--- Bryan Newell <bryann at bryann.net> wrote: > Note that Paarfi says when Kieron united the tribes > and began moving EAST, > one of the first things he encountered was the > Kanefthali Mountains. > > Perhaps "move East" means "crossed the channel"? > That would put the > "source" of the Tribes on an island to the northwest > of the Empire. > > Admittedly, this is the only reference to the > Spearhead Channel that I have > found... And I think the weakest part of this theory > is that there hasn't > been any discussion of an island to the northwest. > Perhaps this is one of > the four islands mentioned by name but not > specifically by location: the > Spindrift Islands, the Grey Rocks, Holcomb, and > Landsight. I think I remember some of these as island nations that might turn against the Empire and support Greenaere in _Phoenix_. I'd like to be cautious in making Dragaera too similar to Europe. The Great Sea of Chaos doesn't have anywhere to go but north and that could throw off the relationships a bit (for example the Jenoine might have lived in the equivalent of England or Scandinavia and then accidentally destroyed it all). However, even if it is a tenuous connection I'll see if I can make anything fit. The Empire definitely needs some big peninsulas to make everything work out right. Maybe the Dragaerans who Kieron united lived in Spain and crossed the Pyrenes to reach the rest of the continent. That would explain why Vlad said Northport should really be called Westport: it's west of all of the continent but was named long ago for being fairly north in the only region known to them. It could be Porto in Portugal. Dragaera City could have been approximately Rome or Ravenna. Adrilankha would be Constantinople or Athens. Candletown could be Split. Elde Island is to the south. Probably Sicily. If it's approximately in this position it would explain why so many ships need to go through the straight nearby. Greenaere would be Corsica and Sardinia combined (the right shape). The other independent islands could be Malta and Mallorca. If Fenario is approximately Hungary (or a little further east) the Balkans could be expanded north as the Eastern Mountains. This would make the Spearhead Channel south and east as the Dardanelles. If Adrilankha is Athens and overlooks where Kieron stood by the sea to wait for ships it would parallel Kieron's Sea with the story of the Aegean Sea. Setting sail for the island duchies from Adrilankha would be going to many islands within the sea. If Dragaera City is approximately Ravenna that makes Adron's Sea of Chaos right at the northern Adriatic Sea. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam http://mail.yahoo.com