The Rivan Codex

by David Eddings

  The King is called ‘Your Majesty’ on formal occasions but is often called by his first name even by commoners. Nobles are called ‘Lord John’ on formal occasions but again often called just ‘John’.

  MANNERS

  Much care is taken to avoid offense. Chereks are touchy and quarrelsome. Boasting is permitted but no insult. Chereks sing a great deal but not very well (loud). A lot of feasting and drinking in the winter. Fights are common but the tendency is to use clubs or staves rather than swords to hold down the fatalities. Adultery is not uncommon but is severely punished when caught.

  HOLIDAYS

  Erastide—Midwinter

  Festival of Belar—Spring

  King’s Birthday—Varies. Now midsummer

  Cherek’s Birthday—Fall

  Victory Celebration—For Battle of Vo Mimbre—Midsummer

  POPULATION

  Probably 2 million total47

  RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES

  Priests are muscular and war-like. Bonfires on the Altar. Choral singing. Sermons are biting attacks on personal sinfulness. (Like the Scottish Dominie.) Incantations for luck.

  THE CULT OF THE BEAR

  A group of warrior monks (like Templars) dedicated to the service of Belar—chapters in Drasnia, Algaria, Riva and Sendaria. These form the core of the armies of those nations—fundamentally an Anti Angarak society—arch conservative.48

  Drasnia

  GEOGRAPHY

  Drasnia is a large northern country lying between the mountains of the east and the Gulf of Cherek. It is, by and large, a plain extending from Aldurfens up through Mrin Marsh and thence to the Drasnian Moors which extend northward to the polar ice. The principal Drasnian preoccupation is with the vast herds of reindeer which provide the mainstay of Drasnian economy.49 Drasnia’s strategic position astride the North Caravan Route has provided a vast wealth from time immemorial. The two major cities, the capital at Boktor, northern terminus of the Great North Road and western terminus of the North Caravan Route out of Gar og Nadrak, and the island seaport of Kotu at the mouth of the Mrin River have been important commercial centers since before the dawn of recorded history.

  THE DRASNIANS

  With the possible exception of the sphinx-like Rivans, the Drasnians are the most enigmatic of the Alorns. Perhaps because of their isolated frontier situation and the brute savagery of the Drasnian winter with its winds howling down across the Drasnian Moors, they are at once openly friendly but with a certain reserve, seeming to draw a line beyond which a stranger is not invited. They are hard traders, but are scrupulously honest. Their profits are gained from certain advantageous trade laws and toll arrangements. Like all Alorns, they are warlike, and warriors from the northern reaches of Drasnia—as a result of their life-long following of the reindeer herds—are the finest infantry in the world, easily able to keep pace with cavalry units on long marches. Like all infantry units, their weapon of choice is the long spear.

  The Drasnians are not as clannish as other Alorns, their culture appearing to have progressed to the stage where district and regional loyalties are at least on a par with blood ties.

  THE HISTORY OF DRASNIA

  Like the Rivans and Algars, Drasnians were separated from the main body of Alorns at the time of the break-up of the empire of King Cherek Bear-shoulders at the end of the second millennium. For the first thousand years of their history, the Drasnians appear to have been nomadic herdsmen following the yearly migrations of the reindeer herds. One curious feature of their early history was the existence of a series of fortified camps along the western reaches of the mountain range which marks their border with Gar og Nadrak. The camps seem not to have been continuously occupied, but rather to have been periodically used by any one of a dozen Drasnian tribes. Evidence exists in the form of artifacts and large quantities of skeletal remains that a major battle took place in a narrow valley just before one of these camps. The invading force appears to have been Angarak, judging from the artifacts and the distinctive skull-shape of the majority of the remains, and it does appear that the Drasnians won a decisive victory and stemmed what might have been a prelude to a major invasion of the west by a highly organized Angarak force. The event can be roughly dated to the 25th century and appears to have been a major effort by the Angaraks to penetrate the west—unlike the continuous probes sent down into Algaria throughout the third millennium. Thus it is that all the kingdoms of the west owe a profound debt of gratitude to those unknown Drasnian warriors for stopping an invasion which, given the unorganized state of the west in the third millennium, must certainly have resulted in all of us growing up under an Angarak dictatorship.50

  Once the aggressive push of the Angaraks was quelled by this great but unnamed battle and by a number of similar, though smaller, engagements in Algaria, trade began with the east, and the Drasnians began construction of their capital at Boktor and their seaport at Kotu.

