Midkemia
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Midkemia is the fictional world on which most of the stories in Raymond E. Feist's series of fantasy novels are set, except for the three Empire novels set on Kelewan.
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Map_of_Triagia.jpg
Novindus.jpg
Geography
Midkemia consists of three continents: Triagia, Novindus and Wiñet.
Triagia
Trigia is the largest contintent on the planet. In the north lays The Kingdom of the Isles. Most people prefer to called it The Kingdom. In the south lays the Empire of Great Kesh. Between them lays the Bitter sea. In the east of Triagia lays The Eastern Kingdoms. Other political players on Triagia are The Kingdom of Queg, The Kingdom of Roldem and the free cities of Natal.
Novindus
Novindus is the second largest continent on Midkemia. It's situated to the west of the Endless Sea. The shape of the continent looks very much like India (interesting fact: Nova Indus = New India). The people of the Kingdom heard of the continent after a destroying attack on Crydee (described in The King's Buccaneer).
Novindus has a variety of landscapes: range of mountains like the Sothu mountains and the Sumanu mountains in the north, the hotlands desert and the wood of Irabek. Another strange and mystical place is the pavilion of the gods located in the Ratn'Gary Mountains. These range of mountains lay in the southern end of Novindus. This pavilion is the gateway to the realm of the dead. From all the people on Midkemia only Pug and Tomas safely returned from the pavilion of the gods. Novindus is inhabited by men, dwarves, elves, tiger men and the sinister Pantathians. The Pantathians are servants of the Valheru Alma-Lodaka. After the vanishing of the Valheru during the Chaos War, the Pantathians believed they could return their creator, Alma-Lodaka, through the use of the lifestone. This led to the Great Uprising and the events described in The Serpent War Saga. The tiger men were servants of the Valheru Draken-Korin. They live in the greath south forest.
Wiñet
The third continent on Midkemia. Sometime ages ago, part of the continent rose up some 600 feet creating an isolated plateau. The lower portion of the continent was settled by refugees from Triagia, during the purging of the Ishapian Temple of the Heretics of Al-maral. The upper portion (The Ethel-Duath) was populated by the Saaur after the events of the Serpentwar Saga.
Politics
The main characters in Feist's books are from the Kingdom of the Isles (generally referred to as "The Kingdom"), a constitutional monarchy occupying a central position on Midkemia's largest continent. Other major political players are the Empire of Great Kesh, located to the south of the Kingdom, the Keshian Confederacy, a group of provinces to the south of Kesh united in their opposition to Keshian occupation, and The Eastern Kingdoms, a collection of several small nations to the east of the Kingdom. The other major landmass is Novindus, located far to the west and south of the main continent across the Endless Sea.
Technology and Magic
During the period in which Feist's current books are set, Midkemia is on a technological path with 14th to 15th century Europe, with a few anachronisms. For example, shipbuilding seems to be as advanced as 17th-century Europe, with three-masted square-riggers in evidence, but no gunpowder, let alone cannon (though naphtha is known). Generally, the world seems to be in an exclusively pre-industrial revolution agrarian state.
===Rifts===#
These are instantaneous links between two places.
Races
Man
Elves
- Eldar; (the wise ones)
- Eledhel; the light ones
- Moredhel; the dark ones
- Glamredhel; the mad/wild ones
- Ocedhel; the "people from across the sea"
Dwarves
Dwarves are a long-lived race, living to be hundreds of years in age. The main Dwarves found in Feist's works are the dwarves of the West. Most often the Grey Tower dwarves led by Dolgan, of Tholin's line, at village Caldara. There is another dwarven kindom in the West; the Stone Mountain dwarves, led by Harthorn, of Hogar's line, at village Delmoria. In the east, the dwarves make their home at Dorgin, under the banner of King Halfdan. There is also mention of a dwarven city, Sarakan, across the sea on the continent of Novindus, found in the Ratn'gary Mountains.
