History Characters / TheBelgariadGarionAndHisCompanions

* OneTrueLove: Several of the romantic pairings--Garion/Ce'Nedra, Durnik/Polgara, Relg/Taiba, and [[spoiler:'Zakath/Cyradis]]--are explicitly stated to be preordained for each other. It's the Prophecy of Light's way of both encouraging and rewarding them for their service.

[[folder: Garion (Belgarion)]]

* AchievementsInIgnorance: Garion succeeds in bringing [[spoiler: a horse]] back to life, simply because he doesn't know that it's supposed to be impossible. That said, a good deal of that had to do with the fact that [[spoiler: Horse]] was a moderately important part of future events, so the Necessity probably gave him a helping hand.

* HiddenDepths: He's much smarter and more perceptive than most, including him, realise. As Belgarath observes, he has a knack for condensing very large, very complex ideas into very simple and easy to manage forms, and as a result, he's one of the few people who [[TheSmartGuy Beldin]] expresses an interest in discussing philosophy with -- the others all being geniuses, or Durnik, who played no small part in raising Garion, and practically redefines this trope in his own right. He's also the first person outside of Belgarath and Polgara (who both knew straight off) that the spoilt Tolnedran noble lady tagging along with them in the first series is Princess Ce'Nedra, when even ''Silk'' didn't realise it. Moreover, he's the first person full-stop, ''including'' Belgarath and Polgara to work out that [[spoiler: the female wolf]] who's travelling with them in ''The Malloreon'' is, in fact, [[spoiler: Poledra]].

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: His killing Chamdar/Asharak by [[spoiler: burning him alive]], though poetic justice, horrifies him -- and understandably so, considering that he's only 15. It lingers with him and makes him extremely unwilling to accept that he's now a sorcerer.

[[folder: Polgara]]

** A darkly amusing detail appeared in the ''Polgara The Sorceress'' prequel-novel, which reveals that - several hundred years ago - she fell in love with a KnightInShiningArmor type, and seriously planned to settle down with him. When her father sarcastically asked what she intended to do when he grew old and weak while she stayed forever young, she just shrugged and said, "Maybe if we marry, he'll become immortal too." Needless to say, [[BecauseDestinySaysSo it wasn't meant to be]], but that was still remarkably acute of her.

[[folder: Belgarath]]

* TheAlcoholic: Spent over two years getting ''legendarily'' drunk in Camaar after Poledra's [[spoiler: apparent]] death, sufficient that it took literal ''divine intervention'' to sober him up. Thereafter, while Beldin dismisses his fears of relapse as not being something that happens to them (as he was drinking for a reason), Belgarath is considerably warier and notes that he's spent much more time with a tankard in hand than actually drinking it.

** He plays up the image of the grumpy and often ruthless old man, who's cold and entirely emotionally detached from humanity, and does so effectively enough that it actually fools Polgara for most of her youth... until she turns into a snowy owl like her mother and to her utter astonishment, he breaks down in tears on the spot. His heart of gold mainly manifests in a keen sense of family, sharing a VitriolicBestBuds type relationship with Polgara and his brothers, deep grief for his two deceased brothers, his other daughter, and his wife, even thousands of years after their deaths ([[spoiler: apparent death, in the case of Poledra]]), and a deep fondness for his various grandsons, especially Garion. He even shows real wistful regret for how Zedar turned out, revealing that he regrets what he did to him (though he also notes that if he gets confirmation of a theory of his, he'll do considerably worse). And then there's the ''spectacular'' PapaWolf tendencies.

* LadyKillerInLove: Being charming, charismatic, and something of a SilverFox, he's always been quite successful with the ladies. However, this is only before Poledra turns up and after her [[spoiler: apparent]] death, being otherwise completely devoted to her.

** Speaking of Zedar, his being condemned to a FateWorseThanDeath was the result of killing [[spoiler: Durnik, Belgarath's future son-in-law]], and while Belgarath expresses genuine regret for it in his prequel, he also adds that if his suspicions surrounding the suicide of Belmakor, one of his fellow disciples (namely, that Zedar caused it) are ever confirmed, he'll go back there and put him "somewhere a lot less pleasant."

