Belgariad/Characters

Some or all of these characters need descriptions. A list of tropes is not a description.

Characters appearing in the Belgariad. Needs more work. Spoilers and Loads And Loads Of Deadpan Snarkers abound!!!

The Belgariad

Garion's Companions

Garion (Belgarion)

"Why me?"

• A Boy and His X: As a heir to the line of Riva, Garion is charged with watching over the Orb of Aldur
• Achievements in Ignorance: Garion succeeds in bringing a horse back to life, simply because he doesn't know that it's supposed to be impossible.
• Badass: Eventually, very much so.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Ce'Nedra.
• The Chosen One: By the Prophecy
• Combat Pragmatist: Having been mentored by the likes of Silk and Belgarath, Garion has never met a fair fight that he likes.
• Cool Sword: The Sword of the Rivan King.
  • BFS: Justified, as the Orb of Aldur lightens it's weight.
  • Flaming Sword: The Orb causes the Sword to burst into blue flame.
  • One-Handed Zweihander: Normally Garion uses the Sword with two hands, but he can do this if the situation calls for it.
  • Only the Chosen May Wield: As long as the Orb is attached.
  • Power Glows
  • Thunderbolt Iron: Forged from a fallen meteor.
  • Unbreakable Weapons
• Farm Boy: Garion is one, but only technically. He lived on a farm, but worked in his aunt's kitchen... as a dishwasher.
• The Heart
• Ignorance Is Bliss: Deliberately.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Garion's Catch Phrase is "Why me?" He gets over it.
• Kill the God: He's supposed to kill Torak. By the second series one of his nicknames is "Godslayer".
• Locked Out of the Loop: Until late in Book 4.
• Magic Knight: Garion becomes frighteningly proficient with both weaponry and sorcery.
• Moses in the Bulrushes
• Obfuscating Stupidity
• Papa Wolf
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers a brutal one to Torak in the first series, and to the Dark Prophecy in the second.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something
• Super Drowning Skills: has acquired this skill ever since he hit a log on a pond while showing off.
• There Was a Door: A few times. The most impressive case of this is the disintegration of a city gate. The degree to which the gate ceased to be was caused by the Orb deciding to help.
• Took a Level in Badass: Takes a few.
• Upbringing Makes the Hero: Invoked by Polgara; she deliberately raises Garion as a Farm Boy to give him a solid moral foundation for when he ends up having to save the world.
• Unskilled but Strong: Especially in the first series, where he lacks finesse and experience, but has enough raw power to terrify the Grolim Hierarchs (though notably, not the likes of Ctuchik). This isn't really rectified either--it's just that by the second series his raw power is so significant that his lack of talent doesn't matter.
• Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: His relationship with Ce'Nedra summed up in four words.

Polgara

• The Ageless
• Angsty Surviving Twin: Polgara, who was very close to her sister and outlived her thanks to being a sorcerer.

"To this very day, if you're impolite enough to ask Polgara how old she is, she'll probably say something like, 'We're about three thousand- or so.' Beldaran's been gone for a long time, but she still looms very large in Polgara's conception of the world."

• Animal Motifs: A snowy owl
• Brainy Brunette: Their mother sorcerously altered both twins in the womb to prepare them for their roles in life, including making Polgara this as opposed to Beldaran's Hair of Gold.
• Dark Chick: Torak always kept this place in his Five-Bad Band open for her.
• Magical Nanny: Polgara plays this role as caretaker of the Rivan line for two thousand years. And her cooking... divine!
• Mama Bear: Dear gods, yes.
• Parental Substitute: To Garion.
• She Cleans Up Nicely
• Skunk Stripe: Her trademark.
• Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: This is Polgara every inch of the way. If she had a good picture, they could use her for the trope's front page.
• Tantrum Throwing: Polgara does this at least twice.

Belgarath

• The Ageless
• Animal Motifs: A wolf
• Badass
  • Badass Beard
  • Badass Grandpa
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
• Eccentric Mentor: Belgarath has several bad habits- the stealing and overimbibing and all that business in Maragor after Poledra's death- and he generally looks like a tramp, but he is still Aldur's first disciple and quite capable of demonstrating why all the Grolims are terrified of him.
• Elderly Immortal
• Grandpa What Massive Hotness You Have: He's the oldest person in the world short of the gods and looks appropriately venerable for an aged sorcerer, yet pulls this off when he strips to his briefs to dive into a lake and shows off his impressive physique in the process.
• I Have Many Names: Garath, Belgarath, Patriarch, Eternal Man, Ancient One, the Ancient and Beloved, The Eternal Man, Mister Wolf
• Large Ham: He is a professional story teller and he uses it whenever he can.
• The Mentor
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Belgarath has elevated this to an art form.
• Papa Wolf: To the world.
• Rummage Sale Reject: Deliberately.
• Terror Hero: All Angaraks are utterly terrified of him.
• Time Abyss: Easily the oldest living human at 7,000 years. Only the gods and a certain tree have any time on him.
• The Tramp: Wanders the world dressed as a vagabond.
• Underdressed for the Occasion: Greets kings while dressed as a tramp.
• Wizard Beard
• Wizard Classic: In appearance if not necessarily attitude.

