Re: Inaccurate miles?

From: jeffrichard68 <richj_at_...>
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 17:13:21 -0000

My image of Orlanthi maps are that they tend to include sacred places, settlements, safe travel routes and dangers. They would have lots of runes and symbols, and spatial arrangement is not dictated by miles but by travel time or significance. There might be some maps called "Earth Maps" that are useful for walkers or riders and others called "Wind Maps" that are useful for fliers and holy folk.

However, I disagree with the accuracy of Dara Happan maps. Dara Happan maps are likely even more symbolic than Orlanthi - I see them all be structured around the Oslir and its tributaries, with the world being arranged around a great "T" (like medieval Christian maps were arranged around Jerusalem). Distance is meaningless, travel time is irrelevant (although they often include surprising amounts of information). The spatial arrangment of Dara Happan maps often have little relationship to actual places or geography (for instance, I think most still include Nivorah and Elempur).

Now the Lunars (thanks to Irripi Ontor and Etyries) actually have some pretty good representative maps that are useful to travellers.

Jeff