Riva (Belgariad)

Riva is a fictional kingdom in the David Eddings book series The Belgariad (and its sequel The Malloreon) located on the Isle of the Winds in the Sea of the Winds to the west of Cherek and Sendaria. Riva is mountainous, and is only accessible at the River of Veils on the eastern side of the island. Its people are known as the Rivans. Its climate is such that Riva has been know to receive rain for six consecutive months and snow for the rest of the year.

Riva is named after its first ruler, Riva Iron-Grip, the youngest son of Cherek Bear-shoulders, and first Guardian of the Orb of Aldur. The Citadel at Riva was specifically designed by Belgarath, first disciple of Aldur, to house and protect the Orb, and all of its rulers know this to be their first and most important duty. The Rivans are all characterised as grim-faced and wearing grey cloaks made of goat's wool. That said, the country also holds skilled artisans who have a tendency towards brightly colored home-arts; while the face they present to the world is necessarily grim, the people themselves are warm and friendly beyond this initial appearance.

In large-scale strategic battles with other armies, Rivans fight as small-unit infantry. They often engage in ambush tactics, and in battles with sworn enemies of the Alorns, they fight with grim-faced ferocity.

Riva is a brother nation to the Alorn countries Algaria, Cherek, and Drasnia. Following the murder of King Gorek the Wise, its rulers were all named Brand, the Rivan Warder. This is officially known to be a temporary "steward" position.

Most people believed that the line of Rivan rulers ended when Salmissra's Nyissan assassins murdered Gorek and his family. However, the Nyissans missed Gorek's youngest grandson, Prince Geran (known in The Belgariad as Prince Gared). Belgarath and his daughter Polgara rescued Prince Geran and hid the Rivan line in relative obscurity throughout Sendaria and the Alorn nations. The ultimate descendant of the Rivan line, Belgarion the Godslayer, eventually helped recover the Aldur's Orb and reclaimed the throne of Riva.