History Characters / TheBelgariad

King of Cthol Murgos after the death of Taur Urgas in the Belgariad, Urgit spent his early reign under the thumb of his generals until Garion is able to help teach him how to actually be a king. He spends most of his time resigned to succumb to [[RoyallyScrewedUp his hereditary madness]] [[spoiler: until it's revealed that his real father isn't Taur Urgas but Silk's father, who had slept with Urgit's mother while an ambassador.]]

* 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 the Western nations.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: He pretends to be weak and easily pushed around so that no one sees him as a threat, and while it's noted as probably always going to be a bit of a coward, it's worth noting that even prior to his taking a level in badass, he stole the key to the royal treasury at a young age and used it to buy the support and minions needed to protect himself and wipe out his competitors (on the grounds that if he didn't get them, they would get him-which was absolutely correct).

* HiddenDepths: He's much sharper than he appears to be. In fact, he's every bit as smart as [[spoiler: his older half-brother, Silk.]] Which is how he managed to survive.
* InTheBlood: Urgit seems resigned to the Urga family insanity, even [[GallowsHumor making jokes about it]]. [[spoiler: He ends up inheriting his real paternal line's skill at and love of negotiation and the deal instead.]]
* MamasBoy: has always adored his mother, Princess Tamzin (for good reason).

** in the last book, decides that he given how well ''his'' is working out, he really should instigate one of these between his mother, and the general who's loved her (and supported Urgit) since they were very young.

* ImAHumanitarian: Drinks blood and eats flesh while performing sacrifices.

* EvilSorcerer

** DragonTheirFeet: Completely absent from the first series.

* EvilOldFolks
* EvilSorcerer

* ArtifactOfDoom: Given its associations with The Dark Prophecy and what will happen if the Child of Dark touches it, yeah.

* EvilCounterpart: To the Orb of Aldur.

* MineralMacGuffin
* OnlyTheChosenMayWield

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: She had bright golden hair, and was probably the kindest hearted member of her family, save possibly Garion - and even he occasionally shows signs of Belgarath's signature grumpiness.

* OneTrueLove: Riva's.
* ParentalFavoritism: It's no secret that Belgarath loved her more than Polgara - though that had a lot to do with the fact that Polgara spent most of her youth and adolescence hating him (and not entirely without reason), while Beldaran was much more openly loving and forgiving.
* PolarOppositeTwins: With Polgara.

* TheBigGuy
* BoisterousBruiser

* FamedInStory

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething

* AnAxToGrind
* TheBigGuy
* BoisterousBruiser
* DumbMuscle

* FamedInStory
* ModestRoyalty
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething

* TheBigGuy

* FamedInStory

* ModestRoyalty
* TheQuietOne
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething

* TheBigGuy

* FamedInStory

* ModestRoyalty

* OneTrueLove: Beldaran's.

* YoungestChildWins: If you can consider being the guardian of the Orb winning.

* DeadpanSnarker: Comes across more like a long suffering GameMaster who is annoyed that his players won't follow the script than anything else.

* NotSoStoic: When it becomes so, you know things ''are'' serious:

* EvilCounterpart: To the Prophecy.
* RulesLawyer: It is far more concerned about the 'points' than it's light counterpart, arguing at length when it feels it earned one.

** He eventually regards Errand as a surrogate younger brother.

* {{Farmboy}}: Garion is one, but only technically. He lived on a farm, but worked in his aunt's kitchen... as a dishwasher.
* TheHeart: He tends to be, with the exception of Eriond (and possibly Durnik), the kindest and gentlest at heart of the heroes. However, this does not preclude an occasional habit of quite literally going berserk.

* KidAnova: Garion had a quite a way with the ladies as a teenager, though it was entirely accidental, and mostly (but not exclusively) related to his being related to Belgarath and Polgara, and thus an ''extremely'' eligible bachelor; ironically Ce'Nedra was the first girl he met who wasn't instantly smitten with him.

* MagicKnight: Garion becomes frighteningly proficient with both weaponry and sorcery.
* MosesInTheBulrushes: How his father saved his life, more or less, when their house was burning down around them, using stone-cutting tools to hack open a small hole and shove baby Garion out. At first, Asharak, the man who set the house on fire in the first place grabbed him... before very sensibly ditching him in the face of a homicidal Belgarath.

* PapaWolf: Do ''not'' touch his children. Seriously. He's not as coldly vicious as Polgara and Belgarath are capable of being, but he's a six foot plus PersonOfMassDestruction/borderline PhysicalGod being definitively the most powerful sorcerer on the planet, with the Alorn tendency to go berserk under sufficient stress, as well as a giant sword and what amounts to a pet RealityWarper on the hilt of said sword, which is very fond of his family in its own right.