  Boktor grew rather naturally at the western end of the North Caravan Route which existed long before it was formalized in the agreement reached in 3219 between the Kings of Drasnia and Gar og Nadrak. Boktor became a major commercial center in the north long before the other Alorn cities had even begun to consider the advantages of trade. Kotu, meanwhile, flourished as the major seaport of the north. By the middle of the fourth millennium, trade agreements had brought Drasnia into the commercial empire of Tolnedra, although the hard-bargaining Drasnians had so twisted the standard agreements that it is difficult to say where the advantage actually lay. Suffice to say that the stipulation that all merchandise transfers at Boktor take place through the agency of a Drasnian intermediary brought tears of chagrin to the eyes of Tolnedran merchants, since it effectively prevented direct trading with eastern merchants at the terminus of the North Caravan Route.

  Drasnia prospered throughout the fourth millennium, and by the early years of the fifth stood as a commercial power rivaling Tolnedra.

  When the Rivan King was assassinated in 4002, the massed Drasnian infantry made one of the most astounding treks in history, covering the thousand leagues from Boktor to the Vale of Aldur in sixty days51 to join forces with the Algar cavalry for the overland assault on Nyissa. Drasnian infantry was particularly effective against Nyissan soldiery, since Nyissans traditionally took to the trees when assaulted, and the long Drasnian spears were able to quite easily reach them in the lower branches where they normally took refuge. Indeed, in certain areas of the jungles of eastern Nyissa the trees are festooned with human skeletons to this very day.

  For all their power and courage, the Drasnians were the first to fall when the savage Angarak hordes of Kal-Torak spilled down out of the mountains of Nadrak and onto the plains in the spring of 4865. Although they resisted valiantly, the Drasnians were largely destroyed. Their cities were pulled down, and those who were not killed were enslaved. Upon command of the King, a few crack units of the southern Drasnian army escaped into northern Algaria and evaded the southward march of the main body of the Angarak hordes southwestward toward Arendia.

  These infantry units accompanied the Algarian cavalry across the southern tip of Ulgoland and fell upon the Angarak left flank with particular savagery during the decisive Battle of Vo Mimbre.

  The units effected the release of the surviving Drasnian captives from the retreating Nadraks, and these sorry remnants formed the basis for the rebirth of the Drasnian nation. Assisted by Chereks and Algars, the new monarch at Boktor, Rhodar I (the general who had commanded Drasnian forces during the war) rebuilt the city of Boktor, cleared the rubble and sunken vessels from the harbor at Kotu, and rebuilt the great causeway across the northeastern reaches of Aldurfens.

  For a century following the Angarak invasion, Drasnian border guards systematically and routinely killed all travelers from the east until continued remonstrances from Tolnedra persuaded them to abandon the practice and to restore normal trade along the North Caravan Route. In some measure the decline of Tolnedra can be directly traced to this drying up of nor
thern commerce.

  The present King of Drasnia, Rhodar XVIII, is an immensely fat, jolly man in his mid-sixties who appears to be somewhat simple but is, in fact, a shrewd and clever man who is ever watchful. Drasnian merchants are found throughout the known world, and through their agency the Drasnian intelligence system is probably the finest in the world.

  It is said—probably with some measure of truth—that the Tolnedran Emperor cannot change his tunic without word of it being delivered to Boktor within the hour.

  Drasnia

  COINAGE

  GOLD

  A 2 oz. gold plaque (rectangular) called a ‘Gold Bull’— equals about $250.00

  A 1 oz. gold coin (square) called a ‘Gold Cow’—equals about $125.00

  A ½ oz. gold coin (also square) called a ‘Gold Calf’— equals about $62.50

  SILVER

  A 2 oz. silver plaque shaped into an open rectangle called a ‘silver link’ (can be hooked together into chains)

  10 links make a ‘chain’—equals about $125.00

  A 1 oz. square silver coin called a ‘Token’—equals about $6.25

  BRASS AND COPPER

  Coins in these metals are, of course, the basis of trade among the common people and are struck in each district. Called ‘coppers’ or ‘brass’.

