The Rivan Codex

by David Eddings

  The activities of the Asturian outlaws provided the Emperor at Tol Honeth with the pretext for the formation of the Kingdom of Sendaria in the north, which stripped the Arendish King of a little more than a third of his nation. As the Emperor explained, ‘Sendaria will close the northern door to these outlaws. You may hunt them down now without fear that they will escape to the north.’ The King of the Arends received this with a glum face, since ‘hunting down’ well-armed men in a forest which stretches three hundred leagues in each direction is rather like hunting down fish in the ocean.

  For a thousand years, however, Arendish Kings mounted expeditions against the Asturian brigands in the north. Whole generations were swallowed up in the dim, silent stretches of the forest, and old men woke screaming as they remembered the horror of the expeditions of their youth. The forest became a labyrinth of caves and tunnels and hiding holes. Dead-falls and pit-traps made the roads impassable. (The sole exception being the Great West Road which was patrolled by Tolnedran Legionaries and which the Asturians in a secret treaty with Tol Honeth had agreed to leave open.) Asturian archers, already the finest in the world, became even more proficient, and the floor of the forest was littered with mossy bones and rusting armor. Transplanted Mimbrate peasants plowed and planted, and the Asturians came out of the forest and reaped and gathered. Paradoxically, it was frequently necessary to import food into one of the most fertile places on earth.

  The situation in Arendia remained unchanged until 4875 when Kal-Torak came across the mountains of Ulgoland and down onto the Arendish plain. While it might have been expected that the Asturian Arends would simply hide in their forest and watch the destruction of the Mimbrates, such was not the case. Apparently the persuasive powers of the Rivan Warder were sufficient to move the Asturians to join with the Rivans and Sendars on their great march southward to the Battle of Vo Mimbre.

  NOTE

  The battle of Vo Mimbre is the most celebrated event in the history of the twelve kingdoms. The details of the strategy, tactics and the individual heroism of various participants are too well-known to make their repetition here necessary. Elsewhere in these studies is a portion of the Arendish epic which deals with the battle. While the work is a bit overpoetic for Tolnedran tastes, it is nonetheless, a fairly straightforward account. In this respect it is unlike certain bardic productions which literally seethe with enchantments, magic and unseen monstrosities, all of which may be very well for the entertainment of children and illiterate peasants, but has no place in a work which strives to some seriousness.

  At the conclusion of the Battle of Vo Mimbre, by unspoken mutual agreement, the Mimbrate King and the Baron who had led the Asturians through the final years of their endless war with the Mimbrates adjourned to a quiet dell just east of the city, and there, without preamble, they fell upon each other with their swords. By the time they were discovered, both were dying from innumerable wounds. The Mimbrate Knights and the Asturian Foresters would undoubtedly have resumed the eons-old bloodshed between them on the spot had it not been for the timely intervention of Brand XXXI, the towering Warder of Riva, who had just overthrown the mighty Kal-Torak. The enthusiasm of all the kingdoms of the west over his victory gave his word virtually the weight of law. Summoning both the Mimbrate and Asturian Barons before him, he quickly determined that the heir to the Mimbrate throne was a strong young man, and that the last descendant of the Asturian Duchy was a young maiden. He thereupon ordered that the two be married, thus joining the two houses in a unified monarchy and ending the war that had lasted for eons. When it was pointed out to him that a marriage between an Asturian and a Mimbrate was more likely to cause a war than end one, he instructed that the two young people be imprisoned alone together in a tower for the space of one year. This was done, and for the first several months the shouts of the two as they wrangled and argued could be heard for some distance. In time, however, the shouts subsided, and upon their emergence from the tower, the couple seemed quite content to marry and to rule jointly.

  It is strongly suspected that this ploy was the invention of the two advisors of the Rivan Warder, a strange pair whom history has never identified. Both wore the traditional grey cloaks of the Rivans, but no distinguishing badges or crests. The man was grizzled and grey, and seemed quite fond of sharing a bottle or two with the common soldiery. The woman was strikingly handsome with an imperious presence. As one Tolnedran General remarked, ‘She carries herself more like an Emperor than the Emperor himself.’