* ThereWasADoor: 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.

* WellExcuseMePrincess: His relationship with Ce'Nedra summed up in four words.

* MyBelovedSmother: She veers into this from time to time, to Garion's displeasure, which Belgarath points out. However, she very frequently has ''excellent'' reason for her attitude.
* TheNotSoHarmlessPunishment: She gives a seer (who was making inconveniently timed proclamations of Garion's true identity and refusing to stop) her sight back, preventing her from having visions anymore, something which utterly breaks the seer in question.

* RoaringRampageOfRescue: She and Barak tear Salmissra's palace to pieces trying to rescue Garion in ''Queen of Sorcery'', and in the process, she stares down Issa, and [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor gives Salmissra the immortality she wanted]] by turning her into a giant snake (though, ironically, she does actually turn out to be happier with it than she was before, as are her subordinates).

* CoolOldGuy: He's mischievous, charismatic, and an excellent story-teller, all traits that make him very popular with his many grandsons and Eriond on whom he is a bad influence, much to Polgara's exasperation.
* DeadpanSnarker: A premier example in the series - really, you can see where Polgara gets it from.

* EccentricMentor: Belgarath has several bad habits - the habitual stealing and drinking and [[ReallyGetsAround all that business in Maragor after Poledra's death]] - and he generally looks like a tramp (though that's actually by design, and none of his clothes are actually half as shabby as they appear), but he is still Aldur's first disciple, "possibly the best teacher in the history of the world" when he puts his mind to it, as Polgara admits, and quite capable of demonstrating why all the Grolims are terrified of him.

* PapaWolf: To the ''world.'' Less so to Polgara, since she can generally more than take care of herself, and less to Garion [[TookALevelInBadass after he becomes able to take care of himself]] (though it's notable that the one time Chamdar faced him directly, just after murdering Garion's parents, the only thing that saved him was the fact that he threw Garion at the homicidally enraged Belgarath and ran like hell). However, he is ''definitely'' this to the rest of his family - after the Rivan royal family (his descendants via Beldaran) are murdered in the back-story, he organises an ''epic'' RoaringRampageOfRevenge that more or less ''flattens'' Nyissa (though he ends up being kind to the Salmissra who nominally ordered it, as she was a TragicVillain as much of a victim of [[ManBehindTheMan Zedar's]] scheme as the Rivan royal family. And 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 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 won't just leave Zedar where he is - he'll go back there and put him "somewhere a lot less pleasant."

* [[spoiler: BackFromTheDead: At the end of ''The Belgariad.'' One of only ''two'' exceptions in ''history'' to AllDeathsFinal - and it's debatable whether Poledra was ever really dead.]]

* NiceGuy: The bedrock of his character -- he's just a good ''person''. He's kind, steadfast, supportive, compassionate, and morally upright -- more so than any other character in the series.

* OvershadowedByAwesome: At the beginning Durnik is just a Sendarian blacksmith in the company of a master thief, a Cherek berserker, two incredibly powerful sorcerers, and a boy who happens to be TheChosenOne. He becomes more and more prominent as the story goes along, though.

* UptownGirl: Polgara is an [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient]], powerful, [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman gorgeous]] sorceress who has shaped the fates of nations for three thousand years and the daughter of the most powerful man in the world. Durnik is.... a simple Sendarian blacksmith. She is ''way'' out of his league and he knows it -- but that doesn't stop her from falling in love with him. [[spoiler:Their love winds up ''saving the universe'', and he gets a serious level-up from the Gods because Destiny ''really'' wants Polgara to be happy.]]

* TheBigGuy: He fulfils this role in ''Pawn of Prophecy''. In the later books he's TheHero and OnlySaneMan of TheBigGuy Band, doing his best to keep the likes of Hettar, Mandorallen, Lelldorin, and Relg in line.
* CursedWithAwesome: Barak's "curse" is to turn into a bear when Garion [[spoiler:heir to the long-empty throne of Riva and Overlord of the West by treaty]] is threatened (at least, until he can look after himself). 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 are now the hereditary protectors of Garion's family), he starts contemplating tasteful ways to work it into his coat of arms. Who wouldn't want to advertise that?

* InTheBlood: His "curse" is genetic. His son, Unrak, turns into a bear when Garion's son, Geran is threatened.

* 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. He's also the first person to figure out that [[spoiler: the female wolf]] who's travelling with them in ''The Malloreon'' is, in fact, [[spoiler: Poledra]].

* TookALevelInBadass: From nonpowered farmboy to the most powerful mortal on the planet.

* AbsurdlyElderlyMother: Sorcerers [[TheAgeless stop ageing]] at an age that "feels" right to them, so Polgara remains youthful (general estimates of her apparent age settle on 'early thirties, at most') for 3000 years and is able to [[BabiesEverAfter have twins at the end]] of the ''Malloreon'' sequel series. Belgarath observes that this probably has a lot to do with the fact that society regards elderly men as venerable, but classes elderly women as crones.

