In the beginning there was UL and the Universe. And out of the Universe UL created the Gods. Seven brothers he made in the order of: Aldur, Nedra, Torak, Mara, Issa, Chaldan and Belar. He created also this world for them to dwell on, though he left it barren and empty. Out into the world the seven Gods went, and from their home they populated the world. Plants they created, and birds, and fish, and all manner of creatures that now walk the earth. To each was given a gift, and such gifts could only be given to a certain number of creatures before they became exhausted. At the last the Gods created man. When the Gods went to undertake this task they discovered that all the gifts they could give had been used, with the exception of one. The gift of intelligence. And so man became the only intelligent creature to walk on the earth. In the end the exhausted Gods looked upon all they had created and saw that much was amiss. And so they said to themselves, "Such we have made, and so such we can unmake." And as they raised their hands and gathered their wills to follow their words with action the voice of UL spake around them and said, "NO! The Universe allowed all to be made, but will not allow any to be unmade. In the attempt to unmake one thing, be it the smallest grain of sand, so shall the being making the attempt be unmade and naught else!"
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So was the creation of the world, and of man. And man was divided into seven groups, one for each of the Gods. The fun-loving Belar, taking as his totem the bear, took one group of people and called them the Alorns. The stubborn Chaldan, totem of the bull, took to his heart the Arends. Intelligent, yet lethargic, Issa took to himself the totem of the snake and made his people the Nyissans. Beautiful Mara took the totem of the bat and made his people the Marags. Sly and arrogant Torak took the most numerous of the peoples and called them the Angaraks, and took also as his totem the great Dragon. Ever practical Nedra took the totem of the lion and made his people the Tolnedrans. Solitary and studious Aldur choose the owl as his totem and made the decision that he needed no people. Now this left one large group of people with no God to follow, and so they pleaded with the other Gods to take them in. The Gods laughed and told them, and the gentle monsters as well, "Go find UL and ask him to be your God" and took their people away. This last group of people split itself into four groups. One group travelled far to the east and quickly became civilized and called themselves the Melcenes. Another turned to the worship of devils and travelled far to the north to later be known as the Morindim and the Karands. To the south travelled another group of people, where they turned their eyes to the sky to learn the ways of the Universe, and they called themselves the Dals. To the west travelled the final group to search for the God UL, and these were scoffed by the other groups and called the UL-gos.
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And so the world progressed. Belar's Alorns caroused and hunted in the north, gaining much in the way of strength and endurance. The Alorn clans also warred often with each other, although the wars lasted but briefly. Chaldan's created a very strict code of honor for his Arends, but the three groups that had formed each interpreted the code slightly differently. As such the three duchies were constantly warring with each over the slightest offense. In the swamps to the southwest Issa's Nyissans survived and prospered. Many lived in permanent states of ecstasy gained through various concoctions created from the native plants. In Mara's lands his people kept very few, always having many more women than men. Torak, his mind already twisting, took his people to Korim, the highest mountain in the world, and there began his regime of sacrifice and fear, all the while his Angaraks multiplied profusely until they outnumbered all other races of man. Nedra's people invented money and the concept of trade. And Aldur gathered about him his disciples. Belgarath was the first, followed a few centuries later by Belzedar. Beltira and Belkira followed, twin Alorn shepards so gentle they defied their origins. The fifth of the disciples was Belmakor, a Melcene who was quite possibly the most intelligent of Aldur's pupils. Belsambar, an Angarak, followed and at the last came Beldin, a hunchbacked dwarf with no sense of hygiene but an incredible mind.
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After many years, sometime around the second millenia of recorded history, Torak visited his brother Aldur in his vale. Torak had become distraught over his brother's attentions to a small stone later known as the Orb of Aldur. The Orb was a very powerful object the size of a child's heart that had been worn smooth by centuries of having Aldur study it. When Aldur refused to give up the Orb Torak smote his brother and fled with the Orb to his home on Korim. Enraged, Belar gathered his people and persuaded the other Gods to gather theirs as well. And so the peoples of this world converged on Korim and began destroying Torak's precious Angaraks. Maddened by the destruction of his people around him Torak raised the Orb in anger and used it to split the world asunder. When the earth cracked the surrounding water rushed in and covered the land, creating an ocean to divide Torak's people on the eastern shore from those of the other Gods on the western shore. Now the Orb, a thing of peace and light, was furious at being used in such a manner and attacked its wielder, melting Torak's left hand, and indeed, the entire left side of his body. Torak, in furious pain and anger, fled from the destruction he had wrought and built his city and citadel in Cthol Mishrak, the city of eternal dark.