Durnik

• An Axe to Grind: Often uses his woodsman's axe in the first series.
• Back from the Dead: At the end of the Belgariad. One of only two exceptions in history to All Deaths Final.
• Badass
  • Badass Normal: Is an ordinary blacksmith with little formal battle training traveling among professional warriors and sorcerers. Still kicks ferocious amounts of ass. Even Silk was chilled when Durnik killed one enemy by maneuvering him into falling into quicksand — and then waited, watching the fellow sink, long enough to be sure he wouldn't be able to pull free.
    • Badass Abnormal: After he comes Back from the Dead.
• The Blacksmith
• Boring but Practical: Durnik's ideas are rarely exciting or terribly complex, but they inevitably work.
  • Awesome Yet Practical: Especially in The Malloreon, where he really gets to shine.
• Drop the Hammer: As a blacksmith he's quite proficent with one of these. In The Malloreon he gains a magic one with similar properties to the Sword of the Rivan King.
• Hidden Depths: Even Polgara was caught off guard in The Malloreon when it came out that Durnik was for a time apprenticed to a maker of musical instruments — and as a result is very good, stirringly good, at playing the harp.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With Garion. He's old enough to be the boy's father, yet their relationship is very much that of two good friends.
• The Lancer: To Garion.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: At the beginning Durnik is just a Sendarian blacksmith in the company of a master thief, a competent warrior and two sorcerers. He become more and more prominent as the story goes along though.
• Power Glows: His hammer in the second series.
• Sixth Ranger: To the Disciples of Aldur.
• Took a Level in Badass: Repeatedly, including two assists from the gods.
• Unskilled but Strong: One of the reasons for his success as a fighter in the first series. Durnik may not be a warrior, but he's a big man and as a smith he possesses formidable upper body strength. He gains more talent as the story progresses.

Barak

• An Axe to Grind: Carries a waraxe along with his sword.
• Badass
  • Badass Beard
• Beard of Barbarism/Seadog Beard: All Chereks are Vikings at the end of the day.
• The Berserker: Barak's an unwilling heroic example. Apparently this kind of thing is common in Cherek warriors, even the ones who don't turn into bears.
• The Big Guy: He fullfills this role in Pawn of Prophecy. In the later books he's The Hero of The Big Guy Band, doing his best to keep the likes of Hettar, Mandorallen, and Relg in line.
• Cursed with Awesome: Barak's "curse" is to turn into a bear when Garion Heir to the long-empty throne of Riva and Overlord of the West by treaty is threatened. A rampaging, unstoppable bear. At first he thinks it's just a progressive ailment and threatens suicide, but once he gets filled in on the trigger conditions (i.e., his family is now the hereditary protectors of Garion's family), he contemplates tasteful ways to work it into his coat of arms. Who wouldn't want to advertise that?
• Dual-Wielding: With a sword in one hand and a battleaxe in the other.
• Everything's Worse with Bears: Called "The Dreadful Bear" for a reason.
• Fiery Redhead: A male version
• Genius Bruiser: A very good man in a fight, he's also very politically savvy, good at reading peoples' intentions, and has a philosophical way of looking at things.
• In the Blood: His curse is genetic. His son, Unrak, turns into a bear when Garion's son, Geran is threatened.
• Involuntary Shapeshifting: Barak's hereditary "curse" is to turn into a bear when Garion is threatened.
• Odd Friendship: With Silk
• Protectorate: Garion's family is this to Barak's family.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Cousin to King Anheg of Cherek, Earl of Trellheim, Clan-Chief, and all around useful badass.

Kheldar (Silk)

"Trust me."

• Combat Pragmatist
• Deconfirmed Bachelor: Thanks to Liselle in the Mallorean.
• Gentleman Thief
• Guile Hero
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: If he likes you, he's sarcastic. If he doesn't like you, he's sarcastic. If he's worried, he's sarcastic. If he's feeling fine, he's sarcastic. Only a few things ever break through his shell of smartassery.
• Knife Nut
• Lethal Chef
• Loveable Rogue
• Manipulative Bastard
• May-December Romance: He's about twenty years older than Liselle.
• Professional Killer
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: At one point during The Mallorean, certain parties conspire to have one of Silk's fellow spies killed. The woman in question is an old friend/enemy, but someone Silk had immense respect for. His response to their conspiracy eventually causes a mass exodus of all the most powerful people related to the plot, surrounded by guards, and many of them simply do not make it out.
• Sarcastic Devotee: At one point Garion notes that he understands now why Belgarath was so consistently irritated at Silk throughout the entire series — leadership is hard enough without someone standing behind you providing a sarcastic running commentary.
• Unrequited Love: For his aunt-by-marriage, Queen Porenn.

Hettar

• Badass: Quite possibly the best cavalryman in the world, and very dangerous with that sabre of his.
• The Big Guy: A member of The Big Five-Man Band; he plays Lancer to Barak.
• Happily Adopted: By Cho-Hag.
• Happily Married: In the sequel.
• The Quiet One
• Pay Evil Unto Evil
• Revenge: Seeks to depopulate Cthol Murgos singlehandedly in vengeance for a Murgo raid that killed his parents.
• Serial Killer: How the Murgos view him, and they're not entirely wrong.
• Speaks Fluent Animal: Speaks Fluent Horse.
• The Stoic
• Warrior Prince: The adopted son of Cho-Hag, King of Algaria.

