Melcena

Melcena, in the fictional David Eddings world of the Belgariad and the Malloreon, may mean several things. It may refer to the whole of the Melcene Empire, the largest island in the Melcene Islands archipelago, or the capital city of the empire which is on that island. Melcena is on the east coast of the eastern continent. People from Melcena are known as "Melcenes" and are, in general, very urbane and cultured, and not given much to religious concerns. Melcena is one of the two principal players in a confederation that forms the current Mallorean Empire. One of Aldurs disciples, Belmakor, was a Melcene. He was described as an urban, civilised man, who argued extensively over philosophy with Beldin, before committing suicide with sorcery. Melcena is the only place Silk uses his title Prince Kheldar.

The city

The city of Melcena is the ancestral home of the Melcene people. Originally high in the hill country, it came to be situated on the coast of the island after the Cracking of the World. The leaders and scholars of the people were at a loss to explain this cataclysm.

The island

The island of Melcena is the southernmost major island in the chain. Situated in the tropical zone, the climate is much what is expected. The island is mountainous, though they are much lower since the ocean levels rose.

The empire

After their original territories shrunk, the Melcenes expanded to the mainland and founded an empire on the southeast of the continent. Their expansion halted when they encountered the mystical Dals to the southwest, the demon-worshipping Karands to the north, and the militaristic Angaraks to the west. The expansionism of the Angaraks posed the most concern, but the methodical planning of the Melcenes countered the ferocity of the Angaraks, and eventually the leaders of both sides saw that a union of some kind would be in the best interests of both empires. Thus the Melcene Empire became a largely autonomous division of a larger Mallorean Empire, with a royalty "exchange program" between Melcena and Mal Zeth.