* BelatedLoveEpiphany: She doesn't realize how desperately she loves Durnik until he's killed by Zedar -- but that awareness gives her the strength to hold fast against ''Torak''. [[spoiler:Fortunately, Destiny ''really'' wants her to be happy, so the Gods (with some help from Garion and the Orb) bring him back to life so she can marry him.]]

* CombatMedic: She's spent literal centuries studying the healing arts and is probably the best healer in the world, but she won't hesitate to defend herself or her loved ones if necessary.

* MamaBear: Dear gods, yes. To take, but one example, Salmissra has a fifteen year old Garion kidnapped and subjected to GoGoEnslavement. Polgara responds by ripping apart Salmissra's entire palace, staring down the spirit of a god, Issa, and makes an example of Salmissra by transforming her from a woman into a giant snake, all to get Garion back and demonstrate her ''extreme'' displeasure.

* SilkHidingSteel: After she decides to clean herself up, she becomes an extremely well-mannered and well-dressed lady, who's frequently described as being the most beautiful woman in the world. She's also extremely powerful and even more cold-blooded than her father at times, if a bit less vicious.
* TantrumThrowing: She does this at least twice. She is noted in the series to be quite spectacular at this, not to mention severely dangerous, given that she could level a small country if so inclined.

* UnderdressedForTheOccasion: Greets kings while dressed as a tramp, and has to be forced (usually by Polgara) into formal wear.

* CursedWithAwesome: Barak's "curse" is to turn into a bear when Garion [[spoiler: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 starts contemplating tasteful ways to work it into his coat of arms. Who wouldn't want to advertise that?

* OnlySaneMan: As far as the BigGuy band is concerned - Hettar's a BloodKnight entirely focused on his RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the Murgos (until he gets married), Relg is a heroic version of TheFundamentalist having mellowed somewhat, Lelldorin is a master archer and Robin Hood archetype with no brains whatsoever, and Mandorallen is a KnightInShiningArmour who entirely seriously suggests that the lot of them take on ''the entire Mallorean army.'' Barak's entirely understandable response to the latter suggestion is to put his head down on the table and cry.

* BloodKnight: Though normally unafflicted by any Alorn tendencies towards this, he becomes positively giddy at the thought of testing his kung fu against a senior dagashi.

* GentlemanThief: He mostly steals for the fun of it.
* GoToAlias: He apparently has several, but his favorites are the down-on-his-luck spice merchant Ambar of Kotu, and the far more successful wholesaler Radek of Boktor.

* LoveableRogue: He's charming, funny, and cheerfully acknowledges that he's a morally terrible person - it helps that he ''does'' have some standards.

* SpareToTheThrone: His uncle is the King of Drasnia, and for the longest time, Silk was his heir. The day that his cousin Crown Prince Kheva was born, Drasnia and Silk breathed a deep sigh of relief.
* UnrequitedLove: For [[spoiler: his aunt-by-marriage, Queen Porenn]]. He gets over her, and marries [[spoiler: Liselle]] instead.

* BloodKnight: Where Murgos are concerned, his day is incomplete if he doesn't kill at least a few, something that is PlayedForLaughs during ''The Belgariad.'' It's downplayed in ''The Malloreon'' as part of his CharacterDevelopment, while the Murgos get more development in their own right, and in Belgarath's prequel, Polgara flat out states that as a child, he's on the verge of becoming a proper monster.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: It should be noted that a good chunk of the Murgos he killed are indeed working for Torak.

The opinionated, pushy, and at times, downright insufferable daughter of Tolnedran Emperor Ran Borune, Ce'Nedra is Garion's destined fiancee--a fact that both of them are unaware of when they first meet. Arrogant and hotheaded, Ce'Nedra spends an inordinate amount of time fighting with Garion, or jockeying for position within the company. Her political skills are, however, second-to-none, and when she has to, Ce'Nedra can easily live up to her Prophetic nickname of "The Queen of the World".

* TheChick: Well, somebody had to do it.
* DamselInDistress: Garion does rescue her a couple of times. However, she makes up for it near the end of the first series by deciding that since he needs a distraction, she'll provide one: by raising an absolutely ''enormous'' multinational army.

* GenderEqualsBreed: Every Borune woman and any daughters she has are Dryads, but their sons are completely human. Because magic.

* HeroesWantRedheads

* InnocentFanserviceGirl: Tolnedra is an equatorial country and much warmer than the Alorn kingdoms, and Dryads often dress very [[{{Stripperiffic}} minimally]], so Ce'Nedra often wears skimpy clothing and has a tendency towards casual nudity. This behaviour led to the elderly Sendarian ambassador resigning his post after walking in on her in lingerie - which she casually modelled for him, asking his opinion on each piece.

