Beldin

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Beldin is a fictional character in David Eddings' fantasy books The Belgariad and The Malloreon.

He is a deformed dwarf with a filthy temper (as Polgara states "He hates his deformed body, so he ignores it"). However, his outside appearance and temperament hides an incredibly intelligent mind, and a great eye for beauty. His original name was Din: the "Bel" prefix was added when he became one of the disciples of Aldur. His favorite animal form is that of a blue-banded hawk, with bands of "electric blue", a bird which he created because "he didn't like the regular colors". He is very good friends with Belgarath, although the two argue frequently (however, it is mentioned in The Belgariad that they both enjoy these arguments tremendously) Throughout all the stories he is seen to be very close to Polgara, this is attributed to the fact that after Polgara's mother died Beldin became a surrogate parent to her. And even though they constantly strive to insult each other, such is explained by the fact that both see complements as lies considering Beldin's appearance. They rather show their affection for each other by trying to invent such elaborate insults. This is discussed by Ce'Nedra and Polgara at the beginning of The Magician's Gambit. At the end of The Malloreon, he (probably permanently, although this is not specifically stated) turned himself and a Nadrak dancer who fell in love with him into birds, and flew away with her. The girl's name is Vella, a Nadrak girl he bought from Silk's partner Yarblek.

When Beldin stumbled upon the Vale of Aldur, he had already learned the secret to the art of sorcery, a fact that annoyed Belgarath intensely. When Beldin was accepted as a disciple, he built an incredibly beautiful tower, almost as a way to make up for his own ugliness. Although he has an intense dislike for most Angaraks, he particularly hates Torak's last disciple Urvon. Urvon is incredibly scared of Beldin, as Beldin nurses a desire to rip out his guts with a white-hot hook, and finds enjoyment in frightening Uvron. He occasionally kills Grolim priests in Uvron's center of power, Mal Yaska, to further frighten him. Beldin's description is posted on trees all around Mal Yaska, with a sizable reward promised for his capture.

Beldin is not named in the prophecies, however he is still permitted the join the others at "the place which is no more" in order to offset (in numbers only) the presence of one who is beyond the prophecies.