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.
Algar cavalry struck terror into the hearts of the Nyissans, and King Cho-Ram IV and King Radek XVII of Drasnia developed a series of tactical alternatives involving the cooperation between infantry and cavalry units which remain classics to this day.
Following the destruction of Nyissa, Algaria prospered, although there appears to have been a significant tightening of security along the eastern border.
With the invasion of Drasnia by the Angaraks, the Algars attempted to aid their northern cousins but were repulsed by the sheer numbers of the Angaraks and Mallorean hordes— estimated by some to number as many as a half-million warriors. For the second time the Algars gathered at the Stronghold and the population—with the exception of the finest cavalry units, entered the fortress and sealed the gates.
Following the destruction of Drasnia, the main body of Angaraks marched southward, systematically destroying Algarian herds as they went. In 4867 began the siege of the Algarian Stronghold—a siege that continued for eight years. With the possible exceptions of Prolgu in Ulgoland and Rak Cthol in Cthol Murgos, the Algarian Stronghold is probably the most unassailable land fortress in the world.
The Angaraks were continually harassed by hit and run attacks of nomadic Algar cavalry units. Even when some Angaraks (mostly Murgos) mounted themselves on Algar horses, they were no match for the Algars.
In 4874, Kal-Torak apparently decided to abandon his effort to reduce the Stronghold and, leaving a token force to maintain the siege, he turned westward across Ulgoland to begin his Arendian campaign.
The units of Algar cavalry continued to harass his flanks, but withdrew once his main force had entered the mountains.
It is uncertain why Kal-Torak chose to expend the time and effort in the prolonged siege at the Stronghold rather than strike immediately along the route of the Great North Road into Sendaria and thence southward into Arendia and Tolnedra. It may be that he felt that his rear would never be secure so long as an intact Algar nation remained behind him, or possibly two thousand years of humiliating defeats at the hands of the Algars had made the destruction of the horse-people one of the paramount goals of the Angarak race.
Whatever his motives, the giant Kal-Torak was soundly defeated at the Battle of Vo Mimbre when Algar cavalry units, accompanied by the survivors of the annihilation of Drasnia, crossed the southern tip of Ulgoland by way of passes known only to the Ulgos and attacked the Angarak left flank in th
e concerted effort of the third day of the battle. It is generally conceded that the Algar cavalry charge directed against the Murgos was instrumental in the victory.
Following the victory at Vo Mimbre, the Algars harassed the retreating Angaraks and succeeded in raising the siege of The Stronghold. They also pursued the remnants of the Nadrak and Thullish Angaraks to the north and forced them finally to evacuate all their garrisons in Drasnia.
When peace was restored in 4880, the Algars found that their herds had been decimated and scattered, and the rounding up of their livestock and the taking of an accurate count of their losses took the better part of ten years. During this period they refused to sell any of their cattle, causing what amounted to a meat-famine in the west, and the virtual bankruptcy of the merchants who had depended on the Fair at Muros for their livelihood.
As the herds were gradually rebuilt, trade was again resumed, but has still not been fully restored to its former volume.
The current King of the Algars is Cho-Hag VII, a man of forty who appears to be an able ruler, though the council of the clans is reserving its judgement until he has reigned longer than the three years he has sat upon the horse-hide throne.
Appendix on the Vale of Aldur
NOTE:
Information concerning the Vale of Aldur is limited and largely speculative. The reader should always be aware of this fact, and the information contained herein should never be used as the sole basis for policy decisions related to this area.
GEOGRAPHY
The Vale of Aldur is an area of forests and meadows lying along the upper reaches of the west fork of the Aldur River, nestling as it were in the fork or juncture of the eastern and western arms of the vast mountain range which forms the spine of the continent. It lies at a somewhat greater elevation than the grasslands to the north and receives more rainfall. It is, therefore, more heavily vegetated. It appears to be a pleasant, well-watered area, but is, so far as our investigators have been able to determine, uninhabited.
From time immemorial certain reports have come back from the area—usually from travelers who have lost their way, since the Algars steadfastly refuse to permit anyone to cross the Vale. Our informants advise us that there are in fact structures of various kinds in the Vale—structures of enormous antiquity. One Sendarian merchant who had wandered away from the South Caravan Route found himself in the Vale and discovered several moss-grown ruins in the Vale and, on the third day of his wanderings, came upon a huge stone tower with no visible door and reaching very high into the air—higher perhaps than the tallest tree. He was discovered there by a mounted Algar patrol who quickly escorted him back to the Caravan Route but refused to discuss the tower.
The folklore of certain rude and unlettered people makes mention of a ‘Brotherhood of Sorcerers’ which is supposedly headquartered in the Vale, but this can probably be discounted. The so-called Sorcerers, Wizards, Magicians and the like whom we have all seen either as solitary mendicant vagabonds or associated with traveling circuses are, of course, all charlatans whose ‘magic’ consists of a few crude sleight-of-hand tricks and a few common chemicals for altering the color of water. These tricks, while a source of amusement to the common people, hardly elevate their practitioners to the exalted status to which this folklore would assign them.
Since there is no hard evidence that the Vale is inhabited by a separate people, Tolnedra has long taken the position that the Vale is simply an integral part of Algaria. This is particularly evident since Algar horsemen patrol its borders. The ruins which supposedly dot the Vale cannot really be taken to represent the work of a non-Alorn culture, but rather must be viewed as a tantalizing archeological curiosity.
