They are all spies. The seeming society in Rak Goska is a complete
stage setting. Murgos are trained there for excursion into the west.
All work in Murgo society is done by slaves.
The real cities of the Murgos lie to the south and are unknown
to westerners. They are actually base housing type cities – military
posts.
Murgo men have more than one wife – up to four. One route to
promotion is to produce lots of kids.
There are other peoples (unknown to the west) to the south of
Cthol Murgos. These peoples are quite primitive and provide slaves.
There was an effort during the Angarak invasion of the 4860s to
move a huge column of Murgos through the southern mountains to
strike into southern Tolnedra, but the column started out too early
and was overwhelmed by a spring blizzard in the mountains. If they
had made it, the west would have fallen. There are literally millions
of Murgos.
Note on Rak Cthol: This ceremonial capital of the Murgos is the
ultimate bastion of Angaraks in the west. The Murgos are in charge,
and the Kings of Gar og Nadrak and Nfishrak ac Thull are subject to
the King of Cthol Murgos. He gives the orders. These are conveyed
to him by Grolims who are not only priests but messengers of Torak
as well. Large numbers of Grolims are quartered in Rak Cthol as
well as the crack ceremonial divisions of the King of the Murgos.
The Ultimate Temple of Torak in the west is in Rak Cthol as well as
the court of the King. It is hallowed by the fact that Torak stayed
here while planning the invasion of the west. (His normal residence
is in Mallorea.)
Here it is that Zedar has his base of operations.
* In the books, there are the additional characters Ctuchik and Urvon.
As personal advisor to Kal Torak, Zedar has a great deal of power. He must,
however, badger and force the Murgo General-King into doing his
bidding.
Also at Rak Cthol selected Grolims study sorcery under Zedar’s
instruction.
RANKS
The King – Commander in chief.
Generals, Colonels, captains, lieutenants, etc. (Titles of nobility are
assigned to various of them for contact with westerners. Those titles
have no meaning to the Murgos.)
MODES OF ADDRESS
etc.,’Sir’
From the King – My General, My Colonel,
TO the King -‘Mighty arm of Torak’, ‘Your highness’
Ordinary warriors – addressed by rankar
Slaves are merely driven, like cattle
HOLIDAYS AND RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES
See Car og Nadrak.
Murgos are fanatic zealots.
POPULATION
Probably ten million Murgos altogether. Maybe 70,000 in Rak Coska,
a half million total in Rak Cthol, the rest to the south.
Mallorea
COINAGE
Varied. Only rarely does a Mallorean coin appear in the west.
COSTUME
Again it varies depending on the latitudes. Mostly Thull-like tunics.
Further north, more clothing. Unisex garb.
Malloreans wear plate armor – breastplates. Upper and lower
arm guards, upper and lower leg guards. Helmets with visors
(buckle on). Large shields, broad-bladed spears, broadsword.
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
Mallorea is a theocracy totally dominated by the Grolims. Torak’s
ego is such that he refused to permit the Mallorean Angaraks any
nobles or aristocracy. They are all commoners.
There are no cities in Mallorea. They all live on farmsteads or in
villages.
*This changed. Mal Zeth is probably bigger than Tol Honeth.
The Grolims are administrators of districts and of the large
villages. The vast bulk of Malloreans live in semi serfdom.
NOBILITY
See the Grolims. The only rank in Mallorea is in the army. Malloreans
are permitted to hold military rank.
General – head of a division
Colonel – head of a regiment
Captain – head of a company
MODE OF ADDRESS
To a general – My lord General
Ti a Colonel – Great Colonel
To a Captain – Master
MANNERS
Malloreans are brusque and even brutal to subordinates and are
fawning toward their superiors.
They are a cruel people, a reflection of their religion. When they
have a chance to come into contact with strangers they tend to be
polite, even friendly, largely because they do not know the precise
rank of the stranger.
COMMERCE
The goods from Mallorea are essentially the kinds of goods
associated with the orient. Spices, silks, tapestries, carpets, candied fruits,
etc. Sugar is a big trade item. There is a great deal of work in fine
jewelry.
