Prologue:
Excerpt from the Book of Alorn (updated, colloquial version):
Three quarter-centuries had passed since King Belgarion's great exploits, and the western and eastern worlds were at peace. On the Isle of Winds, Belanna, daughter of Daran, brother of Deran (who had been assassinated by the Bear-Cult for marrying a Mallorean commoner girl), son of Geran, son of Belgarion, had recently ascended the throne and was the first (and quite controversial) Queen of Riva. An unmarried maiden, she was the target of many assassination attempts (though not by the Bear-Cult, which had been almost exterminated by the Rivans who weren't Bear-Cultists) but bravely bore her troubles upon her own shoulders as befit her rank.
In the northern land of Cherek, Anheg III was ruling his propserous seafaring land with a wise and powerful hand. He was, however, more pious than the normal Cherek, and looked upon Queen Belanna with much disguised distaste. He used to be a Bear-Cultist, but broke all ties with the fanatics after the assassination of King Deran. Darik, son of Unrak, son of Barak was Baron of Trellheim, and opposed his King's views so much that he was looked upon with disgrace in court as well as by most of the priests of Belar.
In the prosperous land of Drasnia, King Kheldik, son of Kheva, son of Rhodar was shrewd, intelligent, getting on his years, and one of the most famous ex-spies of Drasnia. After he ascended the throne, of course, he gave up his spying life to focus his entire attention upon the ruling of the Drasnians. Meanwhile, Kheran, son of Khenala, only daughter of Kheldar (Kheldar's son's son is not a main character, is a great spy, and is everything expected of him, and therefore, does not matter overly much) was much disappointed, for while he had inherited his grandfather's looks, he had not inherited the infamous Silk's shrewdness.
In the nomadic land of Algaria, King Cho-Hettar III currently ruled (and was the only Algar King who could not ride at all for he had contracted a peculiar disease so that he could not let the light touch him) and was sickly so that his eldest son, Prince Hettar IV was the one most believed would inherit the throne soon. His other children, (Hejar, Dana, and Jem) were some of the swiftest riders in Algaria (though Jem was but 8).
In the sensible land of Sendaria, Faldor's farm was no more (thanks to a bad business venture on the part of Faldor's son-in-law). Rundorig and Zubrette's line was scattered across Sendaria and not noted for much (except for one). King Fulrach (named after his great-great-great grandfather) was a just and fair king (as well as practical). His Queen, Zalaia, was actually a descendant of Zubrette and held Zubrette's beauty and charm, as well as shrewdness.
In the strife-torn land of Arendia, the Asturians and the Mimbrates had pretty much healed their rift (though there was still much petty squabbling). The monarchs were no longer married as cousins (though they were still named Korodullin and Mayaserana), and serfdom was finally abolished. Lelldorin's descendant Juana, had actually married Mandorallen's descendant, Mathdor, and they had a lovely, un-Arendish son by the name of Marqet. Marqet was clever, ready to run, and not at all willing to fight. Suffice to say, he was a disappointment to his parents in every way except for the fact that he had never once lost a duel (of course, he only dueled those he knew weren't as good as he).
In the mysterious Ulgoland, the monsters were still mad (thanks to Torak cracking the world), but the Angarak God Eriond had put "healing the monsters" high on his priority list after much complaints from his father, UL. Relg's son was still Gorim, but was older than dirt, and his successor Haktu was being trained to take on the position soon.
In Tolnedra, the Anadiles had (unfortunately) lost the succession, and the Honethite Dynasty had lasted but a few days before they all died out (thanks to a rather fatal form of the plague that had plowed through the capital unmercifully). The current Dynasty was the Borune Dynasty (one of Ce'Nedra's great-nieces or nephews seventeen times removed, or something like that). The Borunes were a skeptical group, a moneymaking family, and politically wise one. All in all, their rule was tolerable.
In Maragor, the land was slowly being repopulated. The people proliferated quicker than rabbits and married their children off at young ages to produce yet more children. After three quarter-centuries, though, the god Mara had seen fit to finally slow down the number of children being produced, lest the Marags start to think themselves of breeding machines rather than people.
In Nyissa, Salmissra the snake still ruled (having had immortality bestowed upon her literally by Polgara). Sadi had long side died, as had Issus. Issus had a nice descendant (the illegitimate son of an illegitimate daughter of an illegitimate son of Issus), but Sadi (being a eunuch) had no descendant. His replacement was A'thiss, who was somewaht respectable according to Nyissan standards.