Ce'Nedra

• A-Cup Angst: Her related argument with an unsympathetic armorer is hilarious.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Garion to a truly hysterical degree.
• Bling of War: Wears gold armour to impress the troops. It's justified as the armour isn't meant to protect her and she's not going to do any fighting. It's solely for it's appearance.
• Brainwashed and Crazy, In The Malloreon, due to Zandramas' sorcery. And Harakan's. She's kind of a magnet for this stuff.
• Break the Haughty
• Breast Plate: Justified, believe it or not. Ce'Nedra intends to speak to an army, and it's very important that she look like a queen and not a little girl (or boy). Problem is, she's very flat. So she has an armourer solve her problem (after a very long debate).
• The Chick: Well, somebody had to do it.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: She raises an international army just to provide cover for Garion sneaking off to fight Torak.
• Fiery Redhead: Very much so.
• Half-Human Hybrid: Her mother was a Dryad.
• Happily Married: To Garion in The Malloreon.
• Heroes Want Redheads
• Inelegant Blubbering: Polgara tells her she shouldn't cry in public; she hasn't the right coloring for it.
• It's All About Me: She eventually grows out of it.
• Jerkass: For most of the first series.
  • Spoiled Sweet: In her better moments, after Character Development.
• Keep the Home Fires Burning: See Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?.
• Lethal Chef: Ce'Nedra's cooking is only edible by a very loose definition of the term.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Until Book 4.
• Mama Bear: after Geran is kidnapped.
• Manipulative Bastard: Goads her own father into a fit at one point, just to get what she wants (it was for a good cause, honestly!)
• Plant Person
• Rebellious Princess
• Rousing Speech: She's damn good at this. In fact it's why she was born in the first place.
• Spoiled Brat
• Spell My Name with an "S": In-Universe example. Dryad names always have an X in them, but hers seems to break the rule. In The Malloreon it's explained that it can also be spelled "Xe'Nedra."
• Tantrum Throwing: She's thrown some impressive ones.
• Tsundere: Ce'Nedra makes most anime Tsunderes look amateurish. A good capsule description of her is "Asuka, only having traded in all of her self-esteem issues for even more self-centeredness."

Sir Mandorallen, Baron of Vo Mandor

• Armour Is Useless: Averted so very hard. Mandorallen's armour is probably the only reason he's still alive.
• Badass: He slays lions with his bare hands. He attacks Algroth packs for fun. He threatens Tolnedran legions by himself. He refuses to fight an enraged Garion--because he doesn't want to hurt him. In a World of Badass, Mandorallen manages to stand head and shoulders above the rest.
  • Badass Normal: All that crazy stuff we just mentioned? He does it with no powers or supernatural aid of any kind.
• The Big Guy: The most archetypal example. In the Big Five-Man Band he's Big Squared.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Mandorallen is always spoiling for a chance to demonstrate his prowess.
• The Champion: Ce'Nedra's.
• The Dreaded: He's the most feared man in Arendia. Even Lelldorin and the other Asturians have heard of him.
• Dumb Muscle: And rather proud of it.
• Happily Married: Eventually.
• Heroic Bastard: He is "The Bastard of Vo Mandor" due to some irregularities surrounding his birth.
• Hidden Depths: Mandorallen isn't overly burdened with brains, but he's still got plenty of depth beneath his Knight in Shining Armor exterior, and is far more socially intuitive than many members of the group.
• Honor Before Reason
• Hot-Blooded
• Knight in Shining Armor: So very much. Mandorallen is the archetype gained a life of its own.
• Large Ham
• Love Triangle: His love is married to an older man she respects far too much to cheat on. For that matter Mandorallen respects them both too much to ask her to.
• Odd Friendship: With Lelldorin
• One-Man Army
• Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe

Relg

• Badass Preacher / Religious Bruiser: He may be The Fundamentalist and spend all his time Wangsting about sin, but he's also an incredibly strong Knife Nut who can submerge you inside solid rock without breaking a sweat.
• The Big Guy: Big Smart.
• The Fundamentalist: He starts out insistent on hours of daily prayer and ritual cleansing from sin.
• Happily Married: To Taiba
• Intangible Man: Relg can pass through rock like water and take people with him, or leave them in there.
• Knife Nut
• Lethal Harmless Powers: Relg can use his ability to move through solid rock for combat purposes, by pushing enemies into the rock and leaving them to suffocate.
• Sex Is Evil and I Am Horny: After he met Taiba. Until his god passed the message to him that it was literally his sacred duty to marry her and father her children.
• Tunnel King

Lelldorin

• Altar the Speed: Lelldorin smacks a priest around until he agrees to marry he and Arianna. Done to prevent her from being shamed by travelling with a man who is not her husband.
• The Archer
• The Big Guy: Big Chick.
• Brainless Beauty: Male version.
• The Ditz
• Happily Married
• Odd Friendship: With Mandorallen
• Rich Idiot With No Day Job
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Averted. Despite the fact that he and Arianna are an Asturian and a Mimbrate and married without her father's consent they end up Happily Married.
• Undying Loyalty: To Garion and anyone else he considers a friend.

The Orb of Aldur (Cthrag Yaska)

• Covert Pervert: It blushes when Belgarath notes that it was looking in on Garion and Ce'Nedra on their wedding night
• Kill the God: One of the few things capable of injuring or killing a God.
• Mineral MacGuffin
• Only the Chosen May Wield
• Power Glows
• Empathic Weapon: When attached to the Sword of Riva
• Stop Helping Me!: The Orb tries so hard to be helpful. To the point that it has to be told that its help is not required. It thought that rearranging the stars to spell "Belgarion" was a request rather than an example.

