To Cities and Provinces Treatises

Of the children who grow up receiving the higher schoolings, it is important, when learning politics, to memorize the fifteen recognized provinces, as well as to attach some flavour to each of them.

Years ago, a particularly colourful teacher came up with a brilliant idea to make such learnings easier, and the idea stuck. Although it has gone through considerable changes over time, in order to account for shifting political influences and newly recognized provinces, the ‘Odd Family’ method of learning the provinces is still much in use.

The idea is simple – the provinces are envisioned as a strange family of humorously diverse characters. With a personality and appearance attributed to each province, it is easy for children to remember each member of the ‘family’.

Since Queen Lillian’s reign, a number of provinces have undergone significant change, but for history’s sake, I’d like to give examples of how those changes have appeared in the ‘Odd Family’ characterizations. Thus, I’ll give the descriptions as they stand now, but in cases where there has been a shift within the last few years, I’ll give the old characterizations in italics after the first description. I’ve also included a reason, in parenthesis, of why I am including both accounts. This should give the reader a good idea of how swiftly political flavours can change.

It should also be remembered that while this method of teaching the provinces is practiced in many lands, the descriptions change considerably depending on who’s doing the telling. This comes from an Old World perspective, and you’ll doubtless notice Old World biases present throughout the telling.

Let us then begin at the beginning. Keep in mind that these are simplified descriptions intended to aid children in memorization.

Masalla – Here is the grandfather of the bunch, wise and grey-haired, but still strong and swarthy. He is stern, yet encouraging and nurturing, and he makes sure that his considerable wealth is spread throughout the family. He has lots of rules, however, and gets upset when those rules aren’t followed. He also plays favorites, and when he’s mad at someone, they're sure to know about it.

Old World – Bright and courageous, this young daughter is an adventurer and artist, an explorer and musician. She’s also quick to anger and very good with sword and spell, and although all the rest of the family is fascinated with her beauty and vital spirit, they’re a bit scared of her, as well, because she doesn’t obey the rules, and doesn’t seem to care if anyone else gets upset by her actions.

(After the War for Aranor and the beginning of Queen Lillian’s reign, the Old World went through a great shift. Before that, the Old World was described like this -- )

The Old World is grandfather Masalla’s son – he wants to be just like Masalla, but he’s still a little young and rough around the edges, and often he can’t keep his behavior quite straight. To make up for that, he’s even sterner than grandfather, and gets really flustered when he messes anything up. He has even more rules than Masalla, and always tries to make sure that they are followed.

New World – The toughened uncle, New World wears furs and has a big beard. He’s rugged and is often out hunting. He lives apart from the rest of the family, and has lots of friends who live with him out in the woods (this refers to the various cities/provinces, such as Auralay and Cuan, who share the lands of the New World). He doesn’t have a lot of contact with the rest of the family, and keeps to himself, mostly. Still, he brings back lots of furs and raises the best cows in the world, out in a pasture at the far end of his lands.

(The New World underwent a great change when Antara fell. Before then, the description went more like this -- )

New World is the mysterious uncle. He lives out in the woods, but when he comes into town, everyone is amazed, because he is a powerful magician who brings great wealth and great mischief in his wake. Often his magics get out of control, and the rest of the family must deal with the results. Many of the family members, such as Masalla and Old World, highly disapprove of his ways, but they put up with him because of all the wondrous things he can do.

Rel Morde – A bright and promising son in the family, Rel Morde is quiet, but piercingly intelligent and quite wealthy, due to his wanderings in the foothills where he knows just where to dig into the ground and find valuable gems. He does strange magics and is an excellent swordsman, but he is still refined and gentlemanly, especially when he comes to court. Out in the foothills, however, where he has his own home, his quiet side comes out, and when people come to visit him they often feel unsettled, a little bit as if they were intruders.

Gwynned – A daughter of Old World, Gwynned harkens back to grandfather Masalla’s ways, though she is much influenced by Old World. She dreams of knights and castles and bright, boisterous faires – all the glories of Masalla, and hopes that she doesn’t have to live as strict a life as Masalla does in order to have all of those things. Sparkling with life, she is swiftly growing up, and has the attentions of most of the rest of the family. Still, a few are wary of her, since she is the daughter of Old World, who many think is dangerous.

(Near the time of the War for Aranor, Gwynned was abandoned due to a plague of strange beasts who sages now assure us were of Eldritch creation. These creatures died out within a few years, as they weren’t suited to the clime and the natural prey of Gwynned, and with the help of the magician Cowan Faol, the island was re-built and prepared for re-settlement. Before this time, Gwynned was described like this -- )

Gwynned is Old World’s sickly daughter, who was born beautiful and shining, but has swiftly grown pale and sloth. She wants to be like grandfather Masalla, but she is always ill and can’t seem to keep herself in any condition to relate to the rest of the family.

(The sickness of Gwynned refers to the massive internal problems the province was facing with faeries of all kinds. Although the fae population is still present on the isle, Queen Lillian hopes that the new attitude the people are taking toward the faerie presence will lessen the problems that the earlier Gwynned faced.)

