Plea for assistance

[norah.livejournal.com]

Okay, so this should be a no-brainer. But I'm having a heck of a time figuring out what the continent they visit in the second book is called!

According to this map, the whole of the setting for the first and third books is "the Eastern Lands." I was thinking they went west, to "the Western Lands," in the second book, but according to the map (and my beta!) they go...even further East. What's more "east" than the Eastern Lands? I can dig out individual town names from the second book, but I can't find a name for the continent itself.

I need to talk about the Patriarch over there, and I don't want to call him the Eastern Patriarch, because that's the designation of Damien's Patriarch. But I need some way to refer to the area as a whole. Perhaps it's right there and I'm just missing it, but any help anyone could provide about that region would be very much appreciated.

Comments

[laylah.livejournal.com]

That map is fan-made -- while I think Friedman has said she likes it and it's pretty good, there is no "real" map of Erna. I wouldn't rely on the map as much as on the texts.

The second book is described as taking place on the "eastern continent," which is where the settlement ships sailed, never to return -- I don't know if either continent ever has an actual name.

[ariss-tenoh.livejournal.com]

I don't know about the fan map, but the Western Lands are where Damien came from and all it's described is "it has a lot of sheer cliffs overlooking the sea", has mountains, and presumably has a terrain akin to a desert.

Jaggonath lies in the Eastern Lands that are ruled by the Patriarch in a manner of speaking. I don't think the continent they sailed to, that's the one you mean right?, had a name. But I think some of its cities were mentioned by name.

[alice_montrose]

There wasn't a name for the continent. All they said was that it lay across Novatlantis, which I assume is an ocean.

[ariss-tenoh.livejournal.com]

Maybe the continent is called Avalon keeping with the spirit of mythical names^_~

[trobadora]

Wait a minute... the Western Lands is where Damien is from, right? They have a Matriarch, if I remember correctly. Then there's the Eastern Lands, with the Patriarch (of Jaggonath). Those two comprise the civilised world as they know it; beyond is the Rakhlands (where they travel in the first book), and the Eastern continent (where they go in the second book) which is pretty much terra incognita. And didn't they have the Matria instead of a Patriarch? Or am I confusing something here?

[trobadora]

Yes, exactly like West and East Coast! And the other thing wouldn't let me go, so I searched my e-book and found this conversation between Toshida and Damien:

"Your Patriarch, you say."
"Yes, your Eminence."
"A man," the Regent mused.
Puzzled, Damien nodded.
"Is he your autarch? Is that what the title means?"
He nodded again. "The Church was unified under one leader late in the third century. But the natural barriers between east and west were too great for one man to govern both realms effectively, so it was decided to have an autarch for each region." And he ventured: "As you would have your own in this region."
"Each city has its own Matria," the Regent responded. There was a tightness in him that was almost animal in nature, a tension that belied his smooth, even speech. There's something in him waiting to explode, Damien thought. Something that's been ready to explode for a long, long time. "Their communal word is our law."
"And the Regency?" he dared. "Where does that fit in?"
For the first time since the interview began, the Regent looked away. "The Matria are our visionaries, our oracles. They hear and interpret the Voice of the One God, and live eternally Sanctified in His Name . . . which lifestyle is not particularly well suited to governance, Reverend Vryce. Verda?"
"So you rule in fact?"
"In some things. Always subject to the Matria's will." He turned back to face Damien. There was an intensity in his gaze that was hard to meet, an almost predatory alertness. Damien was acutely aware that he was watching him for his reaction. "My rank is as high as a man can aspire to in these lands. But I'm surprised you didn't know that, Reverend Vryce. Wasn't it the Prophet himself who established that pattern?"

And in the end, Toshida named himself Patriarch after they deposed the Matria.

(Btw, The Patriarch of Jaggonath is referred to as "Patriarch Jaxom IV, Holy Father of the Eastern Realm, Keeper of the Prophet's Law", and the Matriarch of Damien's homeland as "Holy Mother, Matriarch of the westlands".)

[trobadora]

I can't either, but I have searchable text. (And if you'd watched the discussion about Gerald's hair colour a while ago on this comm, you'd know I'm the furthest thing from a canon maven! I just get lucky every now and then.)

[ariss-tenoh.livejournal.com]

Btw, The Patriarch of Jaggonath is referred to as "Patriarch Jaxom IV, Holy Father of the Eastern Realm, Keeper of the Prophet's Law"

Can I ask where this is mentioned?

[ariss-tenoh.livejournal.com]

*laughs*
My experience with fantasy writers says they don't really care where exactly their stories lie. They just wave a Jedi-like gesture and say "Somewhere north/east/etc" ^_^

[trobadora]

It's at the beginning of the second book, after the prologue. Chapter 1 starts with Damien's letter to the Patriarch, and it's in the address.