Valheru
Known Valheru
- Ashen-Shugar, Ruler of the Eagles Reaches
- Draken-Korin, Lord of the Tigers
- Alma-Lodaka, Emerald Lady of Serpents
- Algon-Kokoon, Tyrant of Wind Valley
- Alrin-Stolda, Monarch of the Black Lake
- Hali-Marmora
- Lowris-Takara, King of Bats
- Kindo-Raber, Master of Serpents
Other creatures
Midkemia is a deeply magical place, and though the major race are certainly humans. Elves, trolls, dwarfs, giants, goblins(?), dragons, and other, more exotic forms of intelligent life can be found, representing most usual species in fantasy literature. Also, Feist has made his own unique additions, including the Pantathians, a race of serpent-men bent on returning their evil goddess to this plane of existence, and the Valheru, an ancient race of godlike warriors who plundered the universe for millions of years before being banished by the gods.
Gods
Greater Gods
- Ishap - the Matrix; God of Balance (order); He who is Above All
- Arch Indar - the Selfless; Goddess of good; She who is perfection
- Nalar (the Nameless one) - the Selfish; God of Evil; The Mad God
The Builders
- Abrem-Sev - Forger of Action; the Giver of Laws.
- Ev-Dem - Worker from Within; Calculator of Odds.
- Graff - Weaver of Wishes
- Helbinor - the Abstainer
Lesser Gods
- Silban - the earthmother, the Bringer of the Harvests; sleeper without dreams.
- Sung (LaTimsa) - the white; the Pure; the Follower of one Path.
- Ka-hooli - the howler after fugitives; the unraveller of mysteries of truth. God of revenge.
- Astalon - the Just; the Builder; who brought order.
- Banath (Kalkin) - the artful dodger; the Prankster; the Nightwalker. God of thiefs and sometimes Sailors
- Killian - the Singer of Green Silences; the Gatherer of Quiet Pleasures; the Goddess of Love; Goddess of Nature.
- Tith-Onanka - the War God; the Tactician (Planner of Battles); the joyful warrior.
- Dala - Sheild of the Weak; goddess of passive strength; the Protector
- Ruthia - the dancer through Mens hearts; the goddess of loved scarned; lady of luck.
- Guis-wa (Fimbulstran) - the bayer after moons; the red-jawed hunter; the wanter of all things.
- Prandur (Jehan-suz) the burner of cities; the light bringer; God of Fire.
- Lims- Kragma (Zandros)(Khali-shi) - the drawer of Nets, She who Waits; the mistress of death; judger of souls.
Lost Gods
- Sarig - God of Magic.
- Wodar-Hospur - God of knowledge; the Lorekeeper. (Banath/Kalkin is custodian in his place)
- Eortis - God of the Sea. (Killian reins in his place)
- Drusala - Goddess of Healing. (Dala reins in her sisters place)
'Dead' Gods
- Isanda - Goddess of dance
- Onanka-Tith - the dead half of Tith-Onanka
Inspiration
Though all fantasy works published after Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings are usually acknowledged as indebted to him to some extent, Feist has fairly directly borrowed elements amounting to entire cultures. The elves are described using Tolkien's own words, including borrowings from his Elvish languages (for example, moredhel, Feist's name for his "dark elves", comes from the Sindarin elements mor 'dark' and edhel 'elf'). The Elven city of Elvandar is heavily borrowed from Lothlórien, and the Mac Mordain Cadal is certainly influenced by Moria. Feist's Dwarves are also distinctly Tolkienesque. Feist himself admits the connection, explaining it as respectful imitation. Readers have noted that the influences are less pronounced in later books.
An interesting fact is that Midkemia is the world setting from Feist's role playing group, also known as the Friday Nighters (to which several of his novels are dedicated). Several of his books are based on campaign logs, and most of the main characters are in fact player characters. This influence lessens in his later works.de:Midkemia
External links
- Elvandar.com (http://www.elvandar.com/) The official online atlas to the worlds of Raymond E. Feist
- Crydee.com (http://www.crydee.com/) The semi official Raymond E. Feist website
- HallofWorlds.net (http://www.hallofworlds.net/) One of the best online resources for Feist information / Community Forum