The Kingdoms of the West

King Anheg of Cherek

• Badass
• Beard of Barbarism/Seadog Beard: Anheg is still a pirate at heart.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Anheg pretends to be far dumber than he really is.
• Genius Bruiser: Anheg is a brutal Viking warchieftain. He's also one of the most widely read people on the continent, and can read The Book of Torak without endangering his mental health.
• Horny Vikings
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Runs his nation, leads his army, and commands his fleet. He's also very intelligent and does his best to keep abreast of world events and assist Belgarath.
• Stay in the Kitchen: Subverted. When Ce'Nedra demands the Alorn kings follow her, Anheg sides with the conservative Brand and does all the talking...in order to preemptively sabotage any arguments Brand might raise against her.

Queen Islena of Cherek

• Achievements in Ignorance: It's illegal to throw a priest into prison without evidence. Islena doesn't know that, and Grodeg knows she doesn't. Anheg finds the entire situation hilarious.
• Brainless Beauty: When Anheg is asked why he married her, his response is that "It certainly wasn't for her brains!"
• Break the Haughty
• Hot Consort: This is why Anheg married her.
• Took a Level in Badass: Initially Islena is a pompous wuss who caves in every time Grodeg shouts at her. She finally has enough, threatens to have him muzzled and throne in jail, and ships he and the rest of the Bear-Cult off to join the army. Anheg is impressed.
• Weak-Willed: Is initially totally under the thumb of Grodeg, Chief Priest of Belar. With some help from Merel and Porenn she eventually overcomes this.

Merel of Trellheim

• Arranged Marriage: With Barak
• Character Development: From shallow bitch to The Good Chancellor.
• The Good Chancellor: To Islena, post-Character Development.
• Happily Married: By the end, and after an intervention from the Purpose of the Universe itself.
• Hidden Depths: Merel appears to be a shallow, petty bitch. The "petty" and the "bitch" are right on the money, but there's more to her than meets the eye, and we see it as early as Pawn of Prophecy when she stands up to Anheg on Barak and Garion's behalf.
• Rape as Backstory: How her marriage with Barak started. She even locked the door and he knocked it down. No wonder she's incredibly spiteful to him at first.
• Shallow Love Interest: In-story. Barak marries her, then finds out she's an incredibly shallow person.

King Rhodar of Drasnia

• Adipose Rex
• Happily Married: To Porenn.
• May-December Romance: He and his second wife, Porenn. Despite the age gap they are deliriously happy together.
• The Smart Guy: Among the Kings of the West.
• The Spymaster: Thanks to the work of his right-hand man, Javelin, Rhodar is privvy to almost every secret in the world.
• The Strategist

Queen Porenn of Drasnia

• Happily Married
• Hot Consort: To Rhodar
• May-December Romance
• The Smart Guy: Among the Queens of the West.
• The Spymaster: Shares this role with her husband.

Cho-Hag, Clan Chief of Clan Chiefs of Algaria

• Handicapped Badass: Cho-Hag can barely stand, but that doesn't stop him from kicking ass. Justified as he, like most Algars, is a cavalryman, and lets his horse do the fighting for him.
• Happily Married
• It's Personal: His hatred of Taur Urgas goes far beyond mere politics.
• The Quiet One: Among the Alorn rulers, he and Brand share this role.
• Sword Fight: Has an epic one with Taur Urgas.

Brand, The Rivan Warder

• The Quiet One
• Regent for Life: Brand is part of a long line of Rivan Warders, who vowed to rule the island and protect the Orb until the Rivan King returned. Unlike his predecessors, Brand is actually able to give up this position.
• Stay in the Kitchen: Brand has very conservative values, particularly as regards women.

Villains

Asharak/Chamdar

• The Ageless
• Compelling Voice
• Evil Sorcerer
• Manipulative Bastard
• Man On Fire: How he makes his exit.
• Sinister Minister: The first of the Grolim priests encountered in the series.
• Small Name, Big Ego: He's undoubtedly dangerous, but he can't hope to threaten Belgarath in person, despite his protestations to the contrary.
• Smug Snake
• Starter Villain
• You Killed My Father: Killed Garion's parents. Ends up very dead when Garion finds out.

Brill/Kordoch

• Beard of Evil: A matted, patchy black one.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Appears to be a common footpad. Is actually a ninja.
• Disney Villain Death
• Handicapped Badass: Blind in one eye. Can fight Silk on an equal footing.
• Jerkass: He looks like a bitter jerk with a sour disposition. He's actually professional killer. Either way, he's a total bastard.
• Lack of Empathy: A pitiless killer who rides horses to death just to get ahead.
• Mismatched Eyes: Has a cast in one eye.
• The Mole: Initially appears to be Asharak's spy on Faldor's farm. He's actually much worse than that.
• Ninja: Pretty much.
• The Pig Pen: Brill bathes infrequently.
• Professional Killer: The Dagashi are a society of killers hired out by Ctuchik.

Ctuchik

"Justice? There's no such thing, Polgara. The strong do what they like; the weak submit. My Master taught me that."