In Cthol Murgos, King Urgeth was a middle-aged man generally believed to be incompetent, who spent his entire time doting on his quite spoiled daughter Prala. He was the last in the line of Taur Urgas (officially, at least ... the line had actually ended when Urgit ascended the throne and had his brothers killed, but no one else need know that). Rumor had it that Prala was going to marry the Imperial Prince Zakath, and reunite all of the Angarak kingdoms. But Prala visibly protested.
Mishrak ac Thull and Yar Og Nadrak were now no more than provinces under Mallorean rule, ruled by King Vardith. His son, everyone said, was a noble man who would make a good king, though a bit stuffy sometimes. Although Cthol Murgos was technically a province of Mallorea as well (as Vardith was Overking of Angarak), friendly relations between the two countries had ensured Urgeth's position as a King. The marriage between Prala and Zakath seemed like a perfect way to tie up the last of the loose ends and have an Angarak country, rather than seperate Angarak kingdoms.
The Dals, who had long been given autonomy by Zakath seventy-five years ago, formed Dalasia. They were an official country, but they had no ruler, being content to live within their oversoul. However, to represent their interests at the Alorn Councils (which now extended to all of the non-Alorn countries as well), they chose an Envoy, who would go to the Alorn Councils for four years, before the oversoul chose yet another one. Certain adjustments had to be made, of course. There was no more need for seers and seeresses, though they still read the book of the heavens (more out of curiousity than anything else), but they had to choose someone not as familiar with the future to represent their interests ... after all, it wouldn't be fair otherwise.
And that about covers it all, doesn't it? Oh yes ... there's the Vale of Aldur.
More like the Principality of Aldur, actually. After Belgarion had deemed his son old enough to rule a kingdom, he had, with his wife, retired to the Vale of Aldur where he currently resides with his Aunt Polgara, Durnik, and a number of sons, daughters, cousins, nephews, nieces, grandchildren, grand- nieces, great-nephews, great-grandchildren, etc. Although Belgarion and Ce'Nedra were still young enough to children, Ce'Nedra had stopped after her tenth daughter because of her ill condition. Their son, Geran, had also retired to the Vale of Aldur. Although in the past, the Vale had mostly been occupied by the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, only half of the population at the Vale had the "talent". This did cause problems, when one child would tease or poke fun at another child for not having it, but Garion generally kept order, even without the Orb (which, incidentally, was currently in the possession of Belanna, who did have the birthmark, had no magical ability to speak of, and was resigned to the fact that she would have to provide any heir/ess sooner or later).
Beltira and Belkira, bless their souls, had finally died peacefully in their sleep one night, their purpose in this universe being over. Oddly enough, their tower still stands to this day, and is a common playground for the children, for Beltira and Belkira had always loved children. Life was often hectic, with so many children and names to keep track of, and so many deaths, for with life comes death. Of Belgarion's ten children, Geran and Beldaran (his two eldest) still lived. The other nine had died of natural causes, whether of old age or of disease or of a failure of the heart. Each time, Ce'Nedra had greatly wept, and sorrowed with the passing of each of her children.
Beldin and Vella had not been seen since they flew away as hawks, though the residents of the Vale of Aldur suspected that they still lived, just in constant hawk form. Belgarath and Poledra, for that matter, had loped off in the form of wolves one day, and had not come back since. Belgarion and Polgara had not bothered to search, for both knew that if Belgarath did not want to be found, he would not be found.
Polgara and Durnik lived peacefully, with Polgara giving birth to another set of twins every decade or so, much to the embarassment of their children (You mean they still do ... it? Yuck. That's just gross)
Times were peaceful. Eriond was officially God of the entire world, though he still looked as innocent and as grave as he normally did. There were still temples up for the other gods, of course, but more to respect them and honor their memories than for any particular type of worship. Eriond was busy, what with trying to correct mistakes Torak had incurred upon the world (he hadn't bothered to fix the crack ... it would just create an entirely new chain of problems), but he always had time to stop by and visit with his friends.
There were no enemies. There was no evil about in the world. All of the current kings were good ones, not a single one subject to mad fits or sudden urges to take over the world, or penchancies toward tyranny. There were, of course, still Algroths and rock-wolves and Eldrakyn and such, but they weren't bothered at the request of Eriond, who was planning on healing their madness as soon as he could. (Prince Hejar constantly petitioned Eriond to either heal them or let the Algars systematically kill them.)
And thus ends our prologue and (undoubtedly) systematically boring record of current life in the world of Belgarion.
Author's Notes: I had a bunch of the first chapter written but I deleted it all because I didn't like it, so I'm just posting the prologue for now.
