Ymris, Land of Ancient Power

YMRIS
Ymris is ruled by Heureu Ymris with his brother Astrin Ymris as his land-heir. This nation is the site of the ruined Earth-Masters' cities. Ships from Ymris have scarlet and gold sails. There are five provinces in Ymris each ruled over by a High Lord. The five provinces are Lor and Meremont, both small coastal provinces, and Ruhn, Umber, and Marcher.

Historical Conflicts
During the Years of Settlement, an army from north Ymris attacked Herun with an eye to its mines.

Caerweddin
Caerweddin is the capital city of Ymris. Galil Yrmis made a house out of the stones of the Earth-Masters' cities. This ancient house stands on a hill near the sea on the mouth of the Thul River, the river itself runs eastward across Ymris from one of the seven Lungold Lakes. The house of Yrmis' kings is surrounded by two walls. Through the gates of the first wall a gentle incline leads to the thick oak doors of a second wall. Beyond this wall is a courtyard. Immediately upon entering the house is the King's Hall. It is built of smooth, dark glittering stones. Along half the length of the inner wall is a fire. Near Caerweddin are orchards.

King's Mouth Plain
During the rule of Galil Ymris, a seige of Caerweddin occured. The king refused to listen to his wizard Aloil's advice; and as a result, Aloil's tower was burned. Aloil exacted his revenge by making a stone in the plain above Caerweddin speak for eight days and nights in such a loud voice that men as far as Umber and Meremont heard it. The stone recited all Galil's secret, very bad attempts at writing poetry. This is the origin of the name King's Mouth Plain.

Wind Plain
A great, windblown plain in southeastern Ymris. It is bounded at its northern edge by a river. The great stone-works of ruined Earth-Masters' cities lie here.

Here is a description of one such ancient, ruined city, the site of the Wind Tower. "It was a maze of broken columns, fallen walls, rooms without roofs, steps leading nowhere, arches shaken to the ground, all built of smooth, massive squares of red, green, gold, blue, grey, black, streaked and glittering with other colors melting through them. A wide street of gold-white stone, grass thrusting up between its sections, began at the eastern edge of the city, parted it, and stopped at the foot on the one whole building in the city: a tower whose levels spiraled upward from a sprawling black base to a small, round deep-blue chamber high at the top."

Until the High One and Morgon no man had ever climbed to the top of the Wind Tower. Aloil is said to have spent seven days and nights attempting to climb to the top. Astrin Ymris also had made several attempts to reach the top.

Marcher
At least a small section of Marcher is composed of rocky fields and low border hills where villages and farms were rare on the rough land. The rough, undulating land flows towards the old, worn hills mentioned above.

Umber
Umber is land of rough hills and green woods. It is ruled by Rork Umber. North of the Wind Plain there is a road that leads to Rork's house. This great house is made of red and brown stones from the hills. It has a vast hall. A long road leads from Umber to Caerweddin.

The Land-Rulers of Ymris

PAST LAND-RULERS

• Belu & Bilo - They were twin brothers whose deaths were foretold to occur at the same moment.  They grew to hate each other.
• Galil Ymris - He was a king of Ymris during a time when the wizard Aloil still served said kings. He made a great house out of the stones of the Earth-Masters' cities. During a seige of Caerweddin, Galil refused to follow Aloil's advice. As a result Aloil's tower was burned. So Aloil made a stone in the plain above Caerweddin speak for eight days and nights in such a loud voice that men as far as Umber and Mermont heard it, and the stone recited all Galil's secret, very bad attempts at writing poetry.

