Where are the lanes?

originally posted by Christopher Helmke

Hello there. Newbie here who just finished reading Stormed Fortress. After reading through the series I was wondering just where all of Athera's lanes are located. Is there any chance the map of Athera might be updated to identify their positions? I though about doing a re-read and taking notes but it would be kind of time consuming.

Chris

originally posted by Tygrr

There is an interactive Athera map here, but I don't think it has the lanes marked.

originally posted by Hunter

Lanes one to seven go through the continent of Paravia, starting with the 1st lane which runs through Avenor in the west through to the seventh lane which runs through Athir in the east. The lanes are vertical (i.e. north south in general orientation) but not straight (not like lines of longitude). Then there are also ley lines which seem to run basically horizontal.

Paravian focus circles tended to sit on lanes so look for those as a general rule for where the lanes on Paravia are.

originally posted by Annette

Having tracked all the lanes through what hints we got in the books I have a so far unfounded suspicion about them. The Paravians who knew not only where they were going to build and need focus circles but also where man was going to build centuries later seem to have the lanes running through every large permanent settlement, even the towns that were not even built back then. Obviously some protected locations are more sensitive than others, but the location of the lanes does seem suspicious. Perhaps someone has plans for mankind taking a bigger role in the preservation of Athera's mysteries.

originally posted by Sleo

Wow, you guys are amazing. I'm going to have to haul out the map I bought from Janny and do some hunting around. That's an interesting thought, Annette.

originally posted by Annette

Well we had a fairly good description of the path of the seventh lane when the Koriani were hunting for Arithon in Ships of Merior. There was another for the third lane in Traitor's knot where Asandir was working with the star wards. The first lane we had 2 points for and we now another was meant to be kept clear so the path of the first lane would not be interrupted. The Koriani only seem to have lane watchers close to the lanes, all the marker stones have to be on a lane to work, as do the focus circles. Any second age ruin is almost certainly going to be on a lane. Some locations we were told were node points, or had been chosen because of lane access. Some events only affected one lane, so you can work out which lane some of the protected areas are attached to as well as some towns. The path of the second lane needs a fair bit of guesswork though. Janny left plenty of clues for those who want to try and track down where the lanes go. Just re-read all the books with the map in front of you for reference and take notes. I marked mine out on a scan of the map on my PC, kept me occupied for ages. :smiley:

originally posted by Sleo

Annette said: "I marked mine out on a scan of the map on my PC, kept me occupied for ages."

:smiley: I'll bet!

originally posted by Annette

I will throw in another suspicion for any potential lane trackers, we know of 7 current or former hostels of Ath's brotherhood. Most likely there was one for each lane, it would make sense for them to be situated on a lane.

Sethvir mentions 'Ath's hostel at Northstrait lies along the first lane.'

When Prince Kevor got himself torched in Westwood, the hostel at Northerly offered him sanctuary. We were told there were no hostels active in Daon Ramon to offer similar help for Prince Arithon, although the hostel near Eastwall was not that far away. The former hostel on the fifth lane which runs through Daon Ramon was the one near Forthmark, that the Koriani took over. The hostel near Eastwall is on the sixth lane. We know that because Morriel was wintering at the citadel there to cause her mischief with the sixth lane.

The hostel north of Shaddorn seems likely to be on the seventh lane since when the Koriani were searching for Arithon on the seventh lane the probe petered out at Merior. Seems the witches cannot spy inside the hostels of Ath's adepts. The lanes run north to south, there is only one way for it to go after Merior. Also Arithon's visit to the kings glade at Selkwood was felt in the hostel near Shaddorn.

There was a former hostel a days ride out of Erdane, which was most likely the one for the second lane. Another ruined hostel was down near Earle which is on the third lane. The only hostel left is the one at Spire, that Kharadmon can transfer there from the focus circle at Meth Isle seems to make it likely it is on a lane, the only lane there is not a hostel for is the fourth. So seems pretty safe to assume there was one hostel for each lane.

We have four months till Initiate's Trial comes out, if enough show interest in mapping the lanes maybe Janny would throw us a few hints to keep us on track.

originally posted by Sleo

I'm going to be rereading the series in preparation for the IT release. I can see you've poured over the text and taken extensive notes. I'll try to do that, but I know my tendency to get swept up in the story and forget all about notes, so we'll see. But I'm definitely interested.

I liked Annette's idea about the location of the hostels. It's unique and well-thought-out. Don't have a clue if it's true or not, but c'mon people, nobody has any thought here about this??? Seriously?

originally posted by Jeff

I had wondered about the hostels, but in terms of what would cause the adepts to abandon a hostel, particularly the one at Forthmark.

The number of hostels and their proximity to lanes completely escaped my notice.

Your attention to detail is impressive, Annette. Time for another scavenger hunt…

originally posted by Annette

The hostel near Earle was drained of its powers during the defence against the Mistwraith (Grand Conspiracy pg 499)

The former hostel near Erdane could have been affected by something happening in Erdane perhaps. The second lane probably goes through Erdane, and we already know that place is not what it used to be, could be something quite nasty in residence there.

Forthmark is a mystery, it was abandoned after the mistwraith had already covered everything. Perhaps something else also made that hostel vulnerable, or perhaps for some reason it was just abandoned for the Koriathain. I doubt the adepts would have been troubled by the damp from the underground springs, they did not go blocking all the outlets for the water and steam. Or maybe the rock and springs themselves are just trying to get rid of the Koriathain. Maybe Morriel had her heart set on the place and was not happy it was still occupied, did something to move the adepts out. I have my doubts Janny would answer that question for us till the last book, where most of the other mysteries will be explained. But anyone wants to come up with any theories I am all ears.

Way back in the first book Asandir's explanation was "What happens to any order of belief when its connection to the mysteries becomes sullied?"