Pathenia?

[iltharanos]

Can someone in the know tell me about Pathenia? I've scrounged through the Conan book but can't find any hard info. on the place, on who or what lives there, or it's relationship to the rest of the Hyborian world. Is it covered in the Road of Kings?

 

[mthomason]

It is, but only a single paragraph under the Hyrkania section (although theres another on the Loulan Plateau in the same section). It's part of Hyrkania and suspected to be the original home of the Hyrkanians. It's referred to as "forbidden Hyrkania" in the Loulan entry, and not much is known other than the inhabitants apparently workship Erlik.

There is a little more, but the book really is worth getting for the piles of information on everywhere else

 

[mthomason]

There's also a quote on Pathenia from L. Sprague de Camp's "The Flame Knife" so you might want to seek out a copy of that for more info

 

[iltharanos]

It is, but only a single paragraph under the Hyrkania section (although theres another on the Loulan Plateau in the same section). It's part of Hyrkania and suspected to be the original home of the Hyrkanians. It's referred to as "forbidden Hyrkania" in the Loulan entry, and not much is known other than the inhabitants apparently workship Erlik.

There is a little more, but the book really is worth getting for the piles of information on everywhere else

Sweet. I've always been a geography nut, and last time I was at my FLGS I did a quick glance through the book ... damn fine material. One thing was somewhat puzzling about that book. The giant mountain range between Khitai and Hyrkania seems pretty solid, at least as far as the map on the inside covers of the Conan book, showing no apparent gaps. The map of the same area in Road of Kings shows a huge gap around the area just north of the Great Wall. So what's the deal with the geographical inconsistencies between the two maps? Is the Road of Kings map the correct/more updated map? Or is it that there are mountains in that area, only they are less towering and thus less of an obstacle for travel and the gap merely reflects that?

 

[mthomason]

The giant mountain range between Khitai and Hyrkania seems pretty solid, at least as far as the map on the inside covers of the Conan book, showing no apparent gaps. The map of the same area in Road of Kings shows a huge gap around the area just north of the Great Wall. So what's the deal with the geographical inconsistencies between the two maps? Is the Road of Kings map the correct/more updated map? Or is it that there are mountains in that area, only they are less towering and thus less of an obstacle for travel and the gap merely reflects that?

It's really faint, but it's just possible to make out the mountains in the "gap" in Road of Kings, it's just that they're not as high or steep from the looks of it.

 

[Evilschemer]

The main reason for the cartographic inconsistency is because Howard never really detailed the map for that section of the world. All potential Conan map-maker has to go on is descriptions of surroundings in stories, many are pastiches and homages and continuations. Anyone who draws a map of the Conan world east of the Vilayet is generally making up whatever they want.

Here there be dragons!

 

[Mythos]

Can someone in the know tell me about Pathenia?

Found this bit of information on Dale Rippke's site. One of the best for obscure info on Conan.

Pathenia:---a "forbidden" country presumed to be in the bare, black mountainous uplands of northern Khitai, beyond the Loulan Plateau. It was the home of gigantopithecan snow-apes. Yahlgan, the Sacred City of Erlik is in Pathenia. (Flame Knife, Savage Sword #219, "Black Hound of Death", by Roy Thomas)

 

[iltharanos]

Thanks man. By Rippke's site, do you mean http://www.rehupa.com/index.htm?

 

[Mythos]

Sorry about that.

Link is; http://www.dodgenet.com/~moonblossom/hyborian.htm