* LawOfInverseFertility: In ''Guardians Of The West'', the stability of half the world rests on her ability to get pregnant, and it eventually takes magical intervention from the Queen of the Dryads herself to make it happen. After the main plot of ''the Malloreon'' comes to an end, however, it's implied that she and Belgarion will have a ''lot'' of children.
* JerkAss: For most of the first series, shading into JerkWithAHeartOfGold.

* LethalChef: Ce'Nedra's cooking is only edible by a very loose definition of the term.

* ManipulativeBastard: Goads her own father into a fit at one point, just to get what she wants, something that startles even Polgara (who's entirely capable of this trope herself). Since she knew that it would simply incapacitate him for about an hour, without doing permanent damage, and thus give her the chance to go behind his back and ''steal his entire army'' (which she needed to back up Garion), it's not as bad as it immediately sounds, and her father later looks back on the incident with genuine pride.

* RousingSpeech: She's damn good at this. In fact it's why she was born in the first place.

* TheDreaded: He's the most feared man in Arendia. Even Lelldorin and the other Asturians have heard of him.

* OneManArmy: He ''is'' basically unstoppable. At one point, he points out to a certain minor villain that his plans to [[spoiler:reach the crown by killing Ce'Nedra]] made the small mistake of placing himself, surrounded by a century of light-armored foot soldiers, within reach of a fully armoured, mounted Mandorallen: "Thy soldiers will be as blades of grass before me", he said, and was NOT bluffing.

* BadassPreacher[=/=]ReligiousBruiser: He may be TheFundamentalist and spend all his time {{Wangst}}ing about sin, but he's also an incredibly strong KnifeNut who can ''submerge you inside solid rock'' without breaking a sweat.

* TheBigGuy: Big Smart.
* CharacterDevelopment: One of the biggest examples in the series, going from haughty ItsAllAboutMe fundamentalist, to fundamentalist who's prone to {{Wangst}} over sin (tied to his previous ego trip) and sexuality in particular, to well-balanced, happily married and well respected spiritual leader. His authority in the latter respect is sufficient that when the Big Guy Band are scheming over ways to get around the Prophecy and its restrictions on their involvement in ''The Malloreon'', he squashes their first suggestion and doesn't get a murmur of protest, and he second plan (which is a bit more reasonable) only goes ahead with his say so.

* TheDitz: He has no brains whatsoever.

* 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.
* HonorBeforeReason: He's as bad as Mandorallen - worse, in fact, since while Mandorallen has a few brains and a degree of social intelligence, Lelldorin has none whatsoever, of either.

* LoveMakesYouStupid: Although to be fair, he wasn't exactly winning any Nobel Prizes to begin with. It's more dramatic with Ariana, who ''is'' genuinely very intelligent... but all her common sense goes out the window when he's around.
* OddFriendship: With Mandorallen. They're hereditary enemies, but quickly find they're NotSoDifferent and develop into BashBrothers, to the point that in the sequel series, Mandorallen gets into trouble and Lelldorin responds by ''raising an army''. Also in the sequel series, a Mimbrate Baron insults Lelldorin to his face, and Mandorallen responds by throwing down his gauntlet and 'missing' the floor, instead hitting the Baron in the face, before beating the crap out of him with surgical precision in a jousting match, then challenging anyone else who shares such views to step on up.
* PluckyComicRelief: He's Garion's comedy sidekick. Things usually [[HilarityEnsues take a turn for the comical]] when he's around, and get darker [[ShooOutTheClowns when he's not.]]
* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: His 'day job' at the start of the series is fomenting RobinHood style rebellion against the Arendish monarchy. He's also a complete moron.

Garion's oldest and most loyal friend, Durnik was the smith at Faldor's farm and accompanied him and Polgara when Zedar stole the Orb out of loyalty and affection. A deeply practical man with an enormous crush on Polgara, Durnik's bravery and common sense serve the company well on their trek across the world.

Garion's oldest and most loyal friend, Durnik was the smith at Faldor's Farm and accompanied he and Polgara when Zedar stole the Orb. A deeply practical man with an enormous crush on Polgara, Durnik's bravery and common sense serve the company well on their trek across the world.

* DarkChick: Torak always kept this place in his FiveManBand open for her.

* MindRape: She can cast illusions which are guaranteed to make her victims beg her to stop - her self-narrated prequel explains that each illusion is tailored to the subject, and is created by reaching into the depths of their mind and finding what they fear the most. She's very prone to doing this as part of interrogations, and it's usually extremely effective - though Sadi became the one person in both series and both prequels to NoSell it by the simple expedient of being stoned out of his mind.

