In the Belgariad, we see numerous Grolims that have the Will and the Word, but very few other individuals. Why are there so few non-Angarak Sorcerers, none of any significance except for the followers of Aldur?
asked Jan 20, 2015 at 18:39
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2 Answers
I don't know that there's a canonical answer, and Eddings is dead, so we can't ask directly, but the implication I got from the books is that using sorcery is incredibly dangerous, both to the user and to the world. A casual intent and word can cause catastrophe, and accidentally trying to unmake something will eliminate the sorcerer. Thus, Aldur and his disciples have only taught sorcery to a select few, and those only after establishing that they are worthy. In comparison, Torak is training as many of his people as he can to increase his power. He's consumed with revenge, so he doesn't care that this will likely lead to the death of many of his followers. So we have two sides, the ones who are only giving nuclear weapons to the select few they can trust and the side that's arming everyone because it's the fastest way to power.
There are a few outliers of course, such as Senji, who figure it out on their own, but the conversation in that chapter describes the danger to the untrained, how most of them wind up unmaking themselves.
answered Jan 20, 2015 at 21:05
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1The conversation with Senji is important, it establishes that the Gods did not know why the powers appeared spontaneously and the conversation between Bel's Din, Garath and Garion, they realise that strong emotion, usually anger, is the key and likely to cause death or unmaking accidents hence the rarity. Many Grolims do not have the power or only weakly - to extend the nuclear analogy - each of Aldur's Disciples is equivalent to a submarine of nuclear weapons whereas most Grolims are just a stick of TNT, there are very many more of them. The Prophecies manage to balance their power that way. Commented Mar 27, 2020 at 15:17
Supposedly, the original Salmissra had some sorceror like powers, but due to the fact that Issa fell asleep before he could make her a full on disciple, so she dies and her successors have no powers. There is also the case of Senji, but personally, I have a feeling that a certain old man on a rickety cart helped Senji figure that stuff out.