  All are exactly 1 oz. Copper has one fifth the value of brass.

  Brass has one fifth the value of silver.

  Weights of Drasnian coins are extremely precise and the metals are very pure.

  In addition, the Drasnians have developed a rudimentary banking system involving sight drafts between members of the same family using complicated codes. i.e. ‘John gave me 100 chains here in Boktor. You give him 100 chains in Yar Marak’ (less 10% of course).

  COSTUME52

  MEN

  Somewhat Russian. Heavy into furs. Linen tunics belted, leggings, soft leather boots with heavy soles—felt boots in winter and huge fur capes—like blankets.

  Armor—steel plates sewn to leather. Helmets squared on top and long nose guard.

  Merchants wear fur-trimmed gowns—unbelted—and close-fitting caps. Gowns are usually colored to indicate the area of trade. The color-coding is quite elaborate. All Drasnian men carry broad daggers, but they are concealed under their clothes.

  WOMEN

  Linen in summer, wool in winter. Gowns very full and not excessively ornamented. Drasnian women wear their hair long and straight down the back.

  COMMERCE

  Highly developed. Lots of local shops in each neighborhood. Major commercial centers along the docks in Boktor and Kotu. Huge amounts of money change hands daily. Keep track on slates and settle at the end of the day. Each major merchant has his own strong room—heavily guarded. (Drasnian black-smiths have devised elaborate locks.)

  RANK

  THE KING

  Hereditary

  THE PRINCES

  These are Clan-chiefs. All are related—distantly—to the King. 20–30 in the country.

  LORDS

  Hereditary nobility associated with land. Similar to Cherek.

  CHIEFS

  These are the owners of the reindeer herds and the clan-leaders of the tribes which tend them. They are very primitive groups, and the chiefs are to varying degrees powerful particularly in the north. Each tribe has its own huge pasture-lands. The authority of the King is far from absolute in the north.53

  COMMONERS

  All others. All Drasnian men are bearers of arms.

  MILITARY

  Units organized on the family-tribe basis.

  MODES OF ADDRESS

  Addressed by Rank, thus ‘King John’, ‘Prince Fred’. Commoners called ‘Worthy John’ or ‘Friend John’.

  MANNERS

  Drasnians are polite and have a great sense of humor. The transition from calling someone ‘Worthy John’ to calling him ‘Friend John’ is extremely elaborate, and Drasnians are amused when outsiders attempt to go through the stages of the process. Note—Drasnians have developed an elaborate ‘finger language’ consisting of barely perceptible gestures. Can hold entire conversations with each other even while talking to some foreign merchant. Highly useful in trade negotiations and in their espionage work.54

  HOLIDAYS

  Erastide

  Festival of Belar

  Dras’s Birthday

  Day of Sorrow (when Angaraks invaded) early June (Lent here) Day of Victory (Battle of Vo Mimbre) late June

  POPULATION

  Population approximately 1 ½ million

  Algaria

  GEOGRAPHY

  With the exception of the Aldurfens to the north and the area south of the low range of hills that mark the upper reaches of the Aldur River, Algaria is a vast, rolling grassland lying between the two arms of the mountain range that forms the spine of the continent. The land is fertile and well-watered by the Aldur and could be profitably farmed, but the Algars prefer instead to remain semi-primitive herdsmen. Virgin gold occasionally appears in transactions with the Algars, but no hint of its source can be found.

  The Algarian herds are the finest in the known world and provide meat for most of the kingdoms of the west. The yearly cattle-drive to Muros in Sendaria along the Great North Road is one of the genuinely magnificent spectacles one may behold. Centuries of carefully controlled breeding have made Algar horses un-surpassed.

  THE PEOPLE

  The Algars, of course, are merely another branch of the numerous Alorn people and are similar to their northern cousins. They are tall, fair and generally an open people, honest in their dealings and firm in their friendships and alliances. They dwell for the most part in large wagons in which they follow the wanderings of their herds. An Algarian city can rise in the space of an hour—a well-ordered city of tents and pavilions, neatly laid out on streets, and the whole surrounded by a wall of poles which are carried under their wagons.