* TrueBlueFemininity: When not on her earth-tone coloured travelling clothes, she wears blue dresses reserved for special occasions.

** He's also kind to Vordai, admitting in his prequel that he felt sorry for her, and to two of the Salmissras, after they show minds of their own: one he gives political advice on how to get rid of the eunuchs who were planning to kill and replace her after it became apparent she wasn't just a puppet, and the other, Ilessa, (the Salmissra who was manipulated into killing the Rivan royal family by Zedar) whom he had every reason to hate, he comforted on her deathbed with the knowledge that Zedar's scheme had failed.

* CoolHorse: He gets one in ''Demon Lord of Karanda'', courtesy of Emperor Zakath -- a big dark gray stallion named Chretienne.
-->'''Zakath''': A King needs a kingly horse, and I think you'll find that Chretienne can lend himself to any occasion that requires ceremony.

* UnskilledButStrong: 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 ([[spoiler:(and Talent)]] as the story progresses.

* CluelessChickMagnet: Midway through the series, Garion's descent from [[LivingLegend Belgarath]] is common knowledge, but his identity as the Rivan King and therefore betrothal to Ce'Nedra is still a secret (even to him). Since Belgarath's family is the most noble in the world basically by default (it doesn't hurt that Polgara's acquired titles from more or less everywhere, and spent a few centuries ruling a moderately powerful duchy thanks to doing the Duke of Vo Wacune a ''very'' big favor), this briefly makes Garion the most eligible bachelor in the West, a fact he was neither aware of nor prepared for.

** PowerGlows: Bright blue, just like the Orb

** UnbreakableWeapons: Nothing can shatter the blade of the Rivan King

* BelatedLoveEpiphany: She doesn't realize how desperately she loves Durnik until he's killed by Zedar -- but that awareness gives her the strength to hold strong against ''Torak''. [[spoiler:Fortunately, Destiny ''really'' wants her to be happy, so the Gods (with some help from Garion and the Orb) bring him back to life so she can marry him.]]

* SecondLove: She lost the first man she ever truly loved -- her Champion, Sir Ontrose -- in the battle that doomed Vo Wacune. Millennia later, she meets and falls in love with Durnik, and eventually marries him.

* UnskilledButStrong: 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.

* BigBrotherInstinct: He eventually regards Errand as a surrogate younger brother.

* CluelessChickMagnet: Midway through the series, Garion's descent from [[LivingLegend Belgarath]] is common knowledge, but his identity as the Rivan King and therefore betrothal to Ce'Nedra is still a secret (even to him). Since Belgarath's family is the most noble in the world basically by default (it doesn't hurt that Polgara's acquired titles from more or less everywhere, and spent a few centuries ruling a moderately powerful Duchy, Vo Wacune), this briefly makes Garion the most eligible bachelor in the West, a fact he was neither aware of nor prepared for.

* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedEvil: Belgarath's, though he had long ceased to be Belgarath's student by the time he pulled a FaceHeelTurn.

* JerkassFacade[=/=]JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Acts like a bastard because people expect it. He holds it up to the point that he dumps food on the ground and eats it instead of eating it from plates.

* InTheBlood: Urgit seems resigned to the Urga family insanity, even [[GallowsHumor making jokes about it]]. [[spoiler: He ends up inheriting his real paternal line's skill at and love of negotiation and the deal instead

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: He pretends to be weak and easily pushed around so that no one sees him as a threat, and while it's noted as probably always going to be a bit of a coward, it's worth noting that even prior to his taking a level in badass, he stole the key to the royal treasury at a young age and used it to buy the support and minions needed to protect himself and wipe out his competitors (on the grounds that if he didn't get them, they would get him).
* 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."]]
* HiddenDepths: He's much sharper than he appears to be. In fact, he's every bit as smart as [[spoiler: his older half-brother, Silk.]]
* InTheBlood: Urgit seems resigned to the Urga family insanity. [[spoiler: He ends up inheriting his real paternal line's skill at and love of negotiation and the deal instead.]]

* 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.

* AnimalMotifs: A wolf. Though from her perspective she's a wolf whose animal motif is ''human''.

* HonoraryUncle: To Polgara (and Beldaran).
* HooksAndCrooks: Favours a hook in close-combat. White hot, for preference.

* DomesticAbuser: Beats his wives, keeps them under lock and key, tosses them down flights of stairs, occasionally kills them.

* GreenEyes: BlinkAndYouMissIt, but there's a passing mention of his eyes being green. As befits the most [[{{Bishonen}} overpretty]] of the Gods.
* GreenEyedMonster: He covets his brother's orb. He covets it oh so much. Oddly enough, ''actually'' correlated with GreenEyes above.