The University has frequently petitioned the Emperor to raise the question of permission for an archeological expedition into the Vale, but the Algars refuse to discuss it or even to admit that the Vale exists.
Algaria
COINAGE
Algars do not have coins.
Their standards are based on livestock
A horse (standard) is worth about $50
(good horses are more expensive)
3 cows make a horse
5 cow hides = 1 cow
Algars do, however, trade, using coins of other nations and free gold (nuggets and dust) panned from rivers and streams in the foothills.
COSTUME
MEN
All Algar outer garments are leather. Soft boots, baggy-legged trousers. Metal-studded vests (much like Tartars or Mongols) add in winter wool shirts, socks and under trousers. Also heavy wool capes.
Swords are curved (scimitars or sabers) lances and a short
bow. Ropes are used (in conjunction with a lance-like pole— no lariats).
Armor—steel-plated leather coats, pot-like helmets with a chain-mail head and neck cover. Men’s heads are shaved except for a long scalp-lock. Moustaches but no beards.
WOMEN
Same clothes as men. Hair worn in a pony-tail style.
COMMERCE
Strictly barter. Items needed by the clans are purchased by the Clan-chief and bestowed as gifts. Lively trade between clans in weapons, livestock (breeding stock usually) and useful items.
RANK
KING
Chief of the Clan-chiefs.
CLAN-CHIEFS
Tribal leaders members of the council of clans. 20 in all.
HERD-MASTERS
Heads of subclans, responsible for segments of the herd. Five or six to a clan.
WARRIORS
All Algar men are warriors. Even the women are war-like.
MODE OF ADDRESS
To the King ‘Cho’ an Algar word signifying chief of chiefs. Except for the King, all others are addressed by name and most courteously.
MANNERS
Algars tend to be a bit more formal than other Alorns. Elaborate etiquette about who eats first, seating, etc. Very touchy about insults. Gifts are the very heart of Algar social relations. Everybody gives gifts to everybody.
POPULATION
Scarcely more than 100,000 living in their wagon-cities.
HOLIDAYS
Erastide
Festival of Belar
Breeding time—Fall—gathering of clans for mingling herds Dropping time—Spring—the calving and foaling
Algar’s birthday
SENDARIA55
GEOGRAPHY
Sendaria, or the lake country, is one of the smallest of the twelve kingdoms. It lies on the northwest coast and encompasses those lands to the west of the Algarian grasslands and north of the Greater Camaar River. It is bordered by Arendia and Ulgoland to the south, Algaria to the east, the Gulf of Cherek to the north and the Sea of the Winds to the west. Although there are mountains along Sendaria’s eastern side, they are largely uninhabited, and the bulk of the population lives on the fertile plain extending from their western slopes to the Sea of the Winds.
Because of the abundant rainfall and rich soil, Sendaria is the breadbasket of the western kingdoms, and her agricultural exports provide one of the pillars of commerce. Sendaria is also one of the more thickly-populated kingdoms. It is, above all, a tidy nation, with neat farms and well-scrubbed cities.
The population is largely dispersed, and there are more towns and villages in Sendaria than in the other kingdoms. The roads are well-maintained and provide a useful network for the rapid movement of farm produce to market.
The two major cities are Camaar, the major seaport of the north, located on the southern border at the mouth of the Camaar River, and Sendar, the capital, located on the coast just below the westward jut of the Seline Peninsula. Like most seaports, Camaar is a brawling, rowdy town, but Sendar is prim and proper and has a great respect for the civilities.
There are fairly extensive gold deposits in the mountains which have drawn generations of fortune-hunters who have added to the melting-pot nature of Sendaria.
THE PEOPLE
Perhaps the best way to describe a Sendar is to repeat the old
joke wherein one man asks another, ‘What is a Sendar?’ and the other replies by asking, ‘Indeed, what is he not?’ In truth, Sendaria, the crossroads of the north, is home to virtually every racial stock to be found in the west. Because of the enormous fertility of the land, settlers from every kingdom have found their way there. It is even possible in certain remote villages to find certain strikingly pure Angarak strains. The land is settled by Alorns from the northern kingdoms, Arends and Tolnedrans from the south, and even an occasional Nyissan. To prevent the kind of bickering and even open bloodshed such a volatile mixture might very well engender, the Sendars have developed an elaborate and strictly-observed etiquette. No mention is ever made of a person’s race or religion, and the open proselytizing on behalf of one’s God is considered the worst form of bad manners. Sendars will discuss crops, weather, taxes and other practical matters, but will never discuss race or religion. They are hard-headed, practical, and their kingdom operates at a profit so that taxation (which they all complain about) is extraordinarily light. By some happy chance, the mingling of the peoples in Sendaria has produced a people with the best features of all races and few of the unpleasant characteristics. Like the Alorns, they are hardy and strong, but unlike them they are not quarrelsome or unduly boisterous. They have the bravery of the Arends, but not their melancholy or their touchy, stiff-necked pride. They have the business acumen of we Tolnedrans, but not (and let us be honest) our all-consuming urge to maximize profit which occasionally causes some Tolnedran merchants to enter into practices which are not—strictly speaking—ethical. Sendars, like Drasnians, are scrupulously honest, knowing that their fortuitous geographical location gives them tremendous advantage.
The Rivan Codex: Ancient Texts of THE BELGARIAD and THE MALLOREON (The Belgariad / The Malloreon) Page 18
