by Robin Furth
BLOSSWOOD FOREST (BLOSSIE FARM): While he and his ka-tet are trying to explain to the people of CALLA BRYN STURGIS why it is important to fight the WOLVES, even at the risk of losing everything, Roland tells the story of the Blosswood Forest, which he knew and loved as a boy. The thousand-acre Blosswood Forest tree farm was located in the eastern part of the Barony of New Canaan. The blossies were farmed and so stood in neat rows, which were overseen by the barony forester. Blosswood was strong, yet so light that a thin piece could practically float on the air. Hence, it was the best possible wood for making boats. The rule of the foresters was always the same—for every two trees harvested, three must be planted. That way, the barony was assured a good crop for all time.
However, during Roland’s youth, a terrible plague fell upon the Blosswood Forest. Spiders spun white webs in their crowns of the trees, killing the upper branches and rotting them. Most of the trees fell before the plague could reach their roots. Seeing what was happening, the foresters ordered that all the trees be cut down, to save what wood was still usable. Within a year, the Blossie Forest no longer existed. In Roland’s opinion, the Wolves are like the foresters. Since end-times are so close, the Wolves will take all the children when they next arrive, not just one of every pair of twins. See also NORTH’RD BARONY: ENDLESS FOREST. V:612–13
**FOREST O’ BARONY: The warped pines that grow here are used to make gallows trees.
GREAT WOODS: See NORTH’RD BARONY: ENDLESS FOREST
GILEAD: At the time fourteen-year-old Roland set out for HAMBRY, Gilead was MID-WORLD’s last great living city. Ancient and walled, it was the baronly seat of New Canaan, one of the INNER BARONIES of western Mid-World. Gilead was known as the green land, and its city was divided into two separate towns. The filthy maze-like streets of LOWER TOWN (frequented by CORT) contained brothels. From the high, pennon-fluttering battlements of the castle, you could view the vendors of the brick and wrought-iron Old Quarter. The color of Gilead’s royal court was dark blue. LLAMREI, who was both ARTHUR ELD’s horse and the sigul of all IN-WORLD, decorated the city’s pennons. I:94, I:96–111, I:149–52, I:158–74, III:152, III:207, III:242, III:349, III:375, III:410, III:411, III:414, III:415, III:416, III:417, III:418, III:419, IV:6–9, IV:15, IV:48, IV:49, IV:50, IV:93 (“green land”), IV:107–12 (brothels of lower town. Roland visits a whore), IV:119 (western barony), IV:164, IV:194, IV:201 (and outlying towns of Hemphill and Pennilton), IV:213, IV:219, IV:266, IV:289, IV:350, IV:357, IV:388, IV:389, IV:402, IV:405, IV:415, IV:436, IV:464, IV:474, IV:499, IV:536, IV:547, IV:564, IV:570, IV:584, IV:587 (Roland of Gilead), IV:603, IV:611, IV:621 (Roland sees its fall in Wizard’s glass), IV:624, IV:644, IV:651, IV:652, IV:653, E:159, E:170, E:171, E:172, E:195, E:198, E:202, V:30, V:49, V:50, V:85, V:94 (most inner of inner baronies), V:109, V:124, V:128, V:143, V:153, V:162, V:171, V:175, V:182, V:195, V:214, V:215, V:218, V:221, V:230, V:243, V:318, V:321, V:322, V:392, V:406, V:416, V:500, V:527, V:528, V:542, V:604, V:605 (low-town), V:612, V:641, V:654, V:679, VI:16, VI:17, VI:63, VI:106, VI:129, VI:149, VI:183, VI:197, VI:234, VI:271, VI:275, VI:277, VI:279, VI:299, VI:319, VI:328, VI:370, VI:395, VI:396, VII:24, VII:35, VII:43, VII:50, VII:111, VII:122, VII:134, VII:135, VII:159, VII:166, VII:168, VII:172, VII:174, VII:176, VII:178, VII:179, VII:199, VII:219, VII:266, VII:270, VII:317, VII:322, VII:323, VII:333, VII:349, VII:381, VII:382, VII:384, VII:393, VII:411, VII:415, VII:439, VII:443, VII:487, VII:492, VII:494 (Great Letters), VII:496, VII:499, VII:516 (dark blue is the royal color), VII:549 (Llamrei on pennons), VII:552, VII:601, VII:607, VII:651, VII:657, VII:711, VII:727, VII:749, VII:759, VII:801, VII:802, VII:821, VII:824, VII:828, W:4, W:8, W:30, W:40, W:41, W:49, W:55, W:57, W:66, W:69, W:73, W:74, W:76, W:99, W:103, W:120, W:131, W:169, W:170, W:179, W:197, W:202, W:268, W:269, W:271, W:294, W:299, W:300, W:301, W:306
BRIDGE WEST OF THE PALACE: The small, steam-driven train known as SMA’ TOOT puffed across this bridge on its way to DEBARIA. W:40
CENTRAL PLACE AND GILEAD PALACE: This ancient part of Gilead consisted of one hundred stone castles. Gilead’s central palace must have sat among them. By the time Roland was a young man, Gilead’s central palace was not a happy place. Its shadowy rooms were full of whispers of intrigue, and the whole of it was heavy with a pervasive sense that darkness and anarchy were coming and nothing could stop them. The world would move on, but Gilead would not move on with it. I:71–72, I:137, I:158, III:37, IV:111, IV:161, IV:164, IV:436, IV:439, IV:619, IV:621, IV:652, W:35, W:39 (Roland wants to escape it), V:171, W:40
BACK COURTS AND FIELDS: Women played Points in the main castle’s Back Courts. These courts seemed to be adjacent to the fields where CORT trained young gunslingers in archery and falconry. I:96–100, I:137
BARRACKS: This was where young gunslinger apprentices lived, away from their parents. The apprentices’ nickel guns (given once they passed their coming-of-age battle against CORT) were stored in the vaults below. I:171
CORT’S COTTAGE: After GABRIELLE DESCHAIN’s death, Roland spent much time in Cort’s cottage, tending to his old teacher. STEVEN DESCHAIN thought that this was Roland’s self-imposed penance for committing matricide. I:162–64, I:170, I:172, W:35–36
EXERCISE YARD: I:161
GABRIELLE’S APARTMENTS: I:159–61, IV:654–58
GATHERING FIELDS: E:160
**GREAT HALL (CENTRAL HALL, HALL OF THE GRANDFATHERS, WEST’RD HALL): The Spring Ball, also known as **the Sowing Night Cotillion, was held in Gilead’s Great Hall. It was a grand place with great balconies and a central dancing area illuminated by electric flambeaux. Roland saw his mother dance with the traitorous MARTEN BROADCLOAK here. In the 2003 version of The Gunslinger, Roland calls it the West’rd Hall. I:137, I:150–52, I:156, I:164, I:166, III:276, III:417–18, IV:7–8, IV:150 (electric lights), IV:178, IV:193–94, IV:405, IV:436, IV:547, E:160, V:50, VII:587
YARD BEHIND THE GREAT HALL: Here, CORT awaited those apprentice gunslingers who had spent the night in the BABY FOREST. VII:587
GREAT HOUSE KITCHENS (WEST KITCHENS): This was HAX’s domain. I:100–103, I:109, I:137, E:187
LOWER TOWN: the filthy, maze-like streets of this quarter of the city were filled with brothels and taverns. IV:107–12
MAIN RECEIVING HALL: I:103–6
NORTH FIELD: Apprentice gunslingers practiced bow-shooting in North Field. V:248
ROLAND’S NURSERY (ROOM OF MANY COLORS): As a young child, Roland slept in a circular bedroom at the top of a tall stone tower. The windows of this nursery were made of stained glass colored to represent the BENDS O’ THE RAINBOW. Whenever Roland heard the word chassit, he had a vivid memory of this room, and of his mother singing the Baby-Bunting Rhyme to him. (For the words to the Baby-Bunting Rhyme, See APPENDIX III.) In The Wind Through the Keyhole, we learn that GABRIELLE DESCHAIN also read him The Magic Tales of Eld here. Roland associates this room with his mother. I:71–72, VII:22, VII:23, VII:329, W:68, W:267, W:305