• The Ageless
• Ambition Is Evil
• Arch Enemy: To Belgarath. They both admit their confrontation in Magician's Gambit has been a long time coming.
• Badass Grandpa: Ctuchik's a vile son of a bitch, but undoubtedly a badass.
• Bad Boss: If the utter fear that all Murgos have of him is any indicator.
• Beard of Evil: His Wizard Beard is yellowed, greying and filthy.
• Black Cloak
• Cold-Blooded Torture: Has a room in his tower filled with torture equipment, that he uses for his personal entertainment.
• Deceptive Disciple: He's only loyal to Torak out of fear, and has no intentions of waking him.
• The Dragon: There are other contenders for the title of Torak's right-hand man, but Ctuchik is the most archetypal, running the Grolim priesthood and Cthol Murgos in his master's absence.
  • Co-Dragons: Alongside Zedar and Urvon, though it's fairly obvious that he has primacy amongst the three.
  • Dragon with an Agenda: Has no loyalty to Torak and plans to rule the world himself.
• Elderly Immortal
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Ctuchik simply cannot grasp Belgarath's motivations for doing what he does.
• Evil Counterpart: One of two to Belgarath, as his equal and opposite number in the Angarak priesthood.
• Evil Old Folks: Ctuchik has centuries of depravity and excess behind him, and they show on his face.
• Evil Sorcerer
• Evil Tower of Ominousness: His spire at Rak Cthol.
• Fate Worse Than Death: Is obliterated from existence by the Universe herself.
• Faux Affably Evil: He can put up quite the facade, but at the end of the day, Ctuchik's one of the most evil people on the continent.
• Greed: Has an entire room in his tower dedicated to wealth.
• In the Hood
• Lack of Empathy: To the point where he doesn't even understand it.
• Lean and Mean: He's described as tall and cadaverous.
• Orcus on His Throne: Never leaves Rak Cthol.
• Shadow Dictator: The real ruler of Cthol Murgos to hear Belgarath tell it, and yet many people (particularly in the West) aren't sure he even exists.
• Sinister Minister
• Smug Snake: He's smart, cunning, and formidable in combat, yet beyond overconfident and makes several very crucial amateur mistakes in his arrogance.
• Social Darwinist
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: Ctuchik's voice is soft and dusty, only rising when he loses control of the situation.
• Sorcerous Overlord: "Cthol Murgos is still ruled from Rak Cthol." He's not officially the king, but he might as well be.
• Take Over the World: Seeks to do it in his own name, rather than Torak's.
• We Can Rule Together: Tries this on Belgarath.
• Wizard Beard
• Wizard Duel: With Belgarath

Taur Urgas

"Make way for the King of Algaria. He's mine!"

• Abusive Dad: Towards all of his sons.
• Authority Equals Asskicking
• Axe Crazy: He actually foams at the mouth in combat.
• Badass: A veritable force of nature on the battlefield.
• The Berserker: Goes utterly mad(er) while fighting. He utterly terrifies his troops, but at the same time, galvanises them. It's as though by giving into his madness they feel that they too may become as invincible as he.
• Bling of War: Taur Urgas' chainmail is dipped in red Angarak gold. Rather than making it look overly pretty, it instead makes him look as though he has bathed in blood.
• Blood Knight: He's always at war, sleeps in his armour, and orders his Praetorian Guard to clear the way for Cho-Hag so that he can fight him. And that's without even mentioning his Famous Last Words.
• The Brute: He may be the King of Cthol Murgos, but one could definitely make the case of Taur Urgas being The Brute. He's got all the hallmarks of the personality: no empathy, totally Axe Crazy, a Berserker in combat, and he also seems to fit in terms of his position and role in the villainous hierarchy: he's the ruler of one of the largest countries subject to Torak, and provides manpower and muscle for the Angarak armies, while still being subject to Ctuchik, Torak's Dragon.
• The Caligula: All the Urgas are Royally Screwed-Up, but Taur Urgas is crazy even by their standards.
• Domestic Abuser: Beats his wives, keeps them under lock and key, tosses them down flights of stairs, occasionally kills them.
• Famous Last Words: "Come back Cho-Hag! Come back and fight!"
• I Control My Minions Through...: Fear, and a degree of Respect. See The Berserker for how.
• It's Personal: With Silk and Cho-Hag.
• Lack of Empathy
• The Mentally Ill: In addition to his bloodthirstyness, Taur Urgas is prone to fits wherein he chews on the furniture.
• Royally Screwed-Up: Sadism, brutality, and outright madness are hereditary in the Urga bloodline.
• Sword Fight: Against Cho-Hag.

Zedar

• The Ageless
• Badass Grandpa
• Break the Haughty: In the backstory. It's why he's a Fallen Hero.
• Butt Monkey: To the universe.
• Co-Dragons: To Torak, alongside Ctuchik.
• Elderly Immortal
• Evil Counterpart: Could be Belgarath's clone.
• Evil Former Friend: To Belgarath and the rest of the Disciples of Aldur.
• Evil Genius: Likely the smartest of Torak's disciples.
• Evil Old Folks
• Evil Sorcerer
• Face Heel Turn: In the backstory.
• Fallen Hero: He was once Aldur's second disciple and Belgarath's pupil and friend. He's now enslaved to the will of Torak.
• Fatal Flaw: His ego, which led him to think that he could fool Torak.
• Pride
• Sinister Minister: He's called "The Apostate" for a reason.
• Smug Snake: In the backstory. By the time we meet him that aspect of his personality has been more or less bled out of him.
• The Tramp: Like Belgarath, and in sharp contrast to Sorcerous Overlord Ctuchik.
• Wizard Beard
• Wizard Duel: Averted. When he and Belgarath finally meet face to face, Belgarath is so enraged and Zedar so panicked that they resort to a fistfight.

