Page 1: Do I even need to point out that "Glorious Mountain" == Tor?
I hope not.
Page 2: 'that august poet, Ahadam of Hoodplain has said of
Paarfi, "He always buys the Wine. And he's a damn fine
writer."'
This felt like an in-joke, but who did it refer to? Hoodplain seems
like an obvious take on "Hatfield", but I couldn't think of anyone in
Steve's circle named Hatfield. Looking at it from the other
direction, "Ahadam" looks like it is supposed to be "Ah, Adam" [1],
and indeed, Steve knows an Adam Stemple from his Cats Laughing days,
could Stemple mean Hatfield? But while googling around, I discovered
this page by Adam's sister:
http://www.heidistemple.com/heidibio.html
which states that the Stemple family grew up in _Hatfield_, MA.
"August" might be a nod to Louise August, who illustrated a book
that Adam wrote the music for (and Jane Yolen (his mom), wrote the
words for), or I might be trying too hard.
Ahadam of Hoodplain == Adam of Hatfield == Adam Stemple.
QED.
[1] If "Ah" were pronounced with a gutteral "h", it could be
the Hebrew for "brother", making "Ahadam" either "brother of Adam" or
"brother of man". But that seems a bit far-fetched, and does Steve
even *know* Hebrew?
Page 2: Zerran and Bolis - no idea.
Page 2: "Orb Theatre" no doubt == "Globe Theatre", of Shakespearean
fame
Page 2: Valimer == Val Kilmer? I suppose he could play Khaavren
Page 4: Can anyone figure out how you get "Luchia of North
Leatherleaf" from Emma Bull? Leatherleaf sounds botanical,
but I could not associate it with either Pansy or Violet
(I am not sure which one is Emma and which one is Lorraine),
and I have no idea what else might be a match.