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| Geography and Info about Tortall & Surrounding Lands |
| The map from SOTL which I attempted to colorize |
| The map leading to the Dominion Jewel. This was obtained from Steelsings Tamora Pierce Webpage and I added a few touches of my own. I added borders. The dotted borders are estimated borders since I don't know where the real ones actually are. I also labelled the countries |
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| Tortall is one of the Eastern Lands. The others include Tyra, Scanra, Tusaine, Galla, Maren, and Sarain. It is one of the westernmost Eastern Lands. The geography of Tortall is rather diverse. It includes coastal plains, hills, mountains, dense forests, and desert. There are also several rivers & lakes. It is bordered on the west by the Emerald Ocean, the south by the Great Inland Sea, the north by Scanra & Galla, and the east by Tusaine & Tyra. The desert is inhabited by the Bazhir, a nomadic people much like the bedouin Arabs of our world. Tortall can be likened to a western European nation (such as France or England) during the early Renaissance. Tusaine borders Tortall on the east. Little is known about it except it's very similar to Tortall. The ruler during the Tusaine War in ITHOTG was King Ain. We don't know if that's changed since then. I imagine Tusaine as a central European country (such as Germany) during the early Renaissance. Tyra also borders Tortall to the east. It is a swampy merchant republic that is known for its trade. The only Tyran ever mentioned in the books is Numair. Tyra reminds me of Italy or at least Venice. Scanra is an enemy of Tortall. Scanra is like Scandinavia in our world, and the Scanrans are like the Vikings. In our world the Vikings were the terror of Europe back in the day, just like the Scanrans. They like to raid into Tortall. Scanra is made up of clans who are usually at war w/ each other. The gov't consists of a council of 10 & a king. Kings usually don't last that long. However in 460 the warlord Maggur Rathausak manages to unite the clans and hold the Scanran Throne. Scanra is a slaveholding country. Maren is a large powerful country bordering Tyra & Tusaine to the east. It is called the breadbasket of the Eastern lands, which puts me in the mind of Ukraine (called the breadbasket of the Soviet Union) in our world. Apparently it is very similar to Tortall. The king is King Barnesh. Apparently Maren has had no wars or famines since Norrin & Anj'la found the Dominion Jewel. Galla is the homeland of Daine. It is located north of Tortall & east of Scanra. It is densely forested & has several lakes. The capital is Cria. We don't know that much about Galla. Apparently a large fair is held every march in Cria and the nobles are rather nasty. It reminds me of imperial Russia. Sarain is located to the east of Maren. It is the easternmost of the Eastern Lands. During LR, Sarain was engaged in a war over who should occupy the throne, which had been held for a few generations by the jin Wilima warlords. The geography of Sarain consists of lowlands and mountains. The mountains are inhabited by nomadic tribes known as the K'Mir. The K'Mir are often at war w/ the lowlanders (Sarens). I don't know who holds the Saren throne now because Adigun jin Wilima (Thayet's father) was poisoned during LR. It is likely that Duzan zhir Anduo (the rebel leader) now holds it. Tammy said she based Sarain on S.E. Asia but I see it more like Mongolia and the K'Mir as one of those nomadic Asiatic tribes such as the Mongols, Tartars, or Turkmens. |