  Following the unification of the two houses by the marriage of the Mimbrate Prince Korodullin and the Asturian Princess Mayaserana, the nation lived in peace and outward harmony. The Asturians returned to their lands and lived in relative peace with their Mimbrate neighbors. It was during this period that a rather intricate dueling code was developed whereby disputes could be settled directly between two contending parties without plunging entire districts into war.

  The time of peace which followed unification profited Arendia enormously. Fortunes have been made from the abundant wheat harvests, and there has been a greater supply of good bread in the nations of the west than ever before. It is, however, characteristic of the people that much of this wealth has been poured into fortifications and arms. Apparently, Arendish nobles believe in their hearts that the peace is only temporary and, as always, they prepare for war.

  The present King of Arendia, Korodullin XXIII, is a somewhat sickly young man who has sat upon the throne at Vo Mimbre for little more than a year.

  NOTE

  It has been observed by certain breeders of livestock that a strain is severely weakened by too much inbreeding. It is unfortunately true that the touchy political situation in Arendia makes it mandatory that all members of the Royal Family of Arendia marry as closely within the blood-line as possible without violating the universal laws forbidding incest. The centuries of cousin-marriage have undoubtedly accentuated defects which would have been quite easily washed-out by the influx of new blood.

  Arendia

  COINAGE

  Large numbers of gold and silver coins from the period of the civil wars of varying weights and purity. Practice is to weigh them and check extensive tables for value.

  One of the provisions of the Treaty of Tol Vordue was that Arendia would use Tolnedran coins, which they do.

  COSTUME

  SOLIDLY MEDIEVAL

  Because of the nature of the country, Arendish noblemen never leave home without being fully armed and at least partially armored—chain mail and surcoats inside wool or linen or fancier fabrics, elaborate robes, crowns etc.

  ARMOR

  Arends are a little heavier into plate armor than other nations—not quite the free-standing suit, but breastplates and strap-on guards over upper arm, forearm, thigh, shin, front of throat. Full visored helmets (not hinged). Weapons: swords, axes, maces, lances, etc., etc.

  WOMEN

  Very medieval. High waist. Pointed cap, etc. Lots of brocades, etc. Heavy cloth.

  BURGERS

  (Townsmen) Merchants. Guild-type hose, jackets baggy, tam-o’-shanters. Cloaks, robes, very elaborate marks of rank on robes etc.

  SERFS

  Usual serf-stuff, burlap, rags. Arendish serfs are badly downtrodden.

  FORESTERS

  (Asturians) Robin-Hood stuff. Nobles encumbered by their mail but they wear it.

  COMMERCE

  The Burgers try, but Arendish nobility is so stupid that they keep putting obstacles in the way. Needless embargoes, prohibitions on the removal of gold from the fiefdom, etc. Taxation is brutal in Arendia. Lots of smuggling and tax-evasion. Tax-collectors are frequently bushwhacked. (Standard item of apparel for tax-collectors is a thick, close-grained, and well-fitting plank under the mail to protect the back from arrows—not uncommon to see a tax-collector ignoring the two or three arrows stuck in his back.)

  SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

  Strictly feudal—vassals, serfs etc. Arch conservative. Nobility very uppity. Tremendous impor
tance of HONOR. Code of dueling to avoid warfare. Formal meeting of Knights— charge with lances. The fight on foot afterward. (Considered bad form for a mounted man to attack a man on foot.) Usual King Arthur stuff.

  Some degree of courtly love—all pretty formal.

  Political marriages. Women bored to tears. Certain amount of fooling around. Poetry and romance have left Arendish women pretty senseless. Lots of suicides.

  RANK

  MODES OF ADDRESS

  MANNERS

  Arends are formal to the point of being socially incapacitated. Their lives are so circumscribed by custom and the rigid social structure that their entire lives seem to be a kind of stately dance. Lots of bowing and formal address. Honor, which is to say good name, is everything and almost anything can be considered an affront. The period of the Civil War proves that they can be extremely treacherous, however. The major concern of the monarchy is to head off the Arendish tendency toward civil violence—no private wars. The King’s time is taken up adjudicating disputes between the various nobles.