Torak

• Antagonistic Offspring: To his father, UL, to the point where he flatout refuses to admit there is a relationship.
• Beauty Is Bad: The most beautiful god, and the most flat out evil, complete with being obsessed with his own appearance.
• Bishonen: Before he got his face toasted.
• Cain and Abel: With all of his brothers, but most notably, Aldur.
• The Chosen One: By the Dark Prophecy
• Cool Mask: Wears a steel mask to hide his maiming. All of his followers wear one too.
• Cool Sword: Cthrek Goru, his infamous cursed black sword. It instills fear in those who see it.
  • Artifact of Doom: Arguably. It does seem to be one of the Dark Prophecy's favourite tools, having been present at three separate EVENTs.
  • BFS: Though Torak, being a god, is able to wield it one-handed.
  • Black Swords Are Better
  • Casting a Shadow: Bleeds shadow with every blow it swings.
  • Evil Counterpart: To the Sword of the Rivan King.
  • Evil Weapon: It's not actually sentient, but given its association with the Dark Prophecy it's safe to say that it can't be used for anything good.
  • One-Handed Zweihander: Not that Torak particularly has a choice in the matter. He has to use it like this.
  • Unbreakable Weapons
• Dark Is Evil
• The Devil Is a Loser: He's maimed, unloved, and incapable of change. It's eventually revealed that he was never even supposed to exist in the first place.
• Dystopia Justifies the Means: Wants an entire world bowing down in worship and offering him sacrifices.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Inverted. Even after everything he's done the Universe still loves Torak. So do UL, Aldur, and the other gods for that matter.
  • Also played straight: his last word is an anguished "Mother!"
• Even Evil Has Standards: In a moment of sanity he saw the kind of future that Zandramas would create, and left a note for Garion, urging him to take her down.
• Evil Cripple: Justified. When Torak misused the Orb it burned off one of his hands and boiled one of his eyes. He was evil long before he was a cripple.
• God of Evil
• Handicapped Badass: Still a brutally dangerous swordsman despite missing a hand and having no depth perception. Being a god probably helps.
• Love Hungry
• Narcissist: Torak cannot conceive of a world that doesn't revolve around him. In the Book of Torak he claims to have created the Universe (his own mother). He's also one in the classic sense, being utterly obsessed with his own appearance.
• Physical God
• Red Right Hand: What hand?
• Take Over the World
• Two-Faced: Beneath his mask.
• Villainous Crush: On Polgara
• Wound That Will Not Heal: Gods aren't designed to be injured, and because of that his burnt face, boiled eye, and missing hand continue to pain him, leaving him in perpetual agony.
• Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe

The Malloreon

Garion's Companions

Liselle (Velvet)

• Action Girl
• Combat Pragmatist
• Guile Heroine
• Knife Nut
• May-December Romance: She's about twenty years younger than Kheldar.
• Precocious Crush: When Silk was an up-and-coming star of the Intelligence Service, he'd often play dolls with the boss's niece, Liselle, who was approximately twenty years younger than him. As an adult, she pursued him and caught him.
• Professional Killer
• Silk Hiding Steel: Velvet claims to be this in the Malloreon, but any woman who has graduated from the Drasnian spy academy probably doesn't qualify for Proper Lady status even if she is a Margravine.
• She's All Grown Up
• Spy Catsuit: Subverted in the Malloreon. Velvet frequently dresses in tight-fitting leather, but it is described as looking masculine, workman-like, bleak and completely uninteresting.

Emperor Kal'Zakath

• Ambition Is Evil
• Ascended Extra: A minor villain in the first series. A major player in the second.
• Badass
  • Badass Beard: Grows one.
• BFS: Justified. Garion has the Orb make an enormous greatsword as light as a rapier, enabling 'Zakath to fence with it.
  • One-Handed Zweihander: 'Zakath may well be the only fencer in the world to use a BFS instead of say, a rapier.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Zakath is one of the rare pre-emptive examples of this trope, in that after finally dawning to just how thoroughly the odds are against him he decides to just skip the 'defeat' and go straight to the 'friendship'.

"You know something, Garion? I've always believed that someday you and I would go to war with each other. Would you be terribly disappointed if I decided not to show up?"

• Defrosting Ice Emperor
• Despair Event Horizon: Hit in the backstory, after one of Taur Urgas' plots against him resulted in the death of his girlfriend at his own hands.
• Despotism Justifies the Means: When we meet 'Zakath all he cares about is becoming Overking of Angarak, and eventually, ruler of the world.
• Dye or Die: Zakath grows a beard after joining the heroes in The Malloreon to avoid being recognized as Emperor.
• The Emperor: Well, duh. He gets better.
• Empty Shell: 'Zakath misses this trope by milimetres during The Belgariad and the start of The Malloreon. The prophecy outright refers to him as "The Empty One".
• Evil Counterpart: Starts out as Garion's.
• Evil Overlord
• Karma Houdini: 'Zakath did some pretty awful things that he's never punished for.
• Licked By The Kitten: Zakath's pet Cute Kittens peg him as a Kindhearted Cat Lover, an early indication that he's not the Complete Monster he's rumored to be.
• May-December Romance: With Cyradis.
• Power Fist: Belgarath tells them not to kill anybody during the one battle. 'Zakath puts on a cestus and proceeds to smash it into the face of every man he rides past.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: His entire campaign against Cthol Murgos can be seen as this.
  • Revenge by Proxy/Sins of Our Fathers: Plans to exterminate every single member of the Urga family--and possibly all of Cthol Murgos--because of what Taur Urgas made him do.
• Royal Rapier: Played with. 'Zakath is a trained fencer, and all his sword-fighting experience is with a rapier. Than Garion comes along and makes his BFS as light as one...
• Royals Who Actually Do Something
• Sixth Ranger
• Took a Level in Badass: More like regained a level in badass. 'Zakath was once a capable fencer, but let those skills go rusty during his time as The Emperor. He regains them over the course of The Malloreon.