HOLIDAYS AND RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES
See Gar og Nadrak.
There are also additional holidays in Mallorea and there is no
substitution of victims in that land.
POPULATION
Mallorea is about as large as the western sub-continent, and there
are approximately 25 million Malloreans.
They could quite easily overwhelm the west by sheer numbers,
but the logistics of moving an entire population into position are
beyond the capabilities of the Grolims who are not really very good
administrators.
The Grolims
WEALTH
The Order (or race, since they are a tribe) is enormously wealthy
since taxation – tithing – in Angarak countries is heavy and it all
goes to the Grolims.
COSTUME
Monk’s robe – black. Hood is always up. Steel mask – polished. The
face of Torak. Mask is a complete helmet, hinged and latched – they
frequently wear mail under-shirts and carry daggers* or swords.
ORGANIZATION
In Mallorea and southern Cthol Murgos there are Grolim
communities forbidden to others where the Grolims raise and educate their
children and continue their studies. In the western Angarak
kingdoms, Grolims have large houses where they can live in some
semblance of normalcy.
The Grolims have a Catholic structure with equivalents to:
pope – The ultimate high priest.
12 Cardinals – Administrators of large regions.
Archbishop – Administrators of large districts.
Bishop – Administrators of smaller districts.
Monseigneur – Administrators of major towns or cities.
priest – Priest (or priestess)
These last are the workers – they control villages, also travel as
messengers etc., perform the sacrifices, select the victims etc. Keep
the Angaraks in line. Some are in the intelligence service, adopt the
garb of the people and spy on them or on the west.
RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES
Angaraks are fearful of their religion – with good reason. The call to
the Temple is a call to be sacrificed. A sorrowful horrifying part of
their lives. Their relationship to Torak is that of driven slaves. The
Grolims, who select those to be sacrificed, are not above using this
power for personal revenge. Some Grolims can be bribed.
A religion based on fear. Theological offenses are also punishable
by death. (Speaking unworshipfully of Torak, striking a Grolim, etc.)
THE SACRIFICE
After suitable invocation to Torak by the priest, the victim is placed
naked on the altar, sliced open, and the heart is removed – offered to
Torak and then burned in a brazier of hot coals on the altar. Great
pits nearby are stoked up with huge fires and the bodies are then
burned in the pits. The altars are never washed and the combination
of rotten blood and burned flesh makes Angarak temples stink like
charnel houses. They are avoided by the people.
They are large buildings of black stone and totally deserted
except during the ceremonies.
RANK
The High Priest (Pope) is the Vicar of Torak. He is a dark sorcerer
on a par with Belgarath, Zedar and the others, and is also immortal.
His name is Ctuchik. He was selected by Torak after the Orb
burned him. Taken as his servant and his pupil. Knows the secret of
the Will and the Word, but uses more mumbo-jumbo. Calls up
demons and monsters to do his bidding. Has found ways to circumvent
the restriction on the power of the Word. (He can destroy by
creating fire in the body of the victim or creating a spear in his chest,
etc.
* This was greatly modified in the writing.
The Chosen Ones: The 12 (cardinals) are also sorcerers, though not as
powerful. They can alter themselves. A good trick is to expand:
move their molecules apart until they’re ten times larger. They live
for about 1000 years.
The Grolims all dabble in some degree of sorcery. Most are limited to
simple tricks but some of the higher ranks have fearful powers.
The Grolims have gained control of many of the monsters
though not all. Use monsters as required.
The Grolims are Torak’s Gestapo, agents, police, servants, etc. Use
as required.
PHYSICAL
The Grolim tribe is tall, lean, swarthy with piercing eyes. Voices
behind the masks are hollow, chilling.
Rank is probably indicated by tattoos in some inconspicuous
place – no rank on the robes.
POPULATION
All told, there are probably 3-4 million Grolims, widely scattered.
Excerpted from the prose epic, The Latter Days of the House of Mimbre
By the Arendish bard, Davoul the Lame*
* This section is pastiche romance, intended to establish Arendish psychology.
NOTEWhile some aspects of this work are obviously ludicrous, and the
author has taken a great deal of poetic license with facts, the piece has a