CURRENT LAND-RULERS

• Astrin Ymris - He is the brother and land-heir of Heureu. He is described as a young man with lank white hair and white eyes. When Morgon first meets him he is described as having skin stretched taut, hollow across his strange proud face. At this meeting he is wearing a voluminous, richly embroidered robe whose threads are picked and frayed. He enjoys exploring the ancient ruined city of the Earth-Masters on the Wind Plain. After showing Danan Isig a cut jewel, through which flowed all the colors of the sea, he found at the base of Wind Tower, Isig gave him Xel, a wild-white cat, out of friendship. Astrin spent a year at the College of Caithnard. He went to exile after Heureu's fiancee was murdered and her shape was taken by an Earth-Master. Heureu refused to listen to his brother and so his brother left. After returning from his exile with Morgon of Hed, Astrin was blinded in one eye by the Eriel in the form of a bird.
• Eriel - She was the fiancee of Heureu Ymris. She had dark, shy eyes and long black hair. Eriel and Astrin were childhood friends. She was killed by the Earth Master who took her form five years before the start of the series. Her death was on the day of her wedding. Eriel, being tired of preparations for her wedding, asked Astrin to go with her to King's Mouth Plain. They traveled to the ruined Earth Masters' city there. She was killed and given the form of a white bird which Astrin buried among the ancient stones above the sea.
• Heureu Ymris - He is the king of Ymris and brother of Astrin Ymris. He is described as lean, big boned, with dark hair.

Minor Characters of Ymris

• Anoth - Lady Anoth is the King's physician. She is an elderly, comforting, dry-voiced woman.
• Lein - He is a kinsman of the High Lords of Marcher (in Ymris).
• Meroc Tor - He is the high lord and ruler of Tor. He is a subject of Heureu Ymris.
• Rork Umber - High Lord of Umber. He is described as a tall, richly dressed, bright red-haired man.
• Teril - He is the son of Rork Umber.
• Xel - a wild-white cat with ice blue eyes given to Astrin Ymris by Danan Isig.

An, Land of Conquest

Out of all the lands, An is the nation with the most violent and bloody history.  At one time it was three separate lands An, Aum, and Hel; however, both Aum and Hel were conquered by An.  These three nations are now the three portions of An.  An, as it is at the beginning of Riddle of Stars, has existed for six hundred years.  This is when Oen of An conquered the nations of Aum and Hel.  The capital of the Three Portions of An is Anuin.  Hel is known for its pigherds, while Aum is known for its cornfields.

If Hed is the least taxing when it comes to being a land-ruler,  An is the most.  There are various bindings that demand the constant attention of the land-ruler of An: the binding of the spell-books of Madir, the binding of the ancient, rebellious lords of Hel in their graves, and the binding of Peven in his tower.

The Land-Rulers of An are descended from Kale, Oen, the witch Madir, and the Earth-Master Corrig, and the half Earth-Master Ylon.  Earth-Master blood was introduced to the family of the rulers of An in an attempt by the Earth-Masters to disrupt that family and their land-law.  The shape-shifter Corrig sired Ylon with a queen of An.  This means that the land-rulers of An are not descended from Oen who believed Ylon to be his son.  This unique ancestry granted the land-rulers of An a number of abilities, such as shape-shifting.

CROWN OF AUM

The crown of Aum was worn by the ancient kings of Aum. Peven of Aum had the crown with him for the past five hundred years. He offered it as a prize to any who could win a riddle-game with him. The great center stone of the crown is colorless and reflects the colors of its surroundings. The crown also has pearls mounted on it.


PAST LAND-RULERS


AN

• Awn of An - King of An who deliberately burned part of An to keep it from his enemy. He lost his land-rule and hung himself.
• Fenel of An - He was an ancient king of An.  He lived sometime in the two hundred years after Oen's reign.  It is said he was almost to busy fighting to sire a land-heir.
• Hagis of An - He was the King of An and grandfather to Mathom of An. Hagis died in Peven's tower for the lack of a riddle.
• Kale of An - The first king of An.  During a battle, over despair of the enemies numbers, he used the Great Shout.
• Oen of An - King of An who conquered the kingdom of Aum six hundred years before the events of the series. He built a tower to trap the witch Madir.
• Ylon - He was an ancient king of An. He was the son of a queen of An and the shape-shifter Corrig.

AUM

• Ustin of Aum - He was the king of Aum.  He died in sorrow over the conquering of Aum. The strings of his broken harp were used by Deth to make his harp.

