MAP OF CASANARVA & GEOGRAPHY

This is a map of Casanarva, with all of the places on it which are named in A Lamp Shining in a Dark Place, Book One of the Casanarva Scrolls. {Please click on the map to enlarge it. For best results, if you want to print the map, print it landscape style with half-inch margins all around. (Enlarge the map, click on File, Print Preview, then Page Setup ((Alt+U)). Choose Landscape and change the margins to .5". Then Print.)}

GEOGRAPHY

Eedo is the island kingdom in the northeast. The word "eedo" means "mountains," and Eedo is well-named. Noted for fine Corayn wool and finer wines, Eedo is a kingdom of shining mountains, vast forests, and fjorded coasts where misty waterfalls cloak tall cliffs. The Eedoan capital is Veena Esqelamar, which means "Crystal Springs." The city is often called Sqelamar. The Duchy of Tayn is in the eastern corner of Eedo. A "tay" in Casanarvan is a dagger, especially a small stiletto, worn concealed; and the symbol of Tayn is the jeweled dagger.

To the west is the heavily populated Kingdom of Goffeleccee. Although the name translates as "Bitter Winds," Goffeleccee is known for fertile open plains, where beef cattle are raised, and prosperous farms. Wide rivers provide excellent transport routes, snowcapped mountain ranges assure a plentiful supply of water and timber, and deep blue lakes teem with fish. Goffeleccee's capital is Draselnor, the "City of the Sunrise."

The Duchy of Goffeleccee Cahn (or North Goffeleccee) is the former Kingdom of Azaranarva. Azaranarva is the word for "temple," literally "aza ra'n Arva" or "place of the Light." The Azaranarvans do not hesitate to point out that, in addition to meaning "north," "cahn" also carries the meanings of "high" and "the one and only." Their ducal capital is Xahara-Xaravel, the "City of the Ancient Kings," and during the Ancient Civilization of Light, this was the High King's capital. The nickname for the city is Xavél, but only the foolish call it that within the hearing of the city's residents. North of Goffeleccee Cahn lies the Northern Range and The Barren Lands.

To the west of the Qwarneeya Sea lies the desert Kingdom of Tazaqwaya. Qwarneeya means "sea" in Casanarvan, from the Saráyn word for "many fish." Famed for her magnificent tapestries, "Tazaqwaya" means "home place in the desert," with "qwaya" being the Casanarvan word for "desert." Tazaqwaya's winter capital is Chevrona Parameena, on the sea; and her summer capital, in the mountains, is Ardesheer, which means "Beautiful." The Duchy of Plananta occupies the northern part of the country.

The Kingdom of Valtarmelsa lies across the Qwaya Desert beyond the Daw-Neem Range and Edora-Sumsum. (Edora means "mountain of.") Valtarmelsa is bisected by the Jorminil River, which enters the Qwarneeya through the Cahau Delta, where the villages of Eshurren and Dordrasee lie among the reedy channels. The capital of Valtarmelsa is Mo-Nachus, which is on the west bank of the Jorminil. The other major cities of the valley are Kakiloa, Kaloa, and Jo-Gar. The Halay River flows through the Halay Chasm, passes under High Bridge (the rope bridge at Castle Ina-Lui), goes past Castle Pa'oa, and finally enters the Jorminil at Kaloa. Kaloa is where the caravan trail crosses the Jorminil on its way to Tazaqwaya. Northeast of Pa'oa is the oasis of Calalo Wells, and northeast of Ina-Lui is Laqanapa oasis, but Valtarmelsa's heartland is the irrigated valley of the Jorminil River where sugarcane, citrus fruit, and cotton are grown.

The Blue Mountains lie south of Valtarmelsa and Savárseeya, and south of both the "new" caravan trail and the Ancient Caravan Trail. The oases on the "new" caravan trail between Ina-Lui and Castle Noorabue in Savárseeya are Kaliksuk (which means "Red Rock"), Kitzewon, Shakla, Altookon, Kolakalik, and Kayuk. From Noorabue the King's Highway takes the traveler to Savárseeya's capital, Ravelacca, which is situated in the caldera of a dormant volcano. The Ancient Caravan Trail reaches Savárseeya at the mud-walled village of Kalibuk. Nadaraq, where the gold mines are located, is the westernmost duchy. The great Velnar monastery at Shunglavuk is in the mountains of Atlakuk, the easternmost Savársee duchy. The Savársee Spice Islands are off the coast of Atlakuk. The royal Duchy of Rareeya, where the finest shahnarn are raised, is in the central portion of the country.

Off the northern coast of Savárseeya is the island Barony of Saráy, which is dominated by the volcanic Edora-Xah, the "Mountain of the King." Saráy has a moderate, rainy climate, and is known for fine silk, spiced tea, pearls, and exquisite beadwork. The Saráyn capital, Bjerra Mis, is in the northeast corner of the island. Castle Tando-Val is on the southwestern tip of the island, and the village of Orning is on the southeast coast. The word "Savárseeya" is from the Saráyn word meaning "many barbarians," which gives you an idea of the relationship between the Savársee and the Saráyn.

Most plants and animals in Casanarva are familiar to us. The two most important exceptions are the carma and the shahnar.

With a wingspread of up to twenty feet in mature males, the carma is native to the Jorminil River Valley and is the symbol of Valtarmelsa and the Alora-Carma dynasty. ("Alo ra carma" means "flight of the carma.") This huge bird of prey has plumage of iridescent turquoise, emerald green, and sapphire blue and a massive golden beak--nearly as long as the head. The bird has bright turquoise eyes and a crest of iridescent aqua and turquoise plumes accented with red spots. A long tail and powerful, broad wings allow the raptor to hover, riding the air currents while searching for its favorite prey of fish and eels, which it seizes with the sharp black talons on its amber feet. It can be tamed and is used by Delta Folk to spot schools of fish. Its call varies from a shrill scream or whistle to a soft twittering.

With its single spiral horn and cloven hooves, the shahnar is a very fast, graceful mammal indigenous to Savárseeya. Now raised all over Casanarva, it is used primarily as a mount by knights and noblemen. The karkadan, which is a large breed of shahnar, is raised for and used as a pack animal, for most shahnarn refuse to carry heavy loads or are fussy about it. They are native to the desert and can go long distances on little water, subsisting on dew and such native cacti, spiny shrubs, and sparse grasses as may be found. Their colors vary from black, bay, chestnut, and sorrel to golden, cream, ivory, and white, with red and blue roans, buckskins and paints, grays and dapple-grays, grullas and steel-dusts, pieds, piebalds, and calicos not uncommon. The preferred color for the horns is white, golden, or black, and shahnarn with multicolored horns are usually cheaper to purchase. Owners often inlay the horns with gold, silver, or copper. Although some have blue eyes, most have brown. The colors of their cloven hooves are gold, brown, or black, and often they are feathered or shaggy. All shahnarn have well-developed long manes and tails, and as they age, males acquire a shaggy beard under the chin. They can jump fences twice the height of a man, and the war-shahnarn are trained to fight and to go through fire without flinching. Their call varies from sweet and delicate, like the ringing of a small silver bell, to hoarse bellows and sad-sounding wails.

For more information: I have notebooks and boxes full of information about the world of Casanarva, but I thought these things might be the most important to know. If you have any questions about Casanarva, please let me know, and I will try to add the information here.