Dallben
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Dallben is an important character in Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain. He lives on the farm at Caer Dallben, where he offered to protect Coll's oracular pig, Hen Wen. He also is the guardian and mentor of Taran, the protagonist of the Prydain Chronicles. When first introduced in The Book of Three, he was already 379 years old.
Besides the lessons he teaches Taran and protecting the oracular pig Hen Wen, Dallben's main activity on the farm is meditating. Those who know him recognize him as the most powerful enchanter in Prydain, and while his displays of power are quite potent they are used sparingly.
Dallben's story begins while a baby, found by Orddu, Orwen and Orgoch in the Marshes of Morva, floating in a basket. They decided to keep him and gave him the name Dallben, reasoning that the name would last him his entire life.
As a boy, he was helping the three enchantresses by stirring a potion they were making. The potion boiled over and splashed onto his fingers, and Dallben ingested some of the liquid as he put his fingers in his mouth. It was a potion of wisdom, and immediately Dallben was able to see the enchantresses for what they really were, and to understand everything around him. Deciding they couldn't have so much wisdom living under one roof, the enchantresses sent him out into the world, with three gifts to choose from before leaving.
The first gift was a sword, which would have made Dallben the most powerful warrior who had ever lived. The second gift was a harp, which would have made him the world's most famous bard, had he chosen it. Instead he chose the third gift, a book called the Book of Three. Orddu told him it contained everything that was ever known or would ever be known, and knowledge was something Dallben valued more than power or fame.
As he wandered away from the marshes, Dallben read non-stop from the Book of Three, rejoicing in the knowledge he learned from it. After reading an entire day, though, he began to learn of greed, hatred, war, winter and death. This proved almost more than he could bear; he finally stopped reading late at night, crying himself to sleep. When he awoke the next day, he found that he had aged into an old man overnight from the effects of the book. He almost tore the book apart, but decided to read on to the end. He was rewarded by learning of birth, renewal, and the never-ending cycles of life and the seasons. Ultimately he learned the nature of hope.
He sensed the danger the oracular pig Hen Wen was in from Arawn Death-Lord, but arrived at the farm where she lived too late to warn her owner, Coll. He maintained the farm while Coll was rescuing Hen Wen in Annuvin, and when Coll returned he allowed Dallben to stay at the farm as long as he liked. The farm became known as Caer Dallben.
In his studies of The Book of Three, Dallben learned about a future High King who would rule Prydain in peace after overthrowing Arawn Death-Lord. He set out to find this future king, hoping he could hasten the time of peace and prosperity the king would bring. He traveled over all of Prydain, searching for someone who had no station in life, as outlined in the prophecy. The only likely candidate he found, after years of searching and on the verge of giving up, was an infant he found on a battlefield where women and children had died as well as men. Dallben took the baby with him to Caer Dallben and named him Taran, secretly hoping the boy might be the promised king. He remained in Caer Dallben the rest of his mortal days, raising Taran and sharing his secret hopes only with Coll and Prince Gwydion.
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