HEL

• Acor of Hel - He was the third king of Hel.  He brought through force and persuasion the last of the bickering lords under his control.
• Evern the Falconer - An ancient king of Hel.  He trained hawks for battle against men.  He died with his falcons, defending his home.
• Farr of Hel - He was the last king of Hel.  His skull hung over Lord Hallard Blackdawn's hearth in east Hel.  
• Nemir of the Pigs - An ancient king of Hel.  He could speak the language of both men and pigs.  He had for his pig herder the witch Madir.  He lived either before the time of, during, or sometime in the two hundred years after Oen of An.
• Ohroe the Cursed - An ancient king of Hel.  He had seen seven of his nine sons fall one after another in seven consecutive battles between Hel and An.

CURRENT LAND-RULERS

• Cyone - She was the wife of Mathom of An and the mother of Duac, Rood, and Raederle.
• Duac - He was the land-heir of Mathom.
• Mathom - The current king of An.
• Raederle - She is the daughter of Mathom of An. She has a pale, high-boned face and a long, fine mass of red hair. Her eyes are amber-colored. Raederle is known as the second most beautiful woman in the three portions of An.  
• Rood - Rood is the second son of Mathom of An. He studies at the College of Caithnard. He took the Gold of Intermediate Mastery faster than anyone save Morgon.

Minor Characters of An

• Auber of Aum - a descendent of Peven of Aum. He went to the the tower of Peven to try to win back the crown of Aum and found the crown gone. Auber told Mathom of this.
• Bri Corbett - He is the ship-master for Mathom of An.
• Col - Col is a lord of Hel. His harpist owned one of the five surviving harps of Uon of Hel.
• Cyn Croeg - He is the lord of Aum with lands in east Aum. He is a descendant of the kings of Aum.
• Elieu of Hel - He is the brother of the Lord of Hel. He came to Isig two years before Morgon first travels to Isig. He trains under Ash Isig. He has recently begun to do inlays, designs.
• Hallard Blackdawn - He is a lord of An, with lands in east Hel.
• Hegdis-Noon - A pig in the pig herds of Hel at a time when Nun tended the herd. What made him special was his ability to talk.
• Madir - She was a witch who stole the pigherds of Hel and set them loose on the cornfields of Aum. She had in her possession books of wizardry that once belonged to the Lungold wizards. Oen of An built a tower to trap her.
• Map Hwillion - He is a young lord with lands in south Aum.
• Mara Croeg - She is Cyn Croeg's wife and the Flower of An, the most beautiful woman in the Three Portions of An.
• Peven - Peven was a Lord of Aum. He was bound to his tower, by Oen of An and has remained bound by the Kings of An for the past five hundred years. Peven was forced to wander the earth as a ghost after he killed seven of his sons with misued wizardry, and then himself in sorrow and shame. Peven had a standing wager going that no one could win a riddle-game with him. If he were bested in his riddle-game the challengers reward would be the crown of the Kings of Aum; however, should the challenger lose they paid with their lives. Many from the three portions of An, and even some riddle-masters from Caithnard have challenged him and failed to defeat him. Morgon of An is the only person to ever have defeated Peven. Morgon even told him the names of all his sons, since Peven could no longer remember them all. Peven took most of his knowledge from books of wizardry that had belonged to Madir, and before that to the Lungold Wizards.
• Raith of Hel - He is described by Rood as having a "face beaten out of gold and a heart like a rotten tooth."  
• Re of Aum - He offended an ancient lord of Hel, and in trying to insure his safety, allowed the lord of Hel to trap him on his own estate.
• Thisten of Aum - He is the current Lord of Aum. He is described by Rood as being "soft as a bay and too old to climb into be without help."
• Uon - Uon was a harpmaker in Hel three centuries before the events of Riddle of Stars. Only five of his harps survived to the current day.

Isig, Land of the Mountain

Isig is a land whose heart and soul are the mines of Isig Mountain. Like all the other nations of the High One's realm, it was settled during the early Years of Settlement. Danan Isig, the namesake of the land, has ruled it since the Years of Settlement. Kyrth sprawls at the roots of Isig Mountain is the major trade city of Isig from which goods travel down the Ose river to Kraal in Osterland. Then from there to the various trade-ports of the realm.