ROYAL COURT GARDENS: II:300
SQUARE YARD: Apprentice gunslingers proved themselves here. The square yard sat just east of the Great Hall, and was the site of Fair-Day Riddling. I:164, I:166–74, IV:436 (east of Great Hall), IV:436–39
STEVEN DESCHAIN’S STUDY: Steven Deschain’s study was located in the north wing of the palace. It was a small, cold room with slit windows and high shelves of books that were worth a fortune, though the elder Deschain never read them. Steven rarely called for his fire to be lit, even on the coldest days. W:35–40
WEST-TOWN: This was the merchant area in the western part of Gilead. I:159
GILEAD ROAD: This road ran from the GREAT WOODS, north of New Canaan, to GILEAD. Once, after a STARKBLAST had hit the Great Woods, Roland saw a cart full of frozen bodies being drawn down this road. W:17
LANDS WEST OF GILEAD: West of Gilead, along the rails of the old WESTERN LINE, Gilead’s green and forested land gave way to dirty scrub, a few struggling ranches, and herders’ huts. There were a few towns in this area, but many of the inhabitants were MUTANTS, and even more supporte
d the GOOD MAN, JOHN FARSON. GABRIELLE DESCHAIN’s family came from ARTEN, which was located between Gilead and DEBARIA. W:41
LAKE SORONI: This lake was located in the northern part of the Barony. When Roland was still a small child, his parents brought him here. IV:595
NONES
See NONES, listed in PORTALS
NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS (FACTORY)
See NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS, in CHARACTERS
NORTH’RD BARONY
Both the ENDLESS FOREST and the village of TREE were located north of NEW CANAAN in North’rd Barony.
GENERAL REFERENCES: W:111, W:170
BARONY ESTATES: Once the WIDOW SMACK had been a great lady in the Barony Estates. W:112
ENDLESS FOREST (GREAT WOODS): The Endless Forest (also known as the Great Woods) was an unexplored wilderness located north of NEW CANAAN, in North’rd Barony. Once or twice a year, this woodland was struck by STARKBLASTS. Although the storms never reached GILEAD, the effect they had on the country folk was devastating. Once Roland saw some carts loaded with frozen bodies drawn down GILEAD ROAD. The people hadn’t had any BILLY-BUMBLERS to warn them that the storm was coming.
The village of TREE, setting for the folktale “The Wind Through the Keyhole,” sat on the edge of the Endless Forest. Most of the men in Tree Village were woodcutters, and earned their daily bread by cutting the BLOSSWOOD that grew at the edges of the forest as well as the more valuable IRONWOOD trees that grew deeper in. No one living today has ever seen the likes of the Endless Forest. From above, the forest looked like a giant green dress so dark it was almost black. This dark green was the foliage of the ironwood trees. Along the bottom of the dress was a hem of lighter green. This paler shade was the foliage of the blossies. Just below the blossies, at the farthest edge of North’rd Barony, was the village of TREE.
Like all wild places, the Endless Forest was dark and full of dangers, and not even the woodsmen of Tree Village, who knew it better than anyone in MID-WORLD, could say what lived or grew beyond where the IRONWOOD TRAIL ended. But according to gossip, the depths of the forest were littered with the dangerous leavings of the OLD PEOPLE. That shadowy realm was also the home of strange animals and plants, stinking weirdmarshes, throckets of wild bumblers, and even bonfires of DRAGONS.