[[folder: Durnik]]

* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Garion. He's old enough to be the boy's father, being an established -- if young -- smith at a prosperous farm when Garion's a newborn baby (and [[spoiler: ends up marrying Polgara, [[ParentalSubstitute the nearest thing Garion has ever had to a mother]]]]), yet their relationship is very much that of two good friends.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Recently [[spoiler: ascended to disciplehood and granted a mystic hammer and a power boost from Aldur]], Durnik delivers a brutal one to [[spoiler:the Demon Lord Nahaz]] at the conclusion of ''Sorceress of Darshiva''.

* PowerGlows: [[spoiler: His hammer]] in the second series.

[[folder: Barak]]

[[folder: Kheldar (Silk)]]

* ManipulativeBastard: Silk's fast-talk and ability to manipulate others are his main assets. [[spoiler: His wife turns out to be just as good at it as he is.]]

* MayDecemberRomance: He's about twenty years older than [[spoiler: Liselle]].

* SadClown: Mixes it with StepfordSnarker, as he tacitly admits to Durnik in ''The Malloreon'' after the latter had got tired of his endless quips. While he cracks jokes every other line, prior to the first series, his life is pretty miserable. His mother, formerly one of the most beautiful women in Drasnia, was horribly scarred and blinded by a plague some years before the series and doesn't know that she's been scarred, and he spends the first series hopelessly in love with [[spoiler: his uncle's [[MayDecemberRomance much younger second wife, Porenn]]]] -- who is very fond of him, but nothing more, and furthermore, [[spoiler: his uncle]] is one of the very few people he respects enough to never try anything with [[spoiler: Porenn]], even if she were interested.

* UnrequitedLove: For [[spoiler: his aunt-by-marriage, Queen Porenn]], who is genuinely very fond of him and aware of his feelings, but as is made explicit, does not share them, being very HappilyMarried. And even if she did, her husband is one of the very few people he respects enough not to try anything on. He gets over her, and marries [[spoiler: Liselle]] instead.

[[folder: Hettar]]

* HappilyMarried: In the sequel, to [[spoiler: Adara]]. This is initially met with some astonishment, as Hettar's interests had previously been summed up as 1. Horses and 2. Killing Murgos, and while he's well-liked, even the good-natured Garion has to admit that he's not particularly loveable.

* {{Revenge}}: Seeks to depopulate Cthol Murgos singlehandedly in vengeance for a Murgo raid that killed his parents. He has to be physically restrained by his friends to prevent him killing Murgos at inopportune times. CharacterDevelopment has it that by the end of ''The Malloreon'' he has gotten over this and can walk into a city filled with Murgos without any homicidal urges. His wife probably helped a lot there. When informed that Hettar has a message for him from [[spoiler: Urgit, the Murgo king]]:
-->'''Cho-Hag:''' You met [[spoiler: the Murgo king?]] And we are not at war?

** When he is introduced to [[spoiler: Urgit, King of the Murgos,]] at the end of ''The Mallorean'' even the hardened seneschal visibly pales, and [[spoiler: Urgit]] says
-->'''King''': Forgive me, Lord Hettar. We were told you were twenty feet tall and wear a necklace of Murgo skulls.
-->'''Hettar''': I'm on vacation.

[[folder: Ce'Nedra]]

* MamaBear: After [[spoiler: Geran is kidnapped]], she is entirely willing to raise an army, ''again''. The only thing stopping her is she doesn't know who to target.

[[folder: Sir Mandorallen, Baron of Vo Mandor]]

[[folder: Relg]]
--> "''Don't touch me.''"

An Ulgo religious fanatic with a horror of being touched and an obsessive need to maintain his own purity, Relg is staggeringly judgemental--of both himself and of others. Needed by the company for his ability to walk through solid rock, Relg slowly loosens up, especially once the Prophecy starts throwing the Marag woman Taiba at him.

-->'''Ul''': I will bend thee to my purpose, or I will break thee.

* HeManWomanHater: He believes that AllWomenAreLustful and resents them for [[SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny supposedly trying to tempt him into sin at every turn.]] Garion's internal monologue, since he's unwillingly TheConfidant to Relg, notes many of the inconsistencies in this approach. [[CharacterDevelopment He gets over it eventually,]] [[spoiler: marrying Taiba.]]

[[folder: Lelldorin]]
-->''(Lelldorin gives a detailed account of how he stole Baron Oltorain's sister, married her without his consent, broke his leg, assaulted several of his people -- and a priest (who "had it coming"), run his cousin Torasin through the leg -- "just a little bit", and was "sort of" been declared an outlaw in Arendia.)''
-->'''Garion:''' ''"You managed to get into that much trouble in just a week?"''

