Okay this is kinda not easy...

[Faceless Woman]

Not the tonic, but acorns and the trees that grow from them. Or something. I forget.

[devilsgrin]

after having the son, who HAD to be the first born child - for the prophecy i gather - Ce'Nedra no doubt reverted to being an ordinary dryad and thus her fertility returned to normal for a young - very young - dryad. She was far more dryad than any of her ancestors since the first dryad to marry into the house of borune from what i can gather. And prophecy definitely had an influence in Geran's conception.

[unique_dragonfly]

I agree that the prophecy had something to do with Geran's conception. Didn't the prophecy kind of imply that Ce'Nedra would live a verrrry long time? The Prophecy told Garion to expect lots of daughters right? Well, I think that it means that Ce'Nedra would live thousands of years. I mean, she is sort of blessed, her name IS the name of the God of Tolnedra, and she found favor with UL and Aldur. Sorry, I know I am reaching a bit there.

[devilsgrin]

a dryad can live for thousands of years... that is how i took prophecy's implication of Ce'Nedra's lifespan. For example... Queen Xantha was around 2000 years old at the time of the Belgariad. I agree she is blessed by prophecy, Ul and Aldur, but i doubt their blessings are the reason for her lifespan... except perhaps prophecy extending her lifespan beyond that of even a normal dryad as garion could, theoretically live forever...However, a dryad lives only as long as her tree does. If Ce'Nedra's tree were to die, she too would wither and die. regardless of age.

[fiveten]

isn't Ce'Nedra's tree the tree in the Vale?

[Faceless Woman]

No. She was born with her tree. She wasn't born with that tree. Hence, no.

[devilsgrin]

The Tree, as opposed to Ce'Nedra's Tree, is the oldest living thing in the world of the Belgariad - as far as the Disciples can discover, it teaches them timelessness and an understanding of how and why they can live forever. Ce'Nedra's tree is just an ordinary tree - but it is implied as being an Oak and therefore she and it can lives for Ages - literally. So long as neither of them dies before hand through murder most foul or a woodsman's axe - hence the Treaty that prevents logging in the Wood of the Dryads.

[fiveten]

I think she inheritted the tree of the vale as her tree. Its on her amulet. I don't ever remember seeing any reference to her tree being an oak. I don't think she had a regular dyrad tree.

[Faceless Woman]

Oak, acorns. That's the reference I remember, and I last read the series three years ago. There may be more.

[devilsgrin]

The Tree of the Vale is no-ones tree. It is either prophecy or belgarath or polgara who when talking ot Garion about having all those daughters, one or other mentions that an Oak lives for a very long time, as a reference to Ce'Nedra's lifespan.

That Amulet was Beldaran's, the tree on the amulet was that Tree, but the Tree was not her Tree, nor is it now Ce'Nedra's - she just really liked it.
If she's a dryad she has a tree.
There is also a mention during Castle of Wizardry where Xera brings the royal engagement present from Queen Xantha... it is a pair of acorns wrapped in oak leaves... one acorn from Xantha's tree and one from Ce'Nedra's... therefore we can surmise that Ce'Nedra's tree is an Oak.