Gelane (4861-4902) was an heir to the Rivan Line who grew up during the Battle of Vo Mimbre. The son of Garel I and Aravina, he was one of Polgara's more difficult charges; he spent most of his childhood in the Stronghold, and his father died in a riding accident when he was very young, and his mother fell into a deep depression from which she never fully emerged. Meanwhile, his guardian Polgara spent much of those early years working to prepare the rest of the world for Torak's invasion, and thus was often unavailable to him. Searching for some source of guidance, he fell in with the Algars populating the Stronghold, who revealed to him his heritage. His young ego quickly swelled.
When the war ended in 4875, Polgara returned from Vo Mimbre to take Gelane and his mother to Seline, where Gelane, now a moody adolescent, chafed at having to live anonymously. Polgara forced him into an apprenticeship with a cooper, Osrig, who soon became the father figure that Gelane craved, and the boy finally started to grow up. He became successful and in 4877, he married Enalla, the daughter of a local carpenter. As a wedding present, Osrig gave his pupil control over their barrel shop.
Unfortunately, the news of Gelane's success reached Chamdar, the disciple of Ctuchik, who tracked him down. Learning of Gelane's hidden dreams of being king, he posed as Bear-Cult leader and struck up a friendship with Gelane, using his powers to drive up Gelane's feelings of self-importance. His influence became so strong that Polgara and her father Belgarath were both forced to intervene to expose Chamdar's deception. Afterwards, Gelane and his family packed up and left for Emgaard, a tiny little village in Cherek. Later that same year, Aravina died.
Gelane thrived in Cherek. He took up fishing, the most popular sport in the region, and developed a more or less healthy social life that kept him out of trouble. When not working, he devoted much of his time to trying to catch the elusive fish Old Twister. In the summer of 4899, Enalla finally gave him a son, Garel II. By that point, he'd finally started to feel some satisfaction in his life.
Sometime later, he finally caught Old Twister, but soon let the giant fish go, so that he could catch him again later. They soon fell into a pattern where Gelane would leave food in the stream for Old Twister, and in return the fish would allow Gelane to catch him. This continued until Old Twsiter's death in 4901, whereupon Gelane buried his old friend in his backyard and then completely lost his enthusiasm for fishing.
In 4902, Gelane died of a pestilence that spread through Emgaard's water supply.