* PluckyComicRelief: He's Garion's comedy sidekick. Things usually [[HilarityEnsues take a turn for the hilarious]] when he's around, and get darker [[ShooOutTheClowns when he's not]], and vice versa. For instance, Garion arrives in Riva after the very tense latter half of the quest to retrieve the Orb, which very nearly [[spoiler: killed Belgarath and was feared to have destroyed or severely reduced his powers]], and runs into Lelldorin. Lelldorin immediately regales him with the increasingly ridiculous story of how he ended up having eloped with his nurse, Ariana, (who was also his host's sister, and a Mimbrate, and thus an ancestral enemy), accidentally broke the leg of said host while trying to escape, beat up the priest who initially refused to marry them (at least nominally to protect Ariana's reputation), got into a duel with his prejudiced cousin for what he said about Ariana and running him through the leg ("just a little bit"), ending up being declared an outlaw in Arendia... ''all in the space of a single week.'' Unsurprisingly, Garion is left helpless with laughter.

[[folder: The Orb of Aldur (Cthrag Yaska)]]

[[folder: Adara]]

[[hardline]]

* BabiesEverAfter: With Hettar, and they have a ''lot'', to the point where it's a mild RunningGag in the sequel series - Hettar at one point grumbles that they can't keep up with Relg and Taiba because they keep having multiples (heavily implied to be Mara's influence).

[[folder: Errand (Eriond)]]
--> "''Errand?''"

* AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:Does so at the end of the ''Malloreon.'' Subverted in that he doesn't actually go anywhere - he stays in Angarak under Zakath's supervision, as Zakath's job for the rest of his life is to get the world to worship Eriond (who isn't really strong-willed enough to do it himself).]]

* NeverLearnedToTalk: Is initially capable of only saying the word "Errand", [[VerbalTicName which is why the party takes to calling him that.]] It's explained that when Zedar found him, all he said was "I have an errand for you, boy"; Errand repeated the one word and followed him. Over the next two books, he learns more words, but he can only say one-word sentences. After the TimeSkip between the ''Belgariad'' and the ''Malloreon'', he learns how to speak properly, though at points he reverts to one-word sentences. In the ''Malloreon'' his real name is revealed to be Eriond; he explains that he picked up the word 'Errand' from Zedar because it sounded familiar to him.

* PhosphorEssence: At the end of the ''Malloreon'', he develops a distinct glow whenever he doesn't think to suppress it. [[spoiler: Given that he's ascended to godhood, this is unsurprising]].

[[folder: Taiba]]

* ExplosiveBreeder: PlayedForLaughs in ''The Malloreon''. Hettar grouches that Adara can't keep up with Taiba, who is having children in "twos and threes"--almost certainly due to Mara.

[[folder: Liselle (Velvet)]]

* ActionGirl: She's probably the most physically capable female in the series.

* CodeName: Aside from Velvet, she is also [[spoiler: Hunter]].

* MayDecemberRomance: She's about twenty years younger than [[spoiler: Silk]].

* PsychicPowers: [[spoiler: He's a telepath of some power, initially disguising it with the hand gestures he makes to communicate with Durnik]].

[[folder: Emperor Kal Zakath]]

%%* TheEmperor: Well, duh. [[spoiler: He gets better.]]

* KarmaHoudini: 'Zakath did some pretty awful things that he's never punished for -- though it's indicated that [[spoiler: spreading Eriond's gospel]], a task that will take him the rest of his life, is fate's way of getting him to make up for what he's done.

* RevengeByProxy: Plans to exterminate every single member of the Urga family--and possibly all of Cthol Murgos--because of what Taur Urgas made him do. [[spoiler: Results in a breakdown when he finds out that he's too late and his war was for nothing -- the Urga line had been broken already by Taur Urgas' death, as Urgit, Taur Urgas' successor, turns out to be a result of infidelity on the part of one of Taur Urgas' wives with a Drasnian representative -- Silk's father, to be precise]].

* VengeanceDenied: For much of his life, his eyes were bent on vengance against Taur Urgas. Those plans were thwarted twice. The first by King Cho-Hag of Algaria killing Taur Urgas at Thull Mardu, and the second by prophetic intervention of the revelation that [[spoiler: Urgit was not the son of Taur Urgas and that]] Zakath must return to Mallorea due to his empire being infested by demons.

