly lifted from the Vikings, with only minor name and theology changes.
- The Sendarians - analogous to a highly idealized view of Anglo-Saxon England.
- The Nyissans - broadly analogous to Ancient Egypt, with some elements drawn from India.
- The Algars - effectively Russian Cossacks.