  Vassals are suitably subservient but very proud, nonetheless. The commoners are servile, knowing that their masters have life or death power over them. Arendish justice is capricious and savage. Serfs are treated badly.

  HOLIDAYS

  Erastide—Formal banquets

  Festival of Chaldan—Late Spring—the most religious holiday

  Festival of Korodullin and Mayaserana—A combination of the celebration of the victory at Vo Mimbre and the unification of the nation

  King’s Birthday—A patriotic holiday—formal jousting

  The Lord’s Birthday—Local celebrations on each estate

  RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES

  Pretty much medieval Catholic. Religious orders abound, supported by the nobility and providing an escape for the serfs. Usually established to provide perpetual prayer for victory of some lord. Three major orders—Mimbrate, Asturian and Wacite monks. (The monks are never molested in war— bad luck.)58

  Female orders formed for similar purposes. Severely cloistered. They provide an outlet for surplus female children of the nobility.

  Priests, Bishops and the head of the church, the Archbishop of Vo Mimbre.

  ULGOLAND59

  GEOGRAPHY

  Ulgoland (or simply Ulgo as the Ulgos themselves call it) is mountainous—indeed it consists solely of mountains. It is bounded on the east by Algaria, on the west by Arendia, on the north by Sendaria and on the south by Tolnedra. There are no known passes through the country, and the only road to the capital at Prolgu was built following the war against the Angaraks at the end of the fifth millennium. There appear to be large amounts of mineral wealth in Ulgoland, but the Ulgos steadfastly refuse to permit mining within their boundaries; and, since time immemorial, expeditions of adventurers into the country have vanished without a trace.

  THE ULGOS

  These are perhaps the strangest of all the peoples of the west. Not only do they worship a strange God, live in caves deep in the earth and speak a language unrelated to the civilized tongues of the north or the west, but they are also physically different from any other known race. They are significantly shorter than Alorn or Arend, and their skin is markedly pale—perhaps as a result of generations of cave-dwelling. Their hair is without color, and their eyes are quite large and sensitive to light. The extent of their numbers is unknown since their habitations are below ground and no outsider has been able to determine the extent of the caverns and galleries beneath their mountains. They are a suspicious and secretive people and appear to be totally uninterested in commerce or trade.

  THE HISTORY OF THE ULGOS

  It is speculated that the Ulgos are the original inhabitants of the continent, although no known document records the first meeting between a civilized man and an Ulgo. It is generally agreed that civilized men migrated to this continent from the east sometime during the first millennium, at which time the original five kingdoms (Aloria, Arendia, Tolnedra, Nyissa and Maragor) were established. It appears that the presence of the Ulgos predates that migration. Their secretive ways, however, makes it impossible to pinpoint specifics.

  Because of the inhospitable nature of their country, few travelers entered their land during the first four millennia of the present era. Superstitious tales of hideous monsters who attacked travelers without warning were undoubtedly the result of systematic Ulgo terrorism designed to keep their country inviolate.

  In more modern times a limited trade has been established, and following the battle of Vo Mimbre, a road was pushed through to Prolgu.

  The first contacts with the Ulgos came about through the efforts of the Tolnedran trade negotiator, Horban, who was the personal representative and cousin of Emperor Ran Horb XVI during the decade of the 4420s. It was Horban who braved the legendary terrors of the Ulgo mountains and made his way to the forbidden city of Prolgu with only a small detachment of cavalry as an escort.

  At first the Ulgos not only refused to negotiate but even refused to reveal themselves to him. For eight months he camped inside the walls of what appeared to be an abandoned city. He wandered about the moss-grown streets observing with amazement the incredible antiquity of the place.

  Late one afternoon in the fall of 4421, Horban was astounded to find himself quite suddenly surrounded by a group of heavily cloaked and hooded men who took him prisoner and spirited him into a nearby vacant house. He was then taken into a cellar under that house, and a door in the floor was opened to reveal the vast, dimly lighted caverns beneath where the Ulgos reside.