[[folder: Sadi]]

* MasterPoisoner: He's got a knowledge of pharmacology that rivals Polgara's 3000 years plus of experience, and as Garion puts it, "Sadi could poison one person at a banquet with a thousand guests." This is demonstrated at one point. [[spoiler: He poisoned the spoon, not the soup.]]

[[folder: Beldin]]

[[folder: Poledra]]

* {{Archenemy}}: She and Zandramas ''loathe'' one another to the point where it trumps the usual Child of Light/Child of Dark rivalry. It's not entirely clear why, though on Poledra's side, it might have something to do with Zandramas [[spoiler: stealing her great-grandson]] and on Zandramas', Poledra's tendency to thwart her plans.

* NoodleIncident: The reason why she absolutely despises Zedar, to the point where she actively tries to murder him while [[spoiler: merged with Polgara at Vo Mimbre]], despite almost certainly knowing that she couldn't at that point, is unclear. No one is exactly sure why, for all that they didn't get off to the best start - though his betrayal probably rankled significantly.

[[folder: Urgit]]

* ChekhovsGunman: In an oblique way -- Urgit killing off his brothers in self defense became what convinced [[spoiler: Zakath that his war was pointless, as his vendetta against the Urga dynasty had ended with the last of the Urga heirs being killed on Urgit's order.]] In the end, he is also able to negotiate a peaceful future with both the Western nations and [[spoiler: Mallorea]].

* DeadpanSnarker: As much as ''Silk'', of all people [[spoiler: (which is fitting, since they're half-brothers)]], and going by his mother -- who's no slouch in her own right -- it's InTheBlood [[spoiler: (on both sides)]]. However, while Silk casually snarks at absolutely everyone (especially Belgarath), Urgit growing up constantly afraid of confrontation means that he's much more careful about it. Once he grows a spine, he's much freer with the sardonic remarks.
* DishonoredDead: Urgit inflicts this on his father after his death at the battle of Thull Mardu, [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill slitting his throat, driving a stake through his heart, and burying him 17 feet deep in an unmarked grave, upside down, "just to make sure."]] Then he stampedes cattle across the grave just to make absolutely sure no one ever figures out where Urgas is buried.
* TheGoodKing: Eventually, to almost everyone's surprise, not least his own. The only ones who saw it coming were his seneschal, Oskatat, and his mother, both of whom knew [[spoiler: that he wasn't Taur Urgas' son and thus wouldn't go mad]]. As it is, he had all the ingredients: he's good-natured, but capable of ruthlessness when necessary (even before he TookALevelInBadass, he stole the key to the treasury to buy protection/arrange for the disposal of his rivals for the throne), as well as being extremely intelligent and capable of concealing it if needs be, and has a latent sense of courage and duty -- even if he is always a bit of a coward at heart. All he really needed was a few lessons on kingship from Garion, and to grow a bit of a spine.
* HiddenDepths: He's much sharper than he appears to be, which is how he's survived for so long, and he's got the makings of a good king from the start (he has all the attributes, he just needs to grow a spine and get a few lessons in kingship from Garion). In fact, he's every bit as smart as [[spoiler: his older half-brother]] Silk, who's one of the smartest characters in the series, and successfully bamboozles Javelin, Drasnia's chief spymaster.
* ItRunsInTheFamily: Urgit seems resigned to the Urga family insanity, even [[GallowsHumor making jokes about it]]. [[spoiler: He ends up inheriting his real paternal line's love of, and talent for, negotiation and deal-making instead. Also, the vaguely rat-like nose that twitches when he gets excited]].

* TookALevelInBadass: Between [[spoiler: finding out that he was not going to suffer the hereditary madness of the Urga dynasty]] and Garion pulling him out of his self-pity/giving him some much-needed advice, Urgit finally starts to be an effective king.
* TheUnfavorite: Considering he was the runt of the litter from one of Urgas's lesser wives, it was only his access to the treasury and his brains that kept him from being murdered by one of his brothers or even Urgas himself.