Kyrth
The trade-port of Kyrth is nestled within a single curve of Isig Mountain. The city is crowded with traders, trappers, craftsmen, and miners even in mid-winter. However, traders come to Kyrth in earnest at the beginning of spring. A road winding up Isig Mountain leads to Harte, Danan Isig's home and workplace.

Harte
Harte has rough, dark walls, with jagged lines, that are shaped as though by wind, weather, and the restless earth. Its windows are patterned and stained with color. The gates that form a dark arch serve as the entrance to Harte. The yard rests just inside Harte. It is filled with many forges and workshops. Here the craftsmen create stunningly beautiful works. Yrth created both the starred harp and sword here in Harte. The yard leads into the great hall of Harte. The walls of the hall are rough, still embedded with jewels of many colors. A stream cuts a curved path across the floor and a great firebed is suspended above it to warm the stones. Many miners, craftsmen, traders, and trappers work at Harte and will take there meals there. Most of these, however, only work at Harte and return to Kyrth at the end of the day.

The east tower once served as home to the High One in his guise of Yrth. His room, at the top of the tower, is completely quiet. The sounds from the forges below barely reach to the tower. The walls are hung with furs and tapestries. It also has a hearth to keep the room warm.

Harte serves as the entrance to the mines and caves of Isig. Only those permitted by Danan Isig may enter the mines. The greatest craftsmen of the realm come to train at Harte, to learn how to work with the metals and jewels of Isig. The craftsmen were once taught by Danan's son Sol; now, however, they are taught by Danan's other son, Ash.

Isig Mountain & its Mines
The depths of Isig Mountain are inexhaustible with minerals, metals, and bright, precious stones. Water runs through Isig, deep below its surface.

The doors from Harte lead into a wet, cool shaft that itself leads downward into the Isig mines. The high, dark walls of inner Isig are veined with torchlight. Readily visible in these dark walls are uncut jewels, described as crystals of fire and ice. These jewels range in color from midnight-blue to smokey-yellow and many more. Arched trails and high passageways wander throughout the mountain. Stalactites hang from the ceilings of many parts of the caves. Streams, with slow, imperceptible movements, that are as thin as glass deepen and fall into vast, measureless lakes. Tiny nameless things live in these lakes.

At the end of one river, there is a chamber of milk-white blue-veined stone. Three steps lead upward out of a pool of water to a dais on which two long cases of beaten gold and white jewels rest beneath a torch. These caskets contain Danan's wife Grania and his son Sol.

The Cave of the Lost Ones
The Cave of the Lost Ones is located deep in the heart of Isig Mountain. Its entrance is a door of polished green stone teared with black. The walls are massed with undiscovered beds and veins of jewels. It is here were the long dead children of the Earth-Masters' rested, waiting for the Star-Bearer.

The Land-Rulers of Isig 

• Ash - He is the son of Danan Isig and his land-heir. He is a tall, fair man with Danan's green eyes. His wife occasionally visits Caithnard.
• Bere - He is the ten or eleven year old son of Vert. He has blunt, black hair and grey eyes. Bere has broad shoulders and a grave, placid face. He trains under his uncle, Ash.
• Danan Isig - Isig is the land-ruler of the land that bears his name. He is well over a thousand years old, more likely over two thousand years old. He is said to have been as ancient as a tree when Lungold was founded. He is a shape-changer who often takes the form of a tree. He apparently has taught his children to change into this form as well. He is big, thewed like a tree; with hair and beard grey-gold. His eyes are gentle, mild and green, the color of pine. Danan has at least three children; Ash, Sol, and Vert. He also has at least a dozen grandchildren. Among the many things he crafts are swords for the lords and kings of An and Ymris.
• Grania - She was the wife of Danan Isig. She is buried in the mines below Isig Mountain.
• Kes - She is a grandchild of Danan Isig
• Sol - Sol was the son of Isig. He cut the stars for Yrth's harp. He was killed by Earth-Masters after seeing Yrth's starred sword. The starred sword was made long before he was born. He was murdered three hundred years before the start of Riddle of Stars.
• There is a riddle about him.
• Suny - She is the young daughter of Vert. She is a toddler with black hair.
• Vert - She is the daughter of Danan Isig. She has many children, amongst them a son Bere and a daughter Suny. She is a slender woman with hair the color of pine bark. Her husband is a trader and spends most of his time out at sea.

