Forlan Found!

I had been decrying the fact that we did not have the 'master map' of Forlan available to us, the map we had used to guide our adventures when Goldfire was being written. I particularly wanted it to perhaps form grist and guidance for the scripts I am writing for The Wizard, the Prince, the Warrior, and His Son (must come up with a less unweildy title for the project). We could not even find the binder it was kept in. Well, I was going over Finder's Keep last night (a private family blog started in 2008) when to my wonder I ran across a scan that John had made of it back in the day, a scan that I had forgot even existed! I ran it through ChatGPT, and here is the result. It is certainly no masterpiece of mythopoetic invention when it comes to the names of cities and such, but gee I'm glad to have it! Here it is in the original condition:

I have yet to compare names on the map and see what (if anything) the AI had trouble reading, but I had to post it with trembling hands posthaste, lest it be lost again!

Icelandic "Thror's Map"

 

Maps, Charts, and Excuses

 

Puck's Peaks

While the influences that impacted me during A. J. Briesemeister Middle School are on my mind, I must say a word about the National Geographic Map of Shakespeare’s Britain. It first came to my attention when a boy named Dennie Beicker brought it to school for some reason and was showing it around. I was immediately drawn to it, perhaps from my growing fascination with ‘Olde’ England, perhaps from its resemblance to the detailed map of Wilderland in The Hobbit. I began negotiating with Dennie for possession of the map, and eventually he was persuaded to part with it for the sum of $3 (which for me was quite a bit of money at the time). Later on I also bought a couple of Conan comic books from him.

I pored over the map (and poured myself into it) intensely. I sought out evocative names and learned how to draw the little hillocks and buildings that represented mountains and towns. I made dozens of fantasy maps of my own. At one point I pinned the map to our bedroom door, and when much use caused its folds to start to part, repaired it rather clumsily with electrical tape. Later I was able to get a couple more copies, one from the stack of National Geographics that Nanny kept in her water heater closet, and one bought from Yesterday’s Warehouse. But I still have that old original safely tucked away.

Here is a scan of a map I made way back then, under the influence of Shakespeare’s Britain. It is full of the names of family members, friends, and even interests of the time, including a town called Snoopy (obviously!) and one called St. Vinci (for my interest in Leonardo Da Vinci, brought on by a three-part special on PBS).