Excerpt from the Book of Alorn (updated, colloquial version):
Three quarter-centuries had passed since King Belgarion's great exploits, and the western and eastern worlds were at peace. On the Isle of Winds, Belanna, daughter of Daran, brother of Deran (who had been assassinated by the Bear-Cult for marrying a Mallorean commoner girl), son of Geran, son of Belgarion, had recently ascended the throne and was the first (and quite controversial) Queen of Riva. An unmarried maiden, she was the target of many assassination attempts (though not by the Bear-Cult, which had been almost exterminated by the Rivans who weren't Bear-Cultists) but bravely bore her troubles upon her own shoulders as befit her rank.
In the northern land of Cherek, Anheg III was ruling his propserous seafaring land with a wise and powerful hand. He was, however, more pious than the normal Cherek, and looked upon Queen Belanna with much disguised distaste. He used to be a Bear-Cultist, but broke all ties with the fanatics after the assassination of King Deran. Darik, son of Unrak, son of Barak was Baron of Trellheim, and opposed his King's views so much that he was looked upon with disgrace in court as well as by most of the priests of Belar.
In the prosperous land of Drasnia, King Kheldik, son of Kheva, son of Rhodar was shrewd, intelligent, getting on his years, and one of the most famous ex-spies of Drasnia. After he ascended the throne, of course, he gave up his spying life to focus his entire attention upon the ruling of the Drasnians. Meanwhile, Kheran, son of Khenala, only daughter of Kheldar (Kheldar's son's son is not a main character, is a great spy, and is everything expected of him, and therefore, does not matter overly much) was much disappointed, for while he had inherited his grandfather's looks, he had not inherited the infamous Silk's shrewdness.
In the nomadic land of Algaria, King Cho-Hettar III currently ruled (and was the only Algar King who could not ride at all for he had contracted a peculiar disease so that he could not let the light touch him) and was sickly so that his eldest son, Prince Hettar IV was the one most believed would inherit the throne soon. His other children, (Hejar, Dana, and Jem) were some of the swiftest riders in Algaria (though Jem was but 8).
In the sensible land of Sendaria, Faldor's farm was no more (thanks to a bad business venture on the part of Faldor's son-in-law). Rundorig and Zubrette's line was scattered across Sendaria and not noted for much (except for one). King Fulrach (named after his great-great-great grandfather) was a just and fair king (as well as practical). His Queen, Zalaia, was actually a descendant of Zubrette and held Zubrette's beauty and charm, as well as shrewdness.
In the strife-torn land of Arendia, the Asturians and the Mimbrates had pretty much healed their rift (though there was still much petty squabbling). The monarchs were no longer married as cousins (though they were still named Korodullin and Mayaserana), and serfdom was finally abolished. Lelldorin's descendant Juana, had actually married Mandorallen's descendant, Mathdor, and they had a lovely, un-Arendish son by the name of Marqet. Marqet was clever, ready to run, and not at all willing to fight. Suffice to say, he was a disappointment to his parents in every way except for the fact that he had never once lost a duel (of course, he only dueled those he knew weren't as good as he).
In the mysterious Ulgoland, the monsters were still mad (thanks to Torak cracking the world), but the Angarak God Eriond had put "healing the monsters" high on his priority list after much complaints from his father, UL. Relg's son was still Gorim, but was older than dirt, and his successor Haktu was being trained to take on the position soon.
In Tolnedra, the Anadiles had (unfortunately) lost the succession, and the Honethite Dynasty had lasted but a few days before they all died out (thanks to a rather fatal form of the plague that had plowed through the capital unmercifully). The current Dynasty was the Borune Dynasty (one of Ce'Nedra's great-nieces or nephews seventeen times removed, or something like that). The Borunes were a skeptical group, a moneymaking family, and politically wise one. All in all, their rule was tolerable.
In Maragor, the land was slowly being repopulated. The people proliferated quicker than rabbits and married their children off at young ages to produce yet more children. After three quarter-centuries, though, the god Mara had seen fit to finally slow down the number of children being produced, lest the Marags start to think themselves of breeding machines rather than people.
In Nyissa, Salmissra the snake still ruled (having had immortality bestowed upon her literally by Polgara). Sadi had long side died, as had Issus. Issus had a nice descendant (the illegitimate son of an illegitimate daughter of an illegitimate son of Issus), but Sadi (being a eunuch) had no descendant. His replacement was A'thiss, who was somewaht respectable according to Nyissan standards.