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During the thousand years that followed Belmakor and Belsambar both lost faith and hope for the future and willed themselves into nonexistence. Torak, having seen the use of disciples during the war before the division, took to himself three such people, the first was Urvon, followed by Ctuchik, both high ranking Grolims before the division. The identity of the third was kept hidden from all. All the peoples moved with their Gods to their present locations, with the exception of the Angaraks, who nestled themselves around Cthol Mishrak, and the Alorns, who ranged across the north searching for a way to Mallorea to retrieve the Orb. Also during this time Belgarath met a woman named Poledra, to whom he was married. With Poledra only months from giving birth Belgarath was called away from the Vale of Aldur, where all the disciples lived, by Cherek Bear-Shoulders, King of the Alorns. Under the order of Aldur, Belgarath led Cherek and his sons, Dras Bull-Neck, Algar Fleet-Foot, and Riva Iron-Grip, north into the lands of the Morindim to cross to Mallorea over a great land bridge. During the trip to the north Belgarath travelled in the guise of a wolf, and also discovered the identity of Torak's third disciple. He was Zedar the Apostate, formally Belzedar. After a short battle Belgarath rendered Zedar harmless and they continued on their way. Eventually they crossed the land bridge into Mallorea and infiltrated Cthol Mishrak. They sneaked in past the Angaraks and me at long last came to the room of the Orb. When Cherek reached for the Orb to reclaim it Belgarath warned, "Once the Orb accepted the touch of anyone, man or God. But since Torak's foul use of its powers it will now utterly destroy any who touch it whose hearts are not free from all ambition and greed. Then the four men examined themselves and only Cherek's youngest son, Riva, found himself pure enough to dare to touch the Orb. They then made quick their escape, lest Torak awaken before they were away. And Torak did awaken, shortly after the Alorns had left the city. With a howl of anger that echoed halfway to Aloria Torak gathered his people and set off in pursuit. When the Angaraks were nearly upon them Belgarath instructed Riva to raise the Orb over his head, and upon sighting its enemy the Orb flared up with a ferocity that nearly matched the one that destroyed Torak's face and Torak was turned back, and so the men escaped.
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When Belgarath and the Alorns returned to the western continent Aldur came upon Belgarath to give him even more instruction as to his task. With reluctance Belgarath agreed to stay away from his wife for a while longer. His instructions from Aldur were as follows. The Alorns were to split the great kingdom of Aloria into four. Cherek Bear-Shoulders would rule a small peninsula in the far northwest and build ships. Dras Bull-Neck was to take a group east of Cherek's nation and found the nation of Drasnia. Algar Fleet-Foot was to travel south to what is now known as the plains of Algaria and breed horses for riding. And finally, for the last defense of the Orb should Torak follow Riva was to travel to the Isle of the Winds to the west of what is now Sendaria and build the nation of Riva. After giving the instructions Belgarath travelled with Riva to his Isle to assist in the beginning of his city. Barely months after their arrival on the island Riva was haunted by a dream from Belar. In his dream he saw two stars fall from the sky to the island. When he told Belgarath of the dream they immediately set out to find the fallen stars. When they found them Riva forged a blade and a hilt out of them, and, following Belgarath's instructions, placed the orb as the pommel of the hilt and easily attached the blade to the hilt. To discover the strength of the sword Riva cracked a rock at the base of the tallest mountain on the island, creating a massive outpour of water that still flows as the only river on the island. After this event Belgarath was free to return to his home. Upon his return he discovered that Poledra had died giving birth to twin girls, Polgara and Beldaran. Polgara has since become a great Sorceress in her own right and Beldaran was married to Riva Iron-Grip.
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In the four thousand years since that time there have been many small events worthy of note. Shortly after the division of Aloria Torak sent the Murgos, Thulls and Nadraks into the west, accompanied by a contingent of Grolims led by Ctuchik. Approximately a thousand years later the Nadraks made an attack against Drasnian and the Alorns swept in and nearly destroyed them completely. A few centuries after the disasterous attempt at an invasion by the Nadraks the Tolnedrans, driven near crazy by the close proximity of tons of gold literally laying around in Maragor, invaded and wiped out the neighboring people. After another 1100 years the Wacite Arends were wiped out by the Asturians and Sendaria was founded. It was 1200 or so years ago when the Nyissans attacked and killed the Rivan royal family outside the gates of Riva. Roughly 500 years ago Torak invaded the west, destroying Drasnia, laying siege to Stronghold in Algaria and finally was defeated outside of Vo Mimbre by Brand, the Rivan Warder.
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