According to the COVENANT MAN, the ironwoods of the Endless Forest could think, and that was why woodsmen always cried the trees’ pardon before beginning work. The old folken of Tree believed that when the winds came out of the north, the sweet-sour smell of the ironwoods brought visions. For NELL ROSS, who had lost her beloved husband JACK ROSS to the Endless Forest, this scent was both bitter and sweet, like blood and strawberries.
The woodsmen of Tree both loved and feared the ironwood forest, which was wise. The forest fed and clothed the men’s families, but like a living being it also needed to eat, and its food was often the woodsmen themselves. Despite the risks, cutting ironwood was a lucrative job. Both seaworthy and rot resistant (ironwood coffins would last a thousand years), this unusual wood fetched such a high price that it was paid for in silver rather than scrip. Still, many woodsmen contented themselves with harvesting the blossies that grew at the forest edge rather than attempting to cut the more valuable commodity. Only very brave and strong men—like Big Ross and his partner BIG KELLS—dared to go deeper to where the good ironwood grew. And not even Ross or his treacherous partner dared to travel to the edge of the FAGONARD where the ironwoods grew bigger than houses.
Perhaps it was the dangerousness of the ironwood forest that inspired the people of Tree to link it to the afterlife. In DUSTIN STOKES’s burial parlor, there was a little room with forest scenes painted on the walls. In the center was an ironwood bier, an open space that represented the clearing at the end of life’s path. See also IRONWOOD, listed in CHARACTERS section. W:17, W:67, W:73, W:106, W:109, W:110–11, W:115, W:117, W:118, W:119, W:120, W:122, W:123, W:127, W:146–64, W:170, W:174, W:184, W:185, W:186, W:187, W:191–257
BLOSSIE GROVES: Most of Tree’s woodsmen went no deeper into the forest than the pale green fringes where the blossie groves grew. But even there, dangers could arise. Snakes, such as POOKYS, were the worst. But there were also dog-sized poisonous rodents called wervels, and verts, also known as bullet-birds. Many men had been lost in the blossies over the years, but on the whole, cutting blossie was worth the risk. It was a lovely fine-grained wood, golden in color and almost light enough to float on air. It made fine lake and rivercraft but was not good for sea travel. Even a moderate gale would tear apart a boat made of blossie. See also NEW CANAAN, BARONY OF FORESTS OF NEW CANAAN: BLOSSWOOD FOREST. W:109 W:110, W:119, W:149, W:172
CHASM OF WHITE FLOWERS: TIM ROSS discovered this chasm while traveling with his NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS companion, DARIA, through the ENDLESS FOREST. This narrow chasm fell away for a thousand feet or more. He could not see the bottom, because it was filled with a drift of sweet-smelling white flowers so thick that Tim at first mistook them for a cloud that had fallen to earth. Spanning the gorge was a narrow rock bridge. On the opposite side of the gorge the bridge passed through a waterfall. Although Tim did not wish to cross the bridge late at night (he wanted to wait until morning), Daria urged speed. It was a good thing she did, since the beautiful white flowers hid a TENTACLED MONSTER. Beyond the waterfall was a little rock cave. Written on one wall, in paint that might once have been red, was this cryptic notation:
JOHN 3:16
FEER HELL HOPE FOR HEVEN
MAN JESUS
Beyond that was a short stone staircase, to one side of which was a litter of tin cans and bits of broken machinery. On the other side of the staircase was a grinning skeleton. W:228–32
CLEARING AMID THE IRONWOODS: TIM ROSS saw a throcket of BILLY-BUMBLERS dancing in this clearing. The sight was beautiful, but it was also a sure sign that a STARKBLAST was on its way. W:224–27
COSINGTON-MARCHLY STAKE: BIG BERN KELLS hid the body of BIG JACK ROSS in a sluggish stream on the Cosington-Marchly Stake. He knew that particular stub would be deserted for a goodish while, since a POOKY had taken up housekeeping there. W:148–64, W:168, W:172, W:189, W:257
COVENANT MAN’S CAMP: The Covenant Man set up his camp on the COSINGTON-MARCHLY STAKE, very near the sluggish stream where BIG ROSS’s body floated just under the water. He wanted to show the corpse to TIM ROSS. W:148–64
FAGONARD: Beyond the IRONWOOD TRAIL, which led through the ENDLESS FOREST, lay the great swamp known as the FAGONARD. Unlike the Endless Forest, which was filled with the grave, sweet-sour smell of the ironwoods, the Fagonard had the less pleasant stench of stagnant water and rotting vegetation. As Tim realized when he was lured there by the wicked little SIGHE named ARMANEETA, this swampy world was more liquid that solid.
