Wednesday, 29 March 2023

Some Avalonian Place Names

Sometimes we are told a Planha word, e.g., "choth." At other times. a Planha word is translated for us, e.g., "deathpride," "Weathermother."

"To those who read, good flight.
"It is Hloch of the Stormgate Choth who writes, on the peak of Mount Anrovil in the Weathermother."
-Poul Anderson, INTRODUCTION WINGS OF VICTORY IN Anderson, The Van Rijn Method (Riverdale, NY, December 2009), pp. 75-77 AT p. 75.

That should be filmed with a scene of clouds blowing past a peak and Hloch's words as voiceover. 

Human Avalonians call the Weathermother range the Andromedas. Avalon is smaller than Earth so that its mountain-forming forces are weaker. In addition, rapid rotation causes violent weather which also makes for a lower surface. The highest Andromeda is only 4500 metres. 

On Earth:

Polynesia means "many islands";
Micronesia means "small islands";
Melanesia means "black islands";
Indonesia means "Indian islands."

On Avalon:

Oronesia means "mountainous islands."

The Oronesian archipelago, occupied by Highsky Choth and many very small choths, crosses the Tropic of Spears and ends near the Antractic Circle. In the northern hemisphere, it separates the Middle Ocean from the Hesperian Sea. Beyond the equator is the South Ocean. Oronesia has a distinct rich ecology and has been a refuge for eccentrics of both species. Colonists originally settled the Hesperian Islands before moving to the northern Coronan continent the size of Australia, stretching past the Tropic of Swords. In the southern hemisphere, Equatoria, New Africa and New Gaiila are large islands or small continents.

6 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul

I wondered just now how those many very small choths would be represented in a planetary khruath? It would seem excessively cumbersome for, say, 100 choths with only one or two families, to each claim a separate voice in the planetary khruath. Maybe a law was passed enacting the rule a minimum five choths had to choose delegates to speak for them?

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

Pragmatic decisions would be made. And any free adult can attend a Khruath anyway.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

IOW, hopelessly cumbersome! Like the increasingly impotent Sejm of pre-Partition Poland.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

Not cumbersome for Ythrians: less garrulous and repetitive. It works for them or it would not be done that way.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

It only works that way for Ythrians in the STORIES. We have no evidence of such a system working with other races in REAL life.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

Yes, it is only being claimed for Ythrians in this case.

Paul.