MINOR CHARACTERS OF ISIG

• Elieu of Hel - The brother of Raith, Lord of Hel, who came to Isig two years before Morgon first travels to Isig. He trains under Ash Isig. He has recently begun to do inlays, designs.
• Zec of Hicon, Herun - Around one hundred years before the founding of Lungold, he did the inlay for Yrth's harp. He was trained by Sol.

Hed, Land of Peace and Planting

Hed is a small island nation to the west of Ymris. Unlike the land-rules of the other five nations, the land-rule of Hed has one central land-law that of peace. The land-laws of Hed evolved during the Years of Settlement and have been passed down from land-ruler to land-ruler for generations.

The peace of Hed was possible because Hed possessed nothing anyone would have fought over: it had no wealth, no great stretches of land, no seat of power or mystery, just good farm land and good weather. Not even the Kings of An during their years of conquering were tempted by the small island of Hed. With no fighting, the people of Hed chose leaders they wanted to keep the peace, and their instinct for peace drove deep into the land like a seed, binding the land of Hed to peace.

From the western coast of Hed, the mainland is barely visible as a dark thread along the horizon. The villages of Tol and Akren are situated on the southwest coast of the land. As mentioned the island is very small, and a horse from Hed can make the journey across the island in a day. However, a horse from An can apparently make the journey much faster.

The majority of the people of Hed are farmers; however, some residents of Hed operate fishing boats out of coastal towns such as Tol. Grain is the major agricultural staple of Hed. Beer is made from this grain and shipped around the world.

Trade
Trade-ships come to Tol for the season's exchange of goods.  Among the products exported from Hed are beer, grain, and wool.  Plow horses are also shipped from Hed to An and Herun.  Herun wine, metal, such as a chest full of iron, and salt from the beds above Caithnard are among the products bought by the people of Hed.

Land-Rulers
The land-rulers of Hed are more informal in nature compared to the land-rulers of An and Ymris.  They act more as managers of the island than anything else.  In fact the last prince of Hed to have a crown was Kern of Hed, the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of Morgon of Hed.  The crown was made of silver with a green jewel in it shaped like a cabbage.  At the beginning of the Riddle of Stars, Morgon is the the current prince of Hed, with his brother Eliard as his land-heir.

PASSAGE OF LAND-RULE

"After our father died, we (Morgon & Eliard) grew so close that sometimes we dream the same dreams....I was that close to my father as his land-heir.  I felt him die.  I didn't know how or why or where; I simply knew, at that moment, that he was dying.  And then that he was dead, and the land-rule had passed to me.  For a moment I saw every leaf, every new-planted seed...." 

 Passage of land-rule of Hed from Althol to Morgon as told by Morgon

PAST LAND-RULERS

• Athol of Hed - He  is a former Prince of Hed.  His wife was Spring Oakland, and he was father to Morgon, Eliard, and Tristan.  His son Eliard is described as looking like him.
• Kern of Hed - Kern was a prince of Hed.  In addition, he is the last known prince of Hed to have had a crown.  The crown was made of silver, with a green jewel in it shaped like a cabbage.  He traded if for twenty barrels of Herun wine.  No prince of Hed has worn a crown since.  The only known riddle to come out of Hed is about Kern.
• Lathe Wold - The great-grandfather of Eliard, Morgon, and Tristan.
• Lathe Wold's daughter - She was the grandmother of Eliard, Morgon, and Tristan.  She was a slender, proud woman from south Hed who, like her grandson, had a way of looking at people, remotely, like a fox glancing up from a pile of chicken feathers.
• Spring Oakland - She was the wife of Athol of Hed and the mother of Morgon, Eliard, and Tristan.  Her daughter Tristan is described as looking like her.