Sadi

• Anti-Hero: Type IV.
• Ascended Extra: A minor antagonist in the first series; a major player in the second.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: Justified. Sadi's brilliance as a poisoner stems from his experience as Chief Eunuch at the Nyissan court; if you want to live very long you get very good at surviving.
• Badass: Eventually becomes one of the few Badass eunuchs in fiction.
• Bald of Evil: In The Belgariad. Becomes a Bald of Awesome during The Malloreon
• Combat Pragmatist
• Drugs Are Bad: Averted. Sadi's drug-dealing and abuse is portrayed as a bad thing, but isn't treated as anything worse than Silk's thievery and drinking.
• Eunuchs Are Evil: Played straight in the first series and subverted in the second. The Prophecy refers to him as "The Man Who Is No Man."
• Evil Chancellor: Averted. Even in the first series he's one of the voices of reason at Salmissra's court.
• Evil Genius/The Smart Guy: Plays this role after joining up with the heroes in the second series, sharing the position with Liselle and Silk.
• Guile Hero
• Knife Nut
• Lean and Mean
• Manipulative Bastard
• Master Poisoner: As Garion puts it, "Sadi could poison one person at a banquet with a thousand guests."
  • This is demonstrated at one point. He poisoned the spoon, not the soup.
• Poisoned Weapons: All of his knives are coated in poison, and he's been known to toss very concoctions straight into his enemies' faces when all else fails.
• Sissy Villain: Starts out as one, but loses these traits after months on the road.
• Smug Snake: Starts out as an archetypal example, becoming an antiheroic variant by partway through The Malloreon.
• Snakes Are Evil: Subverted. His pet snake, Zith, proves to very useful to the heroes.
• Street Urchin: As a child.
• Token Evil Teammate: Sadi's alliance with the protagonists is not accompanied by a Heel Face Turn. While he likes them all by the end, and has certainly become a braver, more well-rounded individual, he has not become a good person by any stretch of the term.
• Took a Level in Badass: Sadi starts out as a typically prissy Sissy Villain and Smug Snake. By the end he's a lean, mean fighting machine with his own unique style of combat. For a eunuch he has balls.

Beldin

• The Ageless
• Animal Motifs: A blue-banded hawk.
• Arch Enemy: He and Urvon loathe one another with an unholy passion. Urvon has wanted posters with Beldin's face on them posted for twenty leagues in every direction from Mal Yaska.
• Ascended Extra: In the first series he's only one of Aldur's Disciples, and makes a few scattered appearances. In the second series he's a major player in Books 3-5.
• Badass
  • Badass Beard
  • Badass Grandpa
• Elderly Immortal: Type A. Beldin looks like a twisted, deformed old man, but he can throw Durnik singlehandedly.
• The Grotesque: A hideously deformed hunchback.
• Honorary Uncle: To Polgara (and Beldaran)
• Hooks and Crooks: Favours a hook in close-combat.
• Jerkass Facade/Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Acts like a bastard because people expect it.
• The Lancer: To Belgarath
• Magi Babble: Beldin is the philosopher in the group, and his explanations tend towards the overly complex.
• Servile Snarker/Sour Supporter: Towards Belgarath again.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Belgarath

Villains

Zandramas

• The Big Bad
• Blood Bath: Bathes in human blood while performing sacrifices.
• The Chessmaster: Always has a contingency plan in place.
• The Chosen One: The new Child of Dark
• Dark Messiah: How the Grolims and most Darshivans view her. Given that she's the new Child of Dark they're not wrong either.
• Dystopia Justifies the Means: Seeks to create the same kind of world as Torak did.
• Eviler Than Thou: With Urvon
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Learns this when she discovers the extent of Mordja's plans.
• Evil Sorcerer
• Full-Frontal Assault: Performs sacrifices in the nude.
• I'm a Humanitarian
• Lack of Empathy: A veritable void.
• Manipulative Bastard
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilised: Leads a revolt against 'Zakath and the Grolim priesthood.
• Samus Is a Girl: Garion is surprised to discover that the Big Bad is female. It's around this time he decides that he can, in fact, hit a girl.
• Scaled Up: Turns into a dragon.
• Sinister Minister: Grolim priestess.
• Unholy Matrimony: With Naradas.
• Vain Sorceress
• The Vamp
• We Have Reserves: Callously throws away the lives of her Darshivan soldiers.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: All the time.

Naradas

• The Dragon
• Evil Sorcerer
• Prophet Eyes
• Sinister Minister: Was once a Grolim, and Zandramas' superior.
• Unholy Matrimony: With Zandramas.

Urvon

• A God Am I: Has delusions of godhood.
• Arch Enemy: Beldin's
• Axe Crazy
• Big Bad Wannabe: His madness leaves him no match for Zandramas and totally under Nahaz's thumb.
• The Dragon: One of Torak's three disciples
  • Co-Dragons: With Ctuchik and Zedar
  • Dragon Ascendant: Doesn't he wish.
  • Dragon Their Feet: Completely absent from the first series.
• Elderly Immortal: It's hard to tell because of how he looks, but Urvon is still described as an old man, with thinning white hair.
• Eviler Than Thou: With Zandramas
• Evil Counterpart: To Beldin.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Learns this the hard way at the hands of Nahaz.
• Evil Old Folks
• Evil Sorcerer
• Fate Worse Than Death: Dragged into Hell by Nahaz
• Puppet King: To Harakan and Nahaz.
• Red Right Hand: Urvon's piebald; his skin alternates between living and dead patches.
• Sinister Minister

Harakan/Mengha

• Beard of Evil: Grows one when impersonating a Bear-Cultist.
• Dark Messiah: Sets himself up as a messianic figure to the Karands, even summoning their "god", Nahaz, to do his bidding.
• The Dragon: To Urvon
  • Co-Dragons: Alongside Nahaz, who isn't under his dominion for long.
  • Dragon with an Agenda: Intends to use Urvon as a Puppet King while he really rules Karanda.
• Evil Sorcerer
• Sinister Minister: Another Grolim.
  • Bad Habits: Pretends to be a Bear-Cultist.
• Smug Snake

Nahaz

"I need this thing..."