In Cthol Murgos, King Urgeth was a middle-aged man generally believed to be incompetent, who spent his entire time doting on his quite spoiled daughter Prala. He was the last in the line of Taur Urgas (officially, at least ... the line had actually ended when Urgit ascended the throne and had his brothers killed, but no one else need know that). Rumor had it that Prala was going to marry the Imperial Prince Zakath, and reunite all of the Angarak kingdoms. But Prala visibly protested.
Mishrak ac Thull and Yar Og Nadrak were now no more than provinces under Mallorean rule, ruled by King Vardith. His son, everyone said, was a noble man who would make a good king, though a bit stuffy sometimes. Although Cthol Murgos was technically a province of Mallorea as well (as Vardith was Overking of Angarak), friendly relations between the two countries had ensured Urgeth's position as a King. The marriage between Prala and Zakath seemed like a perfect way to tie up the last of the loose ends and have an Angarak country, rather than seperate Angarak kingdoms.
The Dals, who had long been given autonomy by Zakath seventy-five years ago, formed Dalasia. They were an official country, but they had no ruler, being content to live within their oversoul. However, to represent their interests at the Alorn Councils (which now extended to all of the non-Alorn countries as well), they chose an Envoy, who would go to the Alorn Councils for four years, before the oversoul chose yet another one. Certain adjustments had to be made, of course. There was no more need for seers and seeresses, though they still read the book of the heavens (more out of curiousity than anything else), but they had to choose someone not as familiar with the future to represent their interests ... after all, it wouldn't be fair otherwise.
And that about covers it all, doesn't it? Oh yes ... there's the Vale of Aldur.
More like the Principality of Aldur, actually. After Belgarion had deemed his son old enough to rule a kingdom, he had, with his wife, retired to the Vale of Aldur where he currently resides with his Aunt Polgara, Durnik, and a number of sons, daughters, cousins, nephews, nieces, grandchildren, grand- nieces, great-nephews, great-grandchildren, etc. Although Belgarion and Ce'Nedra were still young enough to children, Ce'Nedra had stopped after her tenth daughter because of her ill condition. Their son, Geran, had also retired to the Vale of Aldur. Although in the past, the Vale had mostly been occupied by the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, only half of the population at the Vale had the "talent". This did cause problems, when one child would tease or poke fun at another child for not having it, but Garion generally kept order, even without the Orb (which, incidentally, was currently in the possession of Belanna, who did have the birthmark, had no magical ability to speak of, and was resigned to the fact that she would have to provide any heir/ess sooner or later).
Beltira and Belkira, bless their souls, had finally died peacefully in their sleep one night, their purpose in this universe being over. Oddly enough, their tower still stands to this day, and is a common playground for the children, for Beltira and Belkira had always loved children. Life was often hectic, with so many children and names to keep track of, and so many deaths, for with life comes death. Of Belgarion's ten children, Geran and Beldaran (his two eldest) still lived. The other nine had died of natural causes, whether of old age or of disease or of a failure of the heart. Each time, Ce'Nedra had greatly wept, and sorrowed with the passing of each of her children.
Beldin and Vella had not been seen since they flew away as hawks, though the residents of the Vale of Aldur suspected that they still lived, just in constant hawk form. Belgarath and Poledra, for that matter, had loped off in the form of wolves one day, and had not come back since. Belgarion and Polgara had not bothered to search, for both knew that if Belgarath did not want to be found, he would not be found.
Polgara and Durnik lived peacefully, with Polgara giving birth to another set of twins every decade or so, much to the embarassment of their children (You mean they still do ... it? Yuck. That's just gross)
Times were peaceful. Eriond was officially God of the entire world, though he still looked as innocent and as grave as he normally did. There were still temples up for the other gods, of course, but more to respect them and honor their memories than for any particular type of worship. Eriond was busy, what with trying to correct mistakes Torak had incurred upon the world (he hadn't bothered to fix the crack ... it would just create an entirely new chain of problems), but he always had time to stop by and visit with his friends.
There were no enemies. There was no evil about in the world. All of the current kings were good ones, not a single one subject to mad fits or sudden urges to take over the world, or penchancies toward tyranny. There were, of course, still Algroths and rock-wolves and Eldrakyn and such, but they weren't bothered at the request of Eriond, who was planning on healing their madness as soon as he could. (Prince Hejar constantly petitioned Eriond to either heal them or let the Algars systematically kill them.)
And thus ends our prologue and (undoubtedly) systematically boring record of current life in the world of Belgarion.
Author's Notes: I had a bunch of the first chapter written but I deleted it all because I didn't like it, so I'm just posting the prologue for now.