Skip to main content

the belgariad - What did Polgara do to fix Ce'Nedra's problem?


In the beginning of the Malloreon (Guardians of the West), Ce'Nedra and Garion are having difficulty producing an heir to the Rivan throne. Polgara comes with a Dryad, some dirt, and some water. The book seems to gloss over many of the details as to what happened, and provides no explanation as to what was wrong, and how it was fixed. So, what was wrong, and what did the things done do to fix it?


This seems to be the sequence of events:




  1. The dirt was kept near the Royal bed for a period of time.

  2. Eventually, it was planted in the middle of the winter.

  3. The tree was carefully monitored for it's health for some time.

  4. Ce'Nedra was forced to drink some special tonic.

  5. After several months of this, it seems the problem was resolved.


Is there any more detail provided?



Answer



Dryads appear to have a tertiary stage of sexual development focused on their becoming receptively fertile. The stage is evidently linked to them psychically bonding with a particular sort of tree (a great oak) found in their homeland, the Woods of the North. The dryads form a close bond with this planted tree and its well-being becomes an analogue of their own well-being.



There's a fleeting reference to this earlier in the Guardians of the West:



"She's only nineteen, Brand."


"Most Alorn girls have had at least two babies by the time they're nineteen."


"Ce'Nedra isn't an Alorn. She's not even entirely Tolnedran. Her heritage is Dryad, and there are some peculiarities about Dryads and the way they mature."Guardian of the West



and a fair amount of additional detail in the sequel; King of the Murgos.



"Ce'Nedra's background makes her peculiarly sensitive to trees," Polgara explained. "I didn't know that Tolnedrans were that interested in the out-of-doors." "She's only half Tolnedran, Liselle. Her love of trees comes from the other side of her heritage." "I'm a Dryad," Ce'Nedra said simply, her eyes still dreamy. - "I didn't know that." "We didn't exactly make an issue of it," Belgarath told her. "We were having trouble enough getting the Alorns to accept a Tolnedran as the Rivan Queen without complicating matters by telling them that she was a nonhuman as well." - King of the Murgos




Due to the psychic connection, when the tree is young and frisky, the dryad is frisky. When the tree sheds in winter, the dryad becomes saddened and when the tree nears the end of its life, the dryad becomes tired and depressed.



"Are you unwell, Xantha?" Polgara asked her. The queen sighed. "The time is growing close, that's all." She looked up affectionately at her enormous oak. "He's growing very tired, and his weight presses down upon his roots. He finds it harder and harder each spring to revive himself and put forth leaves." "Can I do anything?" "No, dearest Polgara. There's no pain — just a great weariness. I won't mind sleeping. Now, what brings you into our Wood?" King of the Murgos




Ce'Nedra's oak tree wasn't thriving (in the harsh soil, because of the accidental ice age that Garion had nearly triggered and because it was suffering (psychically) from the argument between her and Garion) and as a result, she hadn't entered a fertile phase.


By re-planting the tree in loam that had been psychically charged with the couple's sexual enegies (hence why the supplies needed to be near the marriage bed) and by having her drink a tonic made from the oak's own buds, Polgara was able to convince Ce'Nedra's body that it was time to breed.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more