* EvilSorcerer: Possibly the evilest sorcerer in the entire series, in fact.

* RedBaron: "The Magician of Rak Cthol". Doubles as an insult since Ctuchik is actually a sorcerer and magicians, who work with demons rather than the Will & the Word are regarded with contempt and disgust.

* SmugSnake: He's smart, cunning, and formidable in combat, yet beyond overconfident and makes several very crucial amateur mistakes in his arrogance.

* WizardDuel: With Belgarath.

* ButtMonkey: To the universe.
* CoDragons: To Torak, alongside Ctuchik.
* ElderlyImmortal: Looks of an age with Belgarath.

* EvilFormerFriend: To Belgarath and the rest of the Disciples of Aldur.
* EvilGenius: Likely the smartest of Torak's disciples.

* EvilTwin: He and Belgarath are virtually identical, something indicated to apply to all the disciples of Aldur, who end up imprinted with something of Aldur's appearance (except Beldin, probably. He's so deformed that no one could tell).
* FaceHeelTurn: In the backstory.

* FateWorseThanDeath: Belgarath locks him in a rock deep underground, a prison he's unable to escape, even by dying. Even Belgarath himself thinks it's a little excessive, even considering all that Zedar has done (though he notes that if his suspicions about Belmakor's depression and suicide are ever confirmed, he's going to take Zedar and stick him somewhere "much less comfortable."

* DarkIsEvil: His main motif is farkness, one way or another.

* TheDevilIsALoser: He's maimed, unloved, crazy [[spoiler:(but for a [[EvenEvilHasStandards single]] time)]] and incapable of change. It's eventually revealed that he was never even supposed to exist in the first place.

* AmbitionIsEvil
* ArchEnemy: He made no secret of the fact that he would kill Taur Urgas and exterminate the Murgos down to the last child if he could

* [[DefrostingIceQueen Defrosting Ice Emperor]]

* KarmaHoudini: 'Zakath did some pretty awful things that he's never punished for.

* ModestRoyalty: 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.

* AscendedExtra: A minor antagonist in the first series; a major player in the second.

* DrugsAreBad: Downplayed. Sadi's drug-dealing and abuse is portrayed as a bad thing, but isn't treated as anything worse than Silk's thievery or other characters' bouts of drinking.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Sadi's alliance with the protagonists doesn't mean he's given up his personal corruption. While he likes them all by the end, and has certainly become a braver, more well-rounded individual, he remains an unapologetic scoundrel, a drug-dealer, a poisoner, and a criminal without the slightest bit of shame.

* VetinariJobSecurity: Towards the beginning of ''The Malloreon'' he was stripped of his rank and banished from the court for violating several of the guidelines Salmissra had set in place to keep the infighting in her palace within reasonable limits. And he later admits that he really was guilty. Despite that, at the end of the series he gets reinstated because the queen couldn't find anyone else qualified to do his job.

* TheAgeless

* {{Archenemy}}: 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.

* BadassGrandpa: He's nearly as old as Belgarath, and in hand to hand combat, he's actually a better fighter.

* HiddenDepths: Beldin is hideously deformed and has disgusting personal habits, but is a GeniusBruiser who is probably the most intelligent and well-read man in the world, as well as perfectly capable of breaking people who don't pay attention to his lectures in half. He's also a highly skilled actor and acrobat, as well as something of an aestheticist with a keen appreciation for and impeccable taste in art.

* InTheBlood: Urgit seems resigned to the Urga family insanity. [[spoiler: He ends up inheriting his real paternal line's skill at, love of, negotiation and the deal instead.]]

* 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, Urgit finally starts to be an effective king.

* PowerGlows

* AllPowerfulBystander: Neither it nor its counterpart can intervene directly without destroying the universe. That's why they act through proxies to fulfill parts of their respective prophecies.

* AllPowerfulBystander: Neither it nor its counterpart can intervene directly without destroying the universe. That's why they act through proxies to fulfill parts of their respective prophecies.

* EccentricMentor: Belgarath has several bad habits - the habitual stealing and drinking and [[ReallyGetsAround all that business in Maragor after Poledra's death]] - and he generally looks like a tramp (though that's actually by design, and none of his clothes are actually half as shabby as they appear), but he is still Aldur's first disciple and quite capable of demonstrating why all the Grolims are terrified of him.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: 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 he practically breaks down (which makes her realise that he does actually have a heart, and starts their real reconciliation). Under his grumpy shell there's a heart of gold, mainly shown in a keen sense of family, manifesting as a VitriolicBestBuds type relationship with Polgara and his brothers, as well as deep grief for his two DeaderThanDead 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. And then there's the ''spectacular'' PapaWolf tendencies.