Tirané – Almost an outlaw, the red-headed Tirané is a rambunctious uncle who doesn’t obey any rules, lives like an animal in the woods, and causes no end of trouble by stealing from everyone. Still, he makes intricate art and tells wonderful stories, and if he isn’t being hot-tempered, he’ll sometimes be welcome. If there’s anyone he gets along with really well, it’s Old World.

Moraithe – Brash and a bit out of control, young Moraithe is always having parties and having a good time. Though not horribly rich, he has great luck and is always finding the best fruit trees and making sweet wines. He’ll go wandering and come back with baskets and baskets of fruit. He doesn’t like clothes very much, and will often just wear a vest and pants, or even forsake the vest and wear no shirt at all! He is so kind and friendly that almost everyone likes him, and he is always welcome wherever he goes.

Lantrielle – Coldly beautiful, Lantrielle is an older aunt who doesn’t share much with anyone else. Sometimes she won’t even talk to others, and if you go to see her, don’t expect her to be very nice. She is very refined, and her rules are even stricter than Masalla’s. She is always dressed perfectly and her hair and cosmetics are always done. Even though she isn’t very nice, when she goes somewhere, almost everyone gapes in awe, for she is so regal and walks as if she owns the world.

Jedda – Dark-haired Jedda is an alluring woman who is very wise. Although she is very, very old, even older than grandfather Masalla, she looks very young because her flesh is so smooth. She is a grandmother who knows many things, and crafts exquisite objects which she spreads throughout the family. Always friendly, she is also refined and very skilled at many things, so that she gains respect almost anywhere she goes. She always wears exotic oils and smells very good, and her appearance is impeccable, although she walks with a very natural air full of inner grace.

Japura – Dark and untouchable, Japura is a distant cousin who talks to no one and doesn’t want to be talked to. Although he has much knowledge, he practices old, scary magics and is prone to be very defensive, moody, and even violent. He just wants to keep to himself and do his own thing, and wants nothing to do with the rest of the family. This would all be fine except that everyone wishes they could know more about him, since he knows so many wondrous things and makes such stunning creations.

Maelmuire – With strange, pale skin and dark hair, Maelmuire is of unknown relation, although many think that he is half-brother to Masalla. He, too, wants to be left alone, but New World has come and settled on his lands, and ever since then Maelmuire has been everyone’s enemy, because Maelmuire keeps getting into fights with New World about who owns the land. Maelmuire is old and most don’t know much about him, except that he trains with weapons a lot and is very strong. The rest of the family fears him, because he talks to old gods and knows the secrets of ancient times.

Velsuna – Poor Velsuna! He lives way out on the edge of the family lands, so far away that it takes days and days to get a message to him. In fact, he lives so far away that no one really knows him that well, except that he’s alive and keeping healthy, even though he lives in very dangerous territory.

(Soon after Queen Lillian came to power, Velsuna was devastated by Sereg, and most of the population was either killed or enslaved. After Queen Lillian drove off the Sereg, she repopulated the isle. Before the Sereg attack, Velsuna was described thus -- )

Poor Velsuna! He lives way out on the edge of the family lands, and he desperately wants to be more civilized and refined. He has what he needs in his heart to do this, but where he lives is so out-of-the-way and dangerous that he has to spend most of his energy just trying to scrape out a living. Even though he first moved out there to get away from things, now he’s feeling pretty lonely.

Shavay – Dark-skinned Shavay is nearly a wild-man. Who he’s related to is anyone’s guess, but when people meet him, he is friendly, excited, and passionate. He is always vibrant, and loves song and dance and stories. Still, he’s very mysterious, and no one knows his true nature – he seems to have many sides to his personality – some of them rather dark and frightening -- but whenever he’s around people he shows only one side – the friendly, outgoing one.

Casara – Casara is the brazen young son of New World. He is very rich and wants to be just like Masalla. In fact, he often thinks that he is wealthier and more refined than Masalla! He walks around with his head so high that everyone thinks he’s pretty snobbish, except those whom he has won over with his stores of gems and gold. He’s a big nuisance to New World, too, because Casara won’t move out, and doesn’t want to contribute anything to keeping up the house. He doesn’t often associate with other members of the family unless it’s to trade gems for gold or to go to a special party. Otherwise, he thinks that the others are hardly worthy of his attention.

Inidor -- Ah, Inidor. Cold and lifeless, he is a statue along the road to the family’s lands. He is all of white marble, and everyone knows about him because he is so magnificent to behold, and the purity of his marble is unlike anything else in the world. But he doesn’t talk, he doesn’t smile, and no one knows who made him or where he came from. He’s just there to look at.

And that, my dear friends, is an Old World telling of the 'Odd Family' method of learning the provinces. Even for adults it can give an idea of what the different provinces are like. And the more I think about it, this model shouldn’t really just be for children, anyway. Why, last summer I sat out on the roadway and asked passersby if they could tell me how many provinces there were, and after that, name them. Of the sixty people I asked, only eighteen could name them all. How’s that for lack of education?

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