  Each of these moveable cities represents an entire Algarian clan—usually numbering up to a thousand armed and mounted men and their families. The herds of each clan are vast and are owned in common. As with most Alorns, feuds among them are not uncommon, but the last clan-war took place at about the end of the third millennium. Since that time disputes have been settled by ritualized single combat.

  There are two major peculiarities about Algarian society. The first is the presence in the hill country at the south of the grassland of a vast stone fortress known simply as ‘The Stronghold’ which is garrisoned but not actually occupied. The second is the continuous mounted patrols maintained around the perimeters of the Vale of Aldur, a beautiful but uninhabited area in the extreme south of the kingdom. Both the garrison at the Stronghold and the patrols in the Vale are comprised of contingents from all of the clans.

  THE HISTORY OF THE ALGARS

  Once again we see an Alorn people who were separated from their fellows at the time of the disintegration of the empire of Cherek Bear-shoulders. The legendary founder of the nation was Algar Fleet-foot, second son of old King Cherek. Like Drasnia and Riva, Algaria was populated at the end of the second millennium. There appear to have been large herds of wild horses and cattle on the Algarian plains, and the people were soon mounted upon the horses and their own herds had mingled with the wild cattle, creating a new breed much sturdier than the somewhat scrubby Alorn cattle they had brought with them, while not so totally unmanageable as the wild cattle indigenous to the plains.

  There is evidence that a prolonged series of skirmishes with Angarak raiding parties took place along the eastern escarpment of Algaria with always the same predictable results. The Angarak columns were, naturally, on foot and were quite simply cut to pieces by the mounted Algars. The ability of the Algars to move rapidly and to call upon other clans for reinforcements as required made the Angarak penetration suicidal. No hint of motive can be discovered to explain why the Angaraks continued these hopeless expeditions for a thousand years.

  During the fourth millennium Tolnedran emissaries attempted to
conclude treaties with the Algars as they had with the other kingdoms of the west, but suffered a full five hundred years of frustration, since they were unable even to identifythe Algarian King—often negotiating for years with a man who turned out to be a mere Clan-chief. When they finally did manage to single out the true king of the Algars, the venerable Cho-Dorn the old, the wily old bandit came to the negotiation pavilion armed with copies of every treaty the emissaries had hammered out over half a millennium of negotiation and insisted that every concession granted in every treaty be honored, slyly reminding the emissaries that he was the king and asking them how they could presume to offer him less than they had offered a mere Clan-chief.

  The result was one of the more humiliating treaties ever concluded by the Empire. No Tolnedran garrisons were permitted within the borders of Algaria. No commerce was allowed within the country except for certain limited trade at Aldurford in certain precisely specified items—mostly tools and necessities rather than the high-profit luxury items. There was not even the most-favored status customarily accorded Tolnedran merchants. This made it necessary for Tolnedran cattle-buyers to appear at Muros in Sendaria and to actually vie with others in the purchase of Algarian cattle rather than to select, at their own price, the cream of the herd as was their practice elsewhere. They were also forced to bid their lowest prices on items the Algarian clans purchased in quantity (Algars seldom purchase items individually) invariably in competition with other merchants from other nations. All of this has made the great fair at Muros in Sendaria one of the major commercial events of the year. Tolnedran merchants have complained bitterly about the treaty with the Algars, but Emperor Ran Horb II had, at the time of its signing, eyes only for the vision of the Great North Road, and each of the concessions granted the Algars forged more miles of that splendid dream.

  When word reached Algaria in 4002 that the Rivan King had been assassinated, an event took place which had never before been witnessed. The Tolnedran ambassador, Dravor, reported in secret dispatches to Tol Honeth that the entire population gathered at the Stronghold leaving the herds only sparsely attended. There was a great conference of the Clan-chiefs with King Cho-Ram IV, and an army of the finest warriors was conscripted from the assembled clans. Ambassador Dravor reported further that other elements of Algar cavalry were set to patrolling the borders. Then, at the end of sixty days, the multitudes of Drasnian infantry appeared and joined with the Algar cavalry in their trek across the mountains to attack the eastern borders of Nyissa. While this horde was technically in violation of Tolnedran territory, the Emperor, Ran Vordue I, prudently chose not to intercept them.