* TheMentor: To Garion, Polgara, and most of Aldur's other disciples. Polgara grudgingly notes that he's actually a very good teacher.

* 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 fashions, and as a result, he's one of the few people who [[TheSmartGuy Beldin]] expresses an interest in discussing philosophy with. He's also the first person to figure out that [[spoiler: the female wolf]] who's travelling with them in ''The Malloreon'' is, in fact, [[spoiler: Poledra]].

* IJustWantToBeNormal: Garion's {{Catchphrase}} is "Why me?" [[CharacterDevelopment He gets over it.]] [[TheGadfly Though he isn't above occasionally repeating it to the Prophecy just to wind it up.]]
* KidAnova: Garion had a quite a way with the ladies as a child, though it was entirely accidental; ironically Ce'Nedra was the first girl he met who wasn't instantly smitten with him.

* PapaWolf: Do ''not'' touch his children. Seriously. He's not as coldly vicious as Polgara and Belgarath are capable of being, but he's a six foot plus PersonOfMassDestruction with the Alorn tendency to go berserk under sufficient stress, as well as a giant sword and what amounts to a pet RealityWarper on the hilt of said sword, which is very fond of his family in its own right.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Graduates to this towards the end of ''the Belgariad'', and starts tipping into the PhysicalGod category - even ''without'' the Orb of Aldur - in ''the Malloreon.''

* UpbringingMakesTheHero: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Polgara; she deliberately raises Garion as a {{farmboy}} to give him a solid moral foundation for when he ends up having to save the world.

* AbsurdlyElderlyMother: Sorcerers [[TheAgeless stop aging]] at an age that "feels" right to them, so Polgara remains youthful for 3000 years and is able to [[BabiesEverAfter have twins at the end]] of the ''Malloreon'' sequel series.

* MagicalNanny: Polgara plays this role as caretaker of the Rivan line for two thousand years, with varying degrees of closeness (sometimes, she's more detached, other times, she's a full on ParentalSubstitute). And her cooking... divine!
* MamaBear: Dear gods, yes. To take, but one example, Salmissra has a fifteen year old Garion kidnapped and subjected to GoGoEnslavement. Polgara responds by ripping apart Salmissra's entire palace, staring down the spirit of a god, Issa, and transforms Salmissra from a woman into a giant snake, all to get Garion back.
* MindRape: She can cast illusions which are guaranteed to make her victims beg her to stop - her self-narrated prequel explains that each illusion is tailored to the subject, and is created by reaching into the depths of their mind and finding what they fear the most. She's very prone to doing this as part of interrogations, and it's usually extremely effective - though Sadi managed to NoSell it by the simple expedient of being stoned out of his mind.

* TheNotSoHarmlessPunishment: She gives a seer her sight back, preventing her from having visions anymore, something which utterly breaks the seer in question.

* RoaringRampageOfRescue: She and Barak tear Salmissra's palace to pieces trying to rescue Garion in ''Queen of Sorcery''.
* SheCleansUpNicely: Was once a ragged tomboy. Is now regarded as the most beautiful woman on the planet.

* TantrumThrowing: She does this at least twice. She is noted in the book to be quite spectacular at this, not to mention severely dangerous, given that she could level a small country if so inclined.

* BadassBookworm: He may not seem like the scholarly type, but he usually spends the intervening centuries between adventures reading in his tower.

* DoomedHometown: Though he hadn't lived there for centuries, Belgarath is upset when he discovers that his unnamed home village was destroyed in the Torak cataclysm.

* [[GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave 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.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: 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 he practically breaks down (which makes her realise that he does actually have a heart). Under his grumpy shell there's a heart of gold, mainly shown in a keen sense of family, manifesting as a VitriolicBestBuds type relationship with Polgara and his brothers, as well as deep grief for his two DeaderThanDead 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. And then there's the ''spectacular'' PapaWolf tendencies.

* LetsGetDangerous: As Polgara observes, while he's normally deeply lazy, insouciant, and generally nothing like what you'd expect a legendary sorcerer to be, he can throw that off in the blink of an eye, function for weeks with minimal sleep and food, pull off feats that should be impossible, and, she speculates, stop the sun in the sky if he really wanted to.

* PapaWolf: To the ''world.'' Less so to Polgara, since she can generally more than take care of herself, and less to Garion [[TookALevelInBadass after he becomes able to take care of himself,]] but definitely to the rest of his family - after the Rivan royal family (his descendants via Beldaran) are murdered in the back-story, he organises an ''epic'' RoaringRampageOfRevenge that more or less ''flattens'' Nyissa (though he ends up being kind to the Salmissra who nominally ordered it, as she was a TragicVillain as much of a victim of [[ManBehindTheMan Zedar's]] scheme as the Rivan royal family.