CURRENT LAND-RULERS

• Eliard - He is the land-heir and brother of Morgon.  Eliard is two years younger than his brother Morgon.  He has his father Althol's broad shoulders and big bones, and his fair, feathery hair.
• Morgon - He is the Prince of Hed and later the High One.  Morgon has hair and eyes the color of light beer and takes more after his grandmother than anybody.  Both he and his grandmother had a way of looking at people, remotely, like a fox glancing up from a pile of chicken feathers.
• Tristan - She is the sister of Morgon and Eliard of Hed.  A year before the death of ther parents, she is described as having been a thin, brown reed of a girl, prone to walking field walls barefoot and whistling through her teeth.  Now, however, she spends most of her time scowling at herself in the mirror and, of course, anyone in range beyond them.   Tristan has flighty black hair and a small, triangular face and looks very much like her mother.

MINOR CHARACTERS OF HED

• Arin Amory - She is perhaps the daughter of Wyndon Amory.  It may also be that Cannon Master has a crush on her.
• Cannon Master -  He grew up with Morgon of Hed.
• Grim Oakland - Morgan's portly overseer.  He is a farmer of Hed with a storage barn like many other farmers of Hed.  He is described as having red-grey brows.  He made have been related to Spring Oakland, the mother of Eliard, Morgon, and Tristan.
• Harl Stone - a farmer of Hed.  He is described as having a shock of hair grey as a grindstone and a body like a sack of grain.
• Sil Wold - A farmer of Hed.  He is likely a relative of Eliard, Morgon, and Tristan.
• Snog Nutt - He is Morgon's pigherder.
• Tor Oakland - an old farmer at least 70 years of age from Hed.
• Wyndon Amory -  He is a farmer of Hed.  He lives and has a storage barn in east Hed.

Herun, Land of Marshes and Mountains

Herun is a small, land-locked, very rich nation.  The land-rulers of Herun are the Morgols who are gifted with the talent of Sight, the ability to see through any object.  This gift developed during the Years of Settlement when an army from north Ymris attacked Herun with an eye towards its mines.  The Sight leaves a visible mark, the eyes of the one who possesses the Sight turn gold.

Herun is a land blessed with formidable natural defenses.  It is ringed by low, ancient mountains, and on the Herun side of the southern mountainous border lies a dangerous marsh.  Many traders and visitors to Herun have perished in this marsh because they were too impatient to wait on a guide.  The guide usually one of the Morgol's chosen guards and even sometimes the land-heir, grant passage to travelers through the marsh.  This passage and knowledge of it are a gift from the Morgol.

Beyond the marshes, lye the plains and tors of Herun.  Stone houses and small villages rise on the crests of the undulating plain.  These villages are typically huddled at the feet of stone peaks that rise sporadically from the plains.

One of the major exports of Herun is its wine, which is renowned throughout the realm of the High One.

Crown City
Crown City is the capital of the small nation of Herun.  This city is also known as the City of Circles.  The fourth Morgol Rhu planned a circle for each of the eight riddles he planned to answer.  Rhu died attempting to answer the eighth riddle, a deadly riddle about the Star-Bearer.  As a result, only seven monolithic circles exist, instead of the planned eight.  The innermost circle is a vast red circle of red upright, stones which surrounds a black oval house, the home of the Morgol.

This black oval house is built over an offshoot of the Cwill River.  The water from this river fans over stone fountains in the yard of the Morgol, forming tiny streams and pools, surrounded by trees, where vivid red, green, and gold fish swim.

The entrance to the Morgol's house are doors of silver and pale wood.  The interior arched corridors wander seemingly without plan.  The rooms are hung with delicate cloth tapestries, strange plants, rich woods and finely wrought metals.  Some rooms are hung with hangings of orange and gold and furnished with enormous cushions covered with white wool.

The central hall is a broad room that is white from floor to ceiling.  The room contains a firebed and low tables where the Morgol, her guards, and guests will dine.  The Morgol's personal table is of polished white stone.  Drinks are served in cups of silver and food on silver plates sparkling with amethyst.


Historical Morgols
The fourth Morgol to rule Herun was Dhairrhuwyth, or more simply called Rhu. He either built or designed the Crown City, also known as the City of Circles. Herun was ruled by the Morgol Ylcorcronlth, or more simply Cron, six hundred years before the start of the series.

