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Reports of the exact nature of the shades which haunt the vale
which was once Maragor are hardly verifiable, since most who have
been there and survived hover on the verge of madness. All confirm
that the Spirit of Mara shrieks and wails throughout the land, but
reports of the hideous phantoms who haunt the land vary widely.
Curiously, all the more coherent accounts indicate that the ghosts are
female, which seems to make their mutilated shades that much more
horrifying. This latter observation is confirmed in part by the monks
of Mar-Terin who (though madness stalks their ranks also) provide
us with the most authoritative accounts of the ghosts who have
made Maragor not only uninhabitable but unapproachable as well.
Let Imperial Tolnedra resolve most firmly that never again will
we allow ourselves to be pushed by our greed into such shameful
acts, and let perished Maragor - an eternal rebuke - stand forever
between Tolnedra and a repetition of this most monstrous crime.
COINAGE
No coinage. Marags had a barter economy. The costume was Greek.
Men - short tunics and sandals. Women - short silk dresses.
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
* In Belgarath the Sorcerer Belgarath spends some time in Maragor after
Poledra's apparent
death. This paragraph on Marag social organization served as the basis for that
sojourn.
Houses and land belonged to the women. Men were athletes,
hunters and soldiers. The society was very loose and considered
immoral by other races. The men lived in semi-military dormitories
- when they weren't 'guests' in the house of this or that woman.
Men had no property." The Marags were very enthusiastic about
athletic tournaments. Religious observances were orgiastic in nature.
The society tended toward a lot of nudity because the Marags had a
great admiration for the human body. Their temples doubled as
athletic stadiums.
THE CANNIBALISM
This came about as the result of a mis-reading of one of their sacred
texts. It was ritualistic in nature, and those consumed were all
nonMarags.
MANNERS
Marags were good-natured and happy-go-lucky. The men were not
interested in trade (which made the Tolnedrans crazy). The Marags
were total Pagans with virtually no inhibitions. The women were
very generous with both their property and their.personal favors.
There were probably no more than a million Marags.
THE ALORN KINGDOMS
Note The four kingdoms of the Alorn peoples, Cherek, Drasnia, Algaria,
and the Isle of the Winds are a direct outgrowth of the Kingdom of
Aloria which existed in antiquity and which was divided during the
reign of the legendary Cherek Bear-shoulders at about the end of the