** He also sometimes veers into this when dealing with the Bear-Cult and the Nyissans. He's organised the suppression of the former on multiple occasions, and he once ''flattened'' Nyissa in response to their assassinating the Rivan royal family (at the behest of Zedar).

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: He was born as Garath in a now long forgotten village, and was orphaned as a child. He ran away in his teens after getting a beating from a farmer whose daughter he got caught necking with, and ended up in Aldur's valley. When Torak split the world centuries later, Belgarath's hometown was destroyed, severing the last link to his past.

* [[spoiler: BackFromTheDead: At the end of ''The Belgariad.'' One of only ''two'' exceptions in ''history'' to AllDeathsFinal.]]
* BadassNormal: Is an ordinary blacksmith with little formal battle training traveling among professional warriors and sorcerers. Still kicks ferocious amounts of ass (it helps that all that smithy work has made him ridiculously strong).

* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Garion. He's old enough to be the boy's father, yet their relationship is very much that of two good friends.

* TheNavigator: As he frequently tell Belgarath, "I know a back way out of every place."

* SadClown: 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 not like that, and furthermore, [[spoiler: his uncle]] is one of the few people he respects enough to never try anything with [[spoiler: Porenn]] even if she were interested.
* SarcasticDevotee: One of his less popular features. 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.

* BloodKnight: Where Murgos are concerned, his day is incomplete if he doesn't kill at least a few, something that is PlayedForLaughs during ''The Belgariad.''

* BreastExpansion: Ce'Nedra suggested that Polgara could use sorcery to correct her "deficiencies", but Polgara refused, as using magic for plastic surgery is apparently very dangerous, and instead tells her to have a couple of children and let nature take care of it.

* GirlPosse: A non-villainous example, Ce'Nedra is able to establish a clique of friends among the local women wherever she goes.

* InelegantBlubbering: Polgara tells her she shouldn't cry in public; she hasn't the right coloring for it.
* InnocentFanserviceGirl: Tolnedra is an equatorial country and much warmer than the Alorn kingdoms, and Dryads often dress very [[{{Stripperiffic}} Stripperiffically]], so Ce'Nedra often wears skimpy clothing and has a tendency towards casual nudity. This behaviour led to the elderly Sendarian ambassador resigning his post after walking in on her in lingerie - which she casually modelled for him, asking his opinion on each piece.

* ManipulativeBastard: Goads her own father into a fit at one point, just to get what she wants, something that startles even Polgara (who's entirely capable of this trope herself). Since she knew that it would simply incapacitate him for about an hour, without doing permanent damage, giving her the chance to go behind his back and ''steal his entire army'', it's not as bad as it immediately sounds, and her father later looks back on the incident with genuine pride.

* CharacterDevelopment: One of the biggest examples in the series.

* WrongGenreSavvy: To a certain extent. He acts as if he lives in a universe that runs on fantasy tropes, which he does, but he thinks he's the noble rebel outlaw, when in fact he's the comedy sidekick in Garion's story.
** However, he happily accepts his supporting role when he finds out that Garion is TheHero.

* IOweYouMyLife: 'Owe' is a stretch, but after Relg saves her life, she finds herself fascinated by him, due in some part to her gratitude for his saving her life.

* EvilTwin: He and Belgarath are virtually identical.

* FallenHero: He was once Aldur's second disciple and Belgarath's pupil and friend. He's now enslaved to the will of Torak.

* FateWorseThanDeath: Belgarath locks him in a rock deep underground, a prison he's unable to escape, even by dying. Even Belgarath himself thinks it's a little excessive, even considering all that Zedar has done.

* WeUsedToBeFriends: To Belgarath
* WizardBeard
* WizardDuel: Averted. When he and Belgarath finally meet face to face, Belgarath is so enraged and Zedar so panicked that they resort to a fistfight.

* AlasPoorVillain: Everyone in-universe and out feels pretty bad about the way Torak dies. It probably has something to do with the fact that his last action is to [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas desperately call for his mother]] or that the process to defeat him involved throwing him into a VillainousBSOD by reminding him that absolutely noone loves him.
* AntagonisticOffspring: To his father, UL, to the point where he flatout refuses to admit there is a relationship.

* BeautyIsBad: The most beautiful god, and the most flat out evil, complete with being obsessed with his own appearance.

* CoolSword: Cthrek Goru, his infamous cursed black sword. It instills fear in those who see it.

* DarkIsEvil

* DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal: Subverted, he planned to MindRape Polgara into loving him and making her his bride. This was depicted as just as horrifying as it sounds.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: 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. It's noted that it was likely his only moment of sanity ever. He also banned demon worship among the Karands and forbid his disciples to ever summon them.

* EvilVersusEvil: If he had beaten Garion at Cthol Mishrak, he would have gone after Zandramas himself.