[[/folder]]

* DropTheHammer: As a blacksmith he's quite proficient with one of these. In ''The Malloreon'' he gains a magic one from Aldur with similar properties to the Sword of the Rivan King.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Only in this company will you find, at various points, TheChosenOne, three legendary sorcerers/sorceresses, the [[spoiler:not-]]spirit of one of those sorcerer's [[spoiler:presumed]] long-dead wife, a Dryad princess, two of the top spies of Drasnian Intelligence, a fantasy-Viking capable of turning into a bear, a legendary and literal KnightInShiningArmor, a ditzy rebel archer, a SerialKiller who talks to horses, a religious zealot who can walk through stone, the last survivor of a genocide, an {{Empath}} [[spoiler:who is also an AmnesiacGod]], a eunuch drug-dealer and MasterPoisoner, the king of the South, TheEmperor of the East, a blindfolded {{Seer|s}} who is ''another'' [[TheChosenOne Chosen One]], her GentleGiant bodyguard, and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers a simple blacksmith from Sendar]].

* HeroesWantRedheads: Garion, though it takes him a while to realise it.

* BloodKnight: Though normally not afflicted by any Alorn tendencies towards this, he becomes positively giddy at the thought of testing his kung fu against a senior Dagashi (a cult of Murgo assassins).

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Dryad names always have an X in them, but hers seems to break the rule. In ''The Malloreon'' it's explained that it's supposed to be spelled "X'Nedra", but that Tolnedran speech patterns soften the pronunciation of the "X" to "Ce". Her mother, Xvanne, was called Cevanne by Ran Borune. After a moment of trying to pronounce it, Garion decides to keep calling her Ce'Nedra. At the end of ''The Malloreon'', Garion also muses that he's pretty sure she's privately added an "X" someplace in their daughter Beldaran's name.

* HiddenDepths: He's actually a decent actor, being able to play the part of a [[TheQuisling collaborating Asturian]] very well, when required. That's about as far as it goes.

* DeadpanSnarker: Possibly. It's quite hard to tell, thanks to his utter sincerity, but there's one or two moments. For instance, shortly after he first appears, one knight insults him and he explains that he can't "chastise" the man as he'd like to because he's a distant relative -- which the knight exploits to build up a reputation for courage.

* [[HonoraryUncle Honorary Aunt]]: Technically there's about a hundred "great-"s at the start of it, but to Garion she's simply "Aunt Pol". Ce'Nedra picks up the habit near the end of ''The Mallorean'', as well. (Silk wonders what would happen if he said it. Beldin opines that he'd probably make an interesting-looking radish.)

* TakeOverTheWorld: At the start of the series, his driving goal is to take over the planet. When it becomes clear how ''woefully'' outmatched he is by Belgarion, he quietly drops this goal.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: He's even introduced by almost these exact words.

* ModestRoyalty: Early in the second series, before really embracing it later on, to the point that his subjects don't recognize him when he rides past. He doesn't mind, but it's not a deliberate case of KingIncognito either -- as he points out, to them, the Emperor is the man who's decked out in robes, jewels, regalia, and massive carriages, not some middle aged bloke with a beard who's riding past.

** He's horrified to hear about baby Geran being kidnapped and genuinely lets Garion know he has his sympathies. While this is what Garion's group had been hoping for by revealing this, it backfires slightly when it also increases Zakath's mistrust of their true motives. As he says, if he was the father of a kidnapped son, there is absolutely nothing that he wouldn't do to get him back.

* TheEmperor: Well, duh. [[spoiler: He gets better.]]
* EmptyShell: The prophecy outright refers to him as "The Empty One". Throughout ''The Belgariad'' and for a good portion of ''The Malloreon'', he speaks with a dead voice, has matching dead eyes, and is apathetic to all life save his {{Revenge}}.

** He's horrified to hear about baby Geran being kidnapped and genuinely lets Garion know he has his sympathies.

* DeconfirmedBachelor: After spending years jokingly denouncing his friends for getting married, [[spoiler:he decides he loves Liselle too much to just "sneak around" with her and proposes to her...by way of announcing her as his fiancee.]]

* DespairEventHorizon: Hit in the backstory, after one of Taur Urgas' plots against him resulted in the death of his girlfriend at his own hands, believing that she was going to kill him on the wedding night. Garion's companions are a little disconcerted to discover that the fate of the world rests on their ability to somehow help him find his way back from that despair and relearn how to enjoy living again. As usual, Garion finds the group mostly leaves it up to him to try and figure out [[spoiler:and Cyradis, after the group realises she has a "peculiar effect" on him]].

* AffectionateParody: Of RobinHood and the swashbuckling hero archetype.