- This page is written in the in-universe perspective of the "Garion" series' of novels.
Character Info
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Full name and title(s)
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Beldin, Disciple of Aldur, Feldegast
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Race
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Unknown
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Beldin was a deformed dwarf with a bad temper who was a Sorcerer and Disciple of Aldur, who was described as being incredibly dirty (as Polgara stated "He hates his deformed body, so he ignores it"). However, his outside appearance and temperament hid an incredibly intelligent mind, and a great eye for beauty. His original name was Din: the "Bel" prefix was added when he became one of the disciples of Aldur. His favorite animal form was that of a blue-banded hawk, with bands of "electric blue", a bird which he created because "he didn't like the regular colors". He was very good friends with Belgarath, although the two argued frequently, however both of them enjoyed these arguments . Throughout all the stories he was seen to be very close to Polgara, this was attributed to the fact that after Polgara's mother "died" Beldin became a surrogate parent to her. Even though they constantly strove to insult one another, this was merely a way of showing affection explained by the fact that both saw the compliments as lies considering Beldin's appearance. They rather showed their affection for each other by trying to invent such elaborate insults. This was discussed by Ce'Nedra and Polgara, after Ce'Nedra asked Polgara why she let Beldin insult her. He later turned himself and a Nadrak dancer named Vella who fell in love with him into birds, and flew away with her.
Beldin was generally considered the most intelligent and learned of the disciples of Aldur, save perhaps Belmakor, which made him one of the smartest non-deity in the entire world. He enjoyed arguments and debates with the other disciples of Aldur, some of which were known to have gone on and off for centuries at a time. Beldin was the first of the disciples to figure out how to change into non-human forms. He also was a powerful sorcerer, but it was not generally thought he was as powerful as Belgarath though he does seem to outmatch Polgara in raw power.
When Beldin stumbled upon the Vale of Aldur, he had already learned the secret to the art of sorcery, a fact that annoyed Belgarath intensely. When Beldin was accepted as a disciple, his brothers (fellow disciples) built an incredibly beautiful tower for him as a way to show their love, almost in an attempt to make up for his being born deformed. Although he had an intense dislike for most Angaraks, he particularly hated Torak's last disciple Urvon. Urvon was incredibly scared of Beldin, as Beldin nursed a desire to rip out his guts with a white-hot hook, and found enjoyment in frightening Uvron. He occasionally killed Grolim priests in Urvon's center of power, Mal Yaska, to further frighten him. Beldin's description was posted on trees all around Mal Yaska, with a sizable reward promised for his capture. Interestingly, Beldin's campaign of terror on Urvon kept the man so frightened that he didn't leave his home city for thousands of years, greatly reducing the effect Urvon could have in the world.
Beldin was named in the prophecies, however he had no formal involvement in any of the "Events" of the Malloreon. However, he was still permitted to join the others at Korim ("the place which is no more") in order to offset (in numbers only) the presence of "the one who is beyond the prophecies" (a Demon).
"Good-bye, old cow," he said at last to Polgara, slapping her familiarly on the bottom. He looked meaningfully at her waist. "I told you that you were going to get fat if you kept eating all those sweets.'' -Seeress of Kell