The Fagonard was the hunting ground for the CANNIBAL REPTILES that attacked TIM ROSS during his travels through the swamp, but it was also home to the MUDMEN who saved Tim’s life and who gave him the NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS portable guidance module, DARIA. In addition, it was the dwelling place of the DRAGON that the MUTANT Mudmen appease with their offering of a boar’s head. W:110 (weirdmarshes), W:149, W:160, W:182, W:191–216, W:218, W:220, W:226, W:227, W:238, W:245, W:250, W:256–57
FIELD OF GIANT YELLOW MUSHROOMS: TIM ROSS discovered this grove of four-foot-high bright yellow mushrooms while traveling through the ENDLESS FOREST in search of the magician MAERLYN. At first Tim thought that they might be good to eat, but his companion, DARIA, warned him that if the mushroom dust so much as brushed his skin, he would die of seizures. W:228
GREAT CANYON: The Great Canyon sat at the end of the NORTH FOREST KINNOCK DOGAN’s clearing, deep in the ENDLESS FOREST. It was at least a hundred wheels across. W:233–55 (present during this time, occasionally mentioned)
IRONWOOD FOREST: According to TIM ROSS, the ironwoods at the heart of the Endless Forest were as tall, straight, and solemn as Manni elders at a funeral. Although they were completely smooth for the first forty feet, above that th
eir branches leaped skyward like upraised arms, tangling the narrow IRONWOOD TRAIL with a cobweb of shadows. Anyone foolish enough to wander off the trail or go beyond it quickly became lost in a maze. Only the strongest and bravest men went beyond the forest’s fringe of blosswood groves to cut ironwood in the deep forest, but the rewards for doing so were great. Ironwood brought a high price from HODIAK, the Barony buyer who came twice a year to the TREE SAWMILL. It was ironwood that gave the Endless Forest its green-black hue. W:109, W:111, W:119, W:146–64, W:172, W:189–257, W:257
IRONWOOD TRAIL: The Ironwood Trail was the narrow track that led from Tree Road (also called Main Road) into the Endless Forest. At the very end of the trail, before the FAGONARD began, was the ROSS-KELLS STAKE. W:110, W:114, W:115, W:117, W:122, W:127, W:129, W:133, W:136–37, W:139, W:146–64, W:168, W:172 W:173, W:175, W:182, W:188, W:189–90, W:206, W:245
MAERLYN’S HOUSE: According to some folken in MID-WORLD, the sorcerer MAERLYN and the evil COVENANT MAN of GILEAD were one and the same person. According to these gossips, the once-good wizard had been turned evil by some of the artifacts of the OLD PEOPLE that he found in the ENDLESS FOREST. These artifacts blackened him to the bottom of his soul. Such folk said that Maerlyn kept a magic house in the forest forever after, and that time stood still there. While staring into the Covenanter’s magic silver pail, Tim saw a vision of Maerlyn’s house. It was a tall building with many gables and many chimneys. However, we can’t be certain whether Maerlyn’s house actually ever existed. When Tim met the wizard, the sorcerer was trapped in the shape of a TYGER and was living in a cage near the NORTH FOREST KINNOCK DOGAN. Later, the wizard hinted that he lived in a cave with nothing but a single table and a pallet. The only thing we can be certain of is that Maerlyn and the Covenanter were not the same person. In fact, they were enemies. W:170, W:183, W:207