The Land-Rulers of Herun

PAST LAND-RULERS

• Cron - See Ylcorcronlth.
• Dhairrhuwyth - or more simply called Rhu, was the fourth Morgol of Herun who built the circles of the City of Circles, or the Crown City. He structured the Crown City, planning a circle for each of eight riddles his curiosity set to him and he answered. His journey to answer the eighth riddle killed him. He was killed by Ghisteslwchlohm on his way to Erlenstar Mountain. His body was sent found by Danan Isig in his domain and sent home.
• Rhu - See Dhairrhuwyth.
• Ylcorcronlth - or more simply called Cron was the Morgol of Herun six hundred years before the start of the series. His harpist was named Tirunedeth

CURRENT LAND-RULERS

• El - See Elrhiarhodan.
• Elrhiarhodan - or more simply called El, is the current Morgol of Hed. She is a tall woman with blue-black hair drawn back from her face, that falls without a ripple.  The Morgol El is possessed of a profound inner serenity that along with her gift of Sight allows her to see straight to the truth.  The harpist Deth is her romantic interest.  He once wrote for her a beautiful wordless song.
• Lyra - See Lyraluthuin.
• Lyraluthuin - or more simply called Lyra, is the daughter and land-heir to the Morgol El. She is a girl of fourteen or fifteen. When Morgon first meets her she is wearing a heavy, loose coast the color of flame; with dark hair drawn back from her face, coiled in a thick braid on the crown of her head. She carries a light spear of ash and silver. She is a member of the chosen guard of the Morgol. She leads traders through the Herun marshes surrounding the Crown City. She has no siblings, though she considers the Morgol's guards her sisters; however, she does have cousins.

Minor Characters of Herun

• Arya - She was from Herun. She is the subject of a riddle.
• Deth - See Tirundeth.
• Goh - She is a guard in the Morgol El's service.
• Imer - She is a guard in the Morgol El's service.
• Kia - She is a guard in the Morgol El's service.
• Tirundeth - or more simply called Deth, was the harpist of the Morgol Cron six hundred years before the start of the series.
• Trika - She is a guard in the Morgol El's service.
• Zec of Hicon, Herun - Around one hundred years before the founding of Lungold, he did the inlay for Yrth's harp. He was trained by Sol.

Osterland, Land of Ice and Snow

Osterland, in the north of the realm of the High One, is a land where the passing of the seasons and the climate of the land shape the way of life of the people living there.  This is most particularly true in Har, the wolf-king, the land-ruler of Osterland.  His mind is described as being shaped at one time by ice and then by fire.  This is has molded him into a fierce, ungentle, though fair, ruler.  

The nation is one most notable for the snowfalls and blizzards that are the norm for this land.  Here, in Osterland, a gentle snowfall can turn into a blinding blizzard with little warning.  Following these snows are the majestic vesta.  During the summer, the vesta will wander farther and farther to the north. These creatures are as broad as a farmhorse, with a deer's delicate, triangular face.  Their pelts are a blazing white, like the snowfall that helps to define the land.  The vesta's hooves and crescents of horns are the color of beaten gold.  Their eyes are a remarkable liquid purple.  They have four powerfully built legs that can take them racing across the land, there hooves barely skimming the snow, comparable to an arrow in flight.  Vesta can run for miles in the snow without tiring.

Osterland is one of two of the six nations of the realm of the High One that has always been ruled by a single person.  As a result, it rarely suffers the warfare that faces nations like An and Ymris.  And like most of the nations of the High One's realm trade flourishes.  The lack of formality with which Har often treats people has led in his over two thousand years of leadership to an informality in Yrye, the capital of Osterland, itself.  The southern border of Osterland is shaped by the great river Ose.  To the east of Osterland lies Isig and to the south the great stretch of unclaimed no-man's land.


Yrye, Grim Mountain, & the Lake-Lands
Yrye has been the seat of Har's power for nearly his entire reign.  This city at the base of Grim Mountain, the central peak in a range of low, border mountains, is full of beautiful, brightly painted wood houses and shops.  Har's own great unwalled house is made from wood gathered from all over the High One's realm; oak, pale birch, red-toned cedar, dark, rich timber.  Its eaves, window frames and double doors are traced with endless whorls of pure gold.  

