Is Magnamund round ?

[Agarashi]

Hello looking at the map I was wondering if Magnamund is round and that if one sailed eastward from the Kuri Sea one would arrive at the Gulf of Lencia. Also is there a "Southern void" just as there is a Nothern void for Northern Magnamund.

[outspaced]

Hi, Agarashi. Welcome to the forum.

This is a quote from Lone Wolf Club Newsletter New Year's Special 1987:

To the east and west of the two great continents of Northern and Southern Magnamund are huge expanses of sea. In the northern hemisphere this sea is called "The Northern Void"; in the southern hemisphere it is called "The Southern Void". There are thousands of uncharted islands, which collectively are called the "Kayunis"--a Vassagonian word which means "the stones of the void". The Sommlending people were originally from an archipelago in The Northern Void.

So Magnamund is a planet and is round, it would seem, and The Southern Void does exist--both Voids are vast expanses of open water.

Hope it helps!

[Black Cat]

Who knows what evil lurks on these lonely islands!

[Sol]

Agarashi said:

Hello looking at the map I was wondering if Magnamund is round and that if one sailed eastward from the Kuri Sea one would arrive at the Gulf of Lencia. Also is there a "Southern void" just as there is a Nothern void for Northern Magnamund.

This is a great question! It is interesting to hear about the Northern and the Southern voids. Never heard of the Southern Void.

The question remains - is there another continent? I mean, Magnamund is pretty huge, but just because the inhabitants do not believe in another continent does not mean that it does not exist! You never know - Joe may have been saving this.

It is interesting that control of the sea is not as important in a world that has only one continent - a land route is just as good (if you can secure it). True, the water-routes are faster, BUT if we are talking about commerce between two continents, then ONLY a strong navy will do.

In our own history, early ships would usually just skirt around the coastlines rather than sail far out into the oceans. This was for safety and it suited the lesser technology of the time. In Lone Wolf, ships seem to behave in this way mostly (as in book 12, book 2 for example).

[Zipp]

You know Sol, you could easily include this expanse in your gamebook.

[Black Cat]

We know that there's three known continents in Magnamund (North, South and Kalte), but with the volcanic activity, there might be a new continent that just popped out of nowhere on the other side of the globe. Is there any Columbus or Vasco de Gama among people of Magnamund?

[BenKenobi]

Ehi people, there's another way to discover if Magnamund is round... there's someone that has a flying ship named Cloud-Dancer...

I think that leaving unknown vast areas of the planet is very good, for the author. You can always add new regions and realms, and set new kind of adventures there...
How would you write up to 28-32 books, if you have already explored the Northern Magnamund almost entirely ? ? ?

[Black Cat]

BenKenobi said:

How would you write up to 28-32 books, if you have already explored the Northern Magnamund almost entirely ? ? ?

Go to Southern Magnamund then! ;D

[Zipp]

Black said:

We know that there's three known continents in Magnamund (North, South and Kalte), but with the volcanic activity, there might be a new continent that just popped out of nowhere on the other side of the globe. Is there any Columbus or Vasco de Gama among people of Magnamund?

Sadly they all died helping Lone Wolf get halfway around the world.

[Gazguz]

Wonder how big the world is?

For example in that book "Mydnights hero" you sail from the Isle of Lorn to the other side of Southern Magnamund, yet if the map of Magnamund shows a full side of the planet then it should have been much faster to sail down over the pole. ie if you Imagine the north pole region basically what they were trying to do is sail from say Norway to Alaska whereas sailing up over the pole would have been much quicker than sailing along the coast.

[Peregrine]

Except for, y'know, the ice and stuff. I think it's likely that the continents do take up a fair chunk of one side of the planet, especially if the north-south and east-west proportions of the maps are similar.

[Gazguz]

Except for, y'know, the ice and stuff. I think it's likely that the continents do take up a fair chunk of one side of the planet, especially if the north-south and east-west proportions of the maps are similar.

Well I was just assuming magnamund was in a similar stat to earth way back when there was one major land mass (gondwanaland or something). In such a case here we have the major landmasses split into three parts... sort of an upside down earth with Kalte being the south pole and no landmass at the other pole (north pole on earth, south pole on magnamund). This would suggest that it might be possible that during the southern summer than it might be navigable.

Of course for all we know there might be 5,000miles further south to a large landmass that is a real southern pole... we don't actually know that we are seeing the full front of the planet... in fact the tropical weather in the southern part of south mangnamund suggest that it is no where near the south pole of the planet.

Elzian is jungle, which would be be consistant with an equatorial region, but then in the books where you return the lorestone there are jungles all the way down the coast of southern magnamund... how do we know the Isle of Lorn isn't very near the actual equator.

Here in New Zealand we have a South Island and a North Island but the North Island is not in the northern hemisphere.

[Peregrine]

Gazguz said:

Well I was just assuming magnamund was in a similar stat to earth way back when there was one major land mass (gondwanaland or something).

Pangaea. Gondwanaland and Laurasia were the two supercontinents it split into later (and incidentally, Africa was once over the South Pole).

So say the geologists anyway. In any case, the presence or absence of a polar landmass doesn't affect navigability much, not unless you've got a submarine. Earth's North Pole isn't very navigable at any time of year.

Of course for all we know there might be 5,000miles further south to a large landmass that is a real southern pole... we don't actually know that we are seeing the full front of the planet... in fact the tropical weather in the southern part of south mangnamund suggest that it is no where near the south pole of the planet.

Indeed we don't... I haven't read the relevant part of the New Order series, but I have been through the area as Grey Star...

Here in New Zealand we have a South Island and a North Island but the North Island is not in the northern hemisphere.

True enough, but (at the risk of provoking references to the LotR movies) there isn't much comparison between New Zealand and Magnamund. Northern and Southern Magnamund may be merely named in relation to each other, as are the North and South Islands, but what about the Northern and Southern void? If it's all a big void, northern and southern can only be defined relative to the hemispheres... right?

[Zipp]

As oddball as it may seem to us to have a planet with a single continent, it really isn't that strange. I do admit it limits in a way what you can do story wise, but at the same time, it's kept the focus entirely on Magnamund's center, where all the action is.

Of course, one is still curious as to what exactly is out there.

By the way, in which Lone Wolf do you fight the sea dragon?

[Black Cat]

Zipp said:

By the way, in which Lone Wolf do you fight the sea dragon?

The only thing similar to a sea dragon that I can remember is the Xargath in book 12.