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The Thulls are prolific, perhaps as a result of the legendary
appetite of the generously proportioned Thullish women.
The aged King of the Thulls, Clota Hrok, still sits firmly on his
throne in Thull Mardu, despite the efforts of his eldest son Gethel to
persuade to retire.
* Gethel was elevated to the throne in the Belgariad.
THE MURGOS
These are the most savage of the Angaraks. All Murgo men are
warriors and habitually wear armor as casually as civilized men
wear wool or linen. They are stockier than the Nadraks, but not so
bulky as the Thulls.
the murgos are close-mouthed to the point of rudeness, which
makes trade with them extremely difficult. The bleakness of their
homeland has perhaps infected their character. It is not uncommon
for a Murgo merchant to conduct negotiations without ever
speaking. He will examine the merchandise offered, lay a certain amount
Of gold on the table, and, if the trader objects to the sum, he will
simply pick up his gold and depart. For the trader, for whom
haggling is often more important than profit, this can be frustrating
in the extreme.
Murgos will not discuss their theological capital at Rak Cthol (or
even admit that it exists), and large portions of their uninhabitable
country are absolutely forbidden to outsiders.
It has been persistently rumored that the Murgo population is
much more extensive than the scanty numbers which are evident
along the South Caravan Route or in the streets of Rak Coska would
indicate, and many have suspected the existence of vast Murgo cities
lying in the southern mountains of Cthol Murgos below the river
Cthrog. Since those areas are strictly closed, however, the rumors are
impossible to substantiate.
One note of caution must be sounded in any discussion of the
Murgos. Murgo women are kept closely confined and are never seen in
public - not even the youngest female children. To the casual observer
it might appear that Cthol Murgos is inhabited entirely by males. This,
however, is not the case, and travelers and merchants who visit would
be well-advised to avoid those portions of Murgo houses normally
marked by black doors, for to violate the sanctity of the women's
quarters in any Murgo household is to invite instant death.
The King of the Murgos is Taur Urgas, a man of uncertain sanity,
who holds the country in an iron grip.
THE MALLOREANS
Little is known in the west of these strange people. Occasionally, by
chance. Mallorean merchants are encountered in Yar Marak, Thull
Zelik or Rak Coska. Since they speak an Angarak dialect that is
virtually unintelligible to westerners, direct communication with
them is almost impossible. The extent of the Mallorean Empire is
unknown, but the traditional words, 'limitless', boundless', 'vast',
and so forth indicate lands of staggering dimensions.
Agents of the Drasnian Kings, who from the time of the
establishment of the North Caravan Route, have probed the Angarak
kingdoms in the guise of merchants, have devoted centuries to the
unraveling of the mystery of the Malloreans, but with only small
success. What little we do know of them, however, is a tribute to the
patience and perseverance of these Drasnian agents.
Physically, the Malloreans appear to be the archetypical Angaraks,