Through those double doors lies a central hall, the size of a barn.  A great firebed, to battle the chilling Osterland atmosphere, runs half the length of Har's hall.  During the winter, citizens of Yrye, the children of Har and his wife Aia, and Har's various animal friends come to wait out the freezing months of winter.  At the very least, the children of Har and Aia will send an animal when they can't come and visit their parents.  One of their daughters has sent a white falcon, for example.  Everyone from the rich men and women of the city, traders, trappers, musicians, and even a handful of simply dressed farmers may stay at Har's house at any given time.  They engage in many actives; drinking hot wine by the fire, talking, playing chess, and reading.

Yrye is fringed by forests to the north, at the base of Grim Mountain.  The steep crags of the mountain itself are also covered with forestry.  Grim Mountain has many high mountain passes that make travel up the mountain difficult.  Mountain goats and hawks, among other creatures, call Grim Mountain home.

To the north of the mountain chain, that Grim Mountain is a part of, are the lake-lands.  The lake-lands border the great northern wastes.  Only a few trappers collecting skins and the vesta in the summer call the lake-lands home.

The Land-Rulers of Osterland

• Har - He has been the land-ruler of Osterland since the Years of Settlement.  The great wizard Suth, during his wildest years, taught him how to change shape.  Suth gave him the bone-white scars of vesta horns on his hands as a mark of this teaching.  Har most commonly prowls his kingdom in the form of a wolf and has become known as the wolf-king.  Har is also a master of mind-work, the ability to guard one's thoughts and invade the thoughts of others.  Throughout the years of his life, many men have begged Har to teach then the mind-work, shape-changing; very, very few of them have ever left with vesta-scars on their hands.
• He is older than most the wizards of Lungold having been alive over two thousand years.  Har is the subject of a great many riddles.  Such as the one about Ilon of Yyre.  He and Suth played riddle-games before there was even a College at Caithnard; and as a result, he can riddle better than the Masters of that college.  Har enjoys these riddle-games and has a standing wager that any man who wins a game with him can have the first thing he asks for when the game is done.  Of course, besting Har in a riddle-game is a long and tiresome affair.  One man who challenged Har one after a day and a night, and the first thing he asked for was a cup of water.
• Aia - She is the beautiful wife of the land-ruler Har.  In her youth she was a golden haired beauty.  Now, she is a strong, lovely old faced woman with hair the color of old ivory, which she keeps braided to her knees.  Aia has entered her husband's mind and knows it as well as he himself knows it.  As a result, she knows that he will bottle-up the sorrow he feels deep inside himself.

Minor Charcters of Osterland

• Hugin - The son of the wizard Suth and a vesta. He has white hair and purple eyes, typical of a vesta. He currently lives with and serves Har.
• Ilon of Yrye - Ilon was a harpist at the court of Har of Osterland, who offended Har with a song. In fear his life he fled and harped by himself in the wilderness. He is the subject of a riddle.
• Ingris - Ingris of Osterland angered Har, the King of Osterland one night when he appeared as an old man at Ingris's door, and Ingris refused to take him in. So the wolf-King put this curse on him: that if the next stranger who came to Ingris's house did not give his name, then Ingris would die. And the first stranger who came after Har left was --a certain harpist. That harpist gave Ingris everything he asked for: songs, tales, the loan of his harp, the history of his travelings--everything but the name Ingris wanted to hear, though Ingris demanded in despair. But the harpist could give him only one word, each time Ingris asked for his name, and that word, as Ingris heard it, was Death. So in fear of Har, and in despair of the curse, he felt his heart stop and he died.
• Jarl Aker - A big, red-haired trader with a weal across his face. He has been dead for two years. An Earth-Master took his form. He was missing one of his front teeth. He got the weal when a loading cable snapped and hit him in the face.

Österland

Osterland is the medieval term used for the southern part of Finland and was one of the four traditional lands of Sweden.