EXCEPT FOR the first, all dates are Anno Domini. Each is the year in which its chapter begins. Occasionally the narrative thereafter moves forward or backward in time.
I Thule 310 B.C.
II The Peaches of Forever 19
III The Comrade 359
IV Death in Palmyra 641
V No Man Shuns His Doom 998
VI Encounter 1050
VII The Same Kind 1072
VIII Lady in Waiting 1221
IX Ghosts 1239
X In the Hills 1570
XI The Kitten and the Cardinal 1640
XII The Last Medicine 1710
XIII Follow the Drinking Gourd 1855
XIV Men of Peace 1872
XV Coming Together 1931
XVI Niche 1938
XVII Steel 1942
XVIII Judgment Day 1975
XIX Thule ?
CHINESE NAMES are transcribed according to the Wade-Giles system. This probably remains somewhat more familiar to Anglophone readers than Pinyin or Yale, and is no more inaccurate a rendition of ancient or regional pronunciations.
Armorica: Brittany.
Berytus: Beirut.
Bravellir: Probably near modern Norrkoping, Sweden.
Britannia: England and Wales.
Burdigala: Bordeaux.
Ch’ang-an: Near modern Sian (Pinyin “Xian”).
Constantinople: Istanbul.
Damasek: Damascus.
Dumnonia: Cornwall and Devon.
Duranius: The River Dordogne.
Emesa: Horns.
Falemia: An area in the region of Naples, anciently noted for its wines.
Gadeira: Cadiz (Lathi “Gades,” Semitic “Agadir”). Gallia: Gaul, France with parts of Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland.
Gardhariki: Western Russia. Garumna: The River Garonne. Gauiland: Southern Sweden, apparently between Scania and Lake Vanern. Seffeian-kyo: Kyoto.
Lejre, in Denmark. Aleppo. Kiev.
Lakota: Dakota (Sioux).
Lugdunensis: A province in Gaul, comprising most of north-em and a fair portion of central France. Lugdunum: Lyons. Makkah: Mecca.
Massatia: Marseilles (Latin “Massilia”). Medina! Rasul Allah: Medina. Nidharos: Trondheim, in Norway. Pariki: Pawnee. Peking: Beijing.
Poitou: Former French province, now divided into the departments of La Vend6e, Deux-Sevres, and Vienne. Pretania: Britain, including Scotland. Sor: Tyre.
Stalingrad: Volgograd.
Syria: A province of the Roman (later the East Roman or Byzantine) Empire, approximately the same as the modern country. Tadmor: Palmyra, in Syria. Tartessos: Southwestern Iberia (conjectural). Thute: Southern Norway (conjectural). Tripolis: Tripoli, in Lebanon, also known anciently as “Tar- abulus.” Wendiand: A region bordering on the southern Baltic shores.
Wichita mountains: In southwestern Oklahoma. Yathrib: Original name of Medina.