  Horban attempted to speak with his captors but without any success. The languages of the west are, of course, all members of the same linguistic family. Thus a Tolnedran may speak with an Alorn or an Arend or a Nyissan without significant difficulty; and, with great patience on each side, may even converse rudimentarily with an Angarak; but the language of the Ulgos is totally alien.

  He was placed in a fairly comfortable chamber, given food and drink, and in time was visited by three very old men who attempted to converse with him. When they discovered that he could not understand them, they set about teaching him their language.

  After two years of instruction, Horban was taken before the King, who by tradition is named UL-GO or given the title ‘Gorim’, apparently a term of respect.

  The conversation between Horban and the Gorim of the Ulgos is remarkable not merely for what it reveals, but also for that it tantalizingly conceals. In his report to the Emperor, Horban provided the following summary:

  The Gorim first demanded of the emissary what business he had in the land of the Ulgos and why he had desecrated their holy place at Prolgu.

  Horban replied as diplomatically as possible that since the Ulgos chose to live beneath the ground, it was impossible for outsiders to even know that they existed. He described himself as an investigator sent to confirm or disprove persistent rumors about a people living in the mountains.

  Then the Gorim asked how Horban had escaped ‘the monsters’, and would not elaborate on his cryptic question when Horban professed ignorance of any such creatures.60

  And then, in open violation of the most fundamental tenet of good manners, the Gorim asked Horbin the name of his God. The question was so startling that Horban was able to quote it verbatim.

  ‘And who is your God?’ the Gorim said, his face stern. ‘Is it he who cracked the world?’

  Horban quickly realized that the Ulgos could not be held to an etiquette which had been developed by civilized men to forestall the inevitable wrangling and probable bloodshed which would accompany theological disputation and chose, therefore, not to take offense. He replied, as formally as possible, ‘I have the honor, exalted one, to be a disciple of the Great God Nedra.’

  The Gorim nodded. ‘We know of him,’ he said. ‘The eldest save Aldur. A serviceable God, though a bit too stiff and formal for my liking. It is the third God, Torak, the maimed one, who is our enemy. He it was who cracked the earth and unloosed the
evil that bestrides the world above. Truly, had you confessed to the worship of Torak, would you have been carried to a pit and cast down into the sea of endless fire that lies infinitely far below.’

  A shaken Horban had then inquired of the Gorim how it was that he appeared to have such intimate knowledge of the seven Gods. The response of the Gorim sparked a theological debate which has lasted for over 900 years. He said: ‘We know of the seven Gods because UL has revealed them to us, and UL knows them better than any, since he is older than they.’

  This simple statement was, of course, a thunderbolt which galvanized the theologians of all the western nations. They were immediately roused from their involuted efforts to each prove the superiority of his God and plunged into the most significant debate in five millennia. The fundamental question, of course, was: ‘Are there seven Gods as we have always believed or are there eight?’ If there are seven, then the Ulgos in heathen idolatry worship a false God and should be converted or exterminated. If there are eight and this mysterious ‘UL’ is also a God, then has he not been excluded from ceremonial offerings for over 5000 years? and ought we not propitiate him? And if there are eight, might there not be nine—or nine-hundred? Alorn theologians confirmed from their sacred writings that the God of the Angaraks, Torak, indeed did crack the world and that he was maimed. Fascinating as these questions are, it is not our purpose here to expound upon them. It is sufficient to note that the Ulgos are the source of the dispute.

  At the conclusion of his discussion with the Gorim, Horban concluded a limited trade agreement which allowed two caravans per year to make the journey to Prolgu and to encamp in the valley beneath the city—a valley known by an Ulgo word which, translated, means ‘where the monsters waited’, a quaint term related to their mythology. At that time, the Gorim stated that those of his people who had the inclination might go there and view the goods of the merchants. When Horban pressed for more frequent caravans or even a permanent commercial community in the valley, the Gorim denied permission, saying, ‘The limitation is for your own protection,’ and refused to elaborate.