Orb of Aldur

The Orb of Aldur is a very special blue-hued rock in the fictional series The Belgariad by David Eddings. It was crafted from a riverstone by the god Aldur. The reasons behind his crafting are not made clear, but the Orb is irrevocably bonded to the direct descendents of Riva, the first king of the Alorn kingdom bearing his name.

History has it that Aldur constantly turned a riverstone in his hands and after some considerable time it became the orb. Whether Aldur fashioned the orb himself or whether it came into being and he merely noticed it is never made entirely clear.

If any mortals besides direct descendents of Riva touch the orb, the touch is potentially deadly.

The orb is known to possess a slightly mischievous sense of humour and seems to enjoy irritating its current warden Belgarion's many times-removed grandfather Belgarath. The Orb turns pink when Belgarath asks it what it is concentrating on after Belgarion's wedding to his beloved Ce'Nedra, much to Belgarath's amusement. In Belgarath the Sorcerer it is revealed that the stories about those not "pure of heart" touching the stone being destroyed are a myth, created because the orb would bond itself to whomever touched it.

The Orb of Aldur's name in Angarak is "Cthrag Yaska".

The Orb's exact antithesis is known as "The Sardion", or in Angarak, "Cthrag Sardius".