• A God Am I: Worshipped as a god by the people of Karanda.
• Arch Enemy: Of Mordja
• Casting a Shadow: His face is concealed within inky shadows during his first appearance. They go where he does.
• Demon Lords and Archdevils
• Double Standard Rape (Divine on Mortal): Averted. Heck, Nahaz having consensual sex is still treated like rape given what happens to his partners.
• The Dragon: To Urvon
  • Co-Dragons: Alongside Harakan; One could argue he and Mordja are Co Dragons to the King of Hell.
  • Dragon-in-Chief: Urvon is both insane and completely under Nahaz's domination, leaving the Demon Lord as the one who's really running the show.
  • Dragon with an Agenda: To Urvon. He'll take his soul, the Orb, the Sardion, and dominion over the world in the name of his master.
• Eviler Than Thou: With Mordja
• Fangs Are Evil
• Fetus Terrible: Impregnates women than watches the fetus tear its way out and devour the mother alive.
• Lack of Empathy: He's a demon lord. This is to be expected.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous
• Power Glows: A sickly green.
• Really Gets Around: Enjoys impregnating women with Fetus Terribles.
• Shadow Dictator: Controls Urvon while pretending to be his loyal servant.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: Barely speaks above a whisper during Demon Lord of Karanda.
• We Have Reserves: As the heroes inform 'Zakath and General Atesca, Demon Lords pay very little attention to casualties.
• Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe
• Your Soul Is Mine

Mordja

• A God Am I: Worshipped as one by the Morindim.
• Arch Enemy: Of Nahaz
• Cool Sword: Steals Cthrek Goru from the deceased Torak. See his entry for the rest of the details.
• Demon Lords and Archdevils
• Demonic Possession: Of the dragon.
• The Dragon: To Zandramas
  • Co-Dragons: Alongside Naradas. It could be argued that he and Nahaz are Co Dragons to the King of Hell.
  • Dragon with an Agenda: He wants Zandramas' soul, the Sardion, and the Orb for the King of Hell.
• Eviler Than Thou: With Nahaz
• Fangs Are Evil
• Final Boss: Provides the last physical confrontation of the series.
• Lack of Empathy
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous
• Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe
• Your Soul Is Mine

The Sardion (Cthrag Sardius)

• Artifact of Doom: Given it's associations with The Dark Prophecy and what will happen if the Child of Dark touches it, yeah.
• Color Coded for Your Convenience: An ugly red, shot through with milky-white. Contrast that to the Orb's pure blue.
• Evil Counterpart: To the Orb of Aldur.
• Mineral MacGuffin
• Only the Chosen May Wield
• Power Glows

Gods and Prophecies

The Prophecy

• All Powerful Bystander
• Big Good: Represents the original purpose of the Universe.
• The Chessmaster: With millenia of experience.

The Dark Prophecy

• All Powerful Bystander
• Bigger Bad: The Man Behind the Man to Torak and Zandramas.
• Casting a Shadow: The sun never shines in the home of the Child of Dark.
• The Chessmaster
• Dystopia Justifies the Means: Seeks a Universe of constant stagnation and failure where everything continues to go wrong.
• Evil Counterpart: To the Prophecy.

UL

• God: As the Father of all the other Gods, UL is the closest thing the series has to the Judeo-Christian God.
• Physical God

Aldur

• Big Good: Shares this role with the Prophecy.
• Cain and Abel: Torak hates all the gods, but his rivalry with Aldur is the fiercest, and it is Aldur's disciples who constantly stand in his way.
• Grandpa God: Has something of this in his appearance.
• Physical God
• Wizard Beard: Looks a heck of a lot like Belgarath, actually. Or more accurately, Belgarath looks a heck of a lot like him.
• Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe

Eriond

• A Boy and His X: He has a special bond with the Horse that Garion revived.
• Amnesiac God
• Children Are Innocent: Zedar's thinking in picking him up, but there was more to it than that...
• Phosphor Essence: At the end of the Malloreon.
• Purity Personified
• Verbal Tic Name: Is originally called "errand" because it's the only word he seems to know.

Issa

• Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: Subverted. Issa's eyes are snake-like and lifeless, but he's a pretty good guy.
• Physical God
• Reasonable Authority Figure
• Snakes Are Evil: Averted. Nyissa's a nasty place and the Nyissans themselves are an unpleasant bunch, but Issa himself is a perfectly reasonable god.
• Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe

The King of Hell

• Bigger Bad: Nahaz, Mordja, and the rest of the Demon Lords all answer to this guy. Despite that, he never even appears in the story.
• Dystopia Justifies the Means: Seeks to upend both Prophecies and recreate the Universe in his own image with legions of Demons feasting on all mortal souls.
• Evil Counterpart: To UL.
• Eviler Than Thou: To the Dark Prophecy.
• Made of Evil
• Satan
• Sealed Evil in a Can: Chained by UL at the moment of Creation.
• Take Over the World: Universe actually.

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