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The anger of the Dragon God of Angarak knew no bounds when
it became evident that Belgarath and his accomplices had escaped
with the Orb. In an outburst of rage, Torak destroyed Cthol Mishrak
and immediately began a series of fundamental changes in the basic
structure of the Angarak society which had dwelt in the city and the
surrounding countryside. It appears that Torak suffered a peculiar
blindness about the nature of human culture. To him people were
only people, and he gave no consideration to distinctions of rank.
Thus it was that as he ruthlessly divided the citizens of Cthol
Mishrak into the three tribes which were to be forcibly migrated to
the western continent to establish an Angarak foothold there, he
utilized the most obvious distinctions between them as a means of
effecting that division.
Unfortunately, the most immediately discernible difference
between men is one of class. The cultures which were exported to
the west, therefore, were profoundly unnatural cultures, since the
division along class lines absolutely disrupted anything resembling
normal human society. Even the most cursory familiarity with the
dialect which had evolved in Cthol Mishrak reveals the
fundamental differences between the three western tribes. In that dialect the
word 'Murgo' meant nobleman; the word 'Thull' meant serf or
peasant; and the word 'Nadrak' meant tradesman. These, of course, were
the names Torak assigned the three tribes before he sent them into
the west. To insure their continuing enthusiasm for the tasks he had
set them, moreover, he dispatched the Disciple Ctuchik, along with
every third Grolim in all of Mallorea to accompany them on their
migration. The abrupt decimation of Grolim ranks profoundly
disrupted the power of the Church in ancient Mallorea and in the
subject kingdoms to the east and marked yet another step, toward
the secularization of Mallorean society.
The great trek across the land bridge to the western continent cost
the western tribes of Angarak nearly a million lives, and the lands
which awaited them were profoundly inhospitable. The Murgos (in
keeping with their position as the aristocracy) took the lead in the
march, and thus it is that their lands are most far removed from the
natural causeway formed by the land bridge. The Thulls, still
subservient to their former masters, followed closely behind. The
Nadraks, on the other hand, seemed quite content to remain as far
from Murgo domination as possible. It was, quite naturally, the
Nadraks who most quickly adjusted to the new conditions in which
they found themselves. A fundamentally middle-class society has
little need for serfs and even less for overlords. Thullish society
could function, albeit marginally. For the Murgos, however, the new
situation was very nearly a disaster. Since they were aristocrats (i.e.
the warrior class), their society was organized along military lines
with position stemming in large measure from military rank.
Moreover, their decisions were frequently based upon military
considerations. Thus, their first major stopping point in their
migration to the south was at Rak Goska. Rak Goska is admirably
situated from a military standpoint. As a location for a functioning
city, however, it is a catastrophe. The surrounding territory consists
of the bleak, unfarmable wastes of Murgos, and all food, therefore,
must be imported. To make matters even worse, Murgos make very
poor farmers. At first, the Thulls were more than willing to supply
the needs of their former masters, but as time and distance blurred
the former ties between the two nations, the Thullish contributions