Murandy

Murandy
Sigil	A red bull; The Red Bull
Banner	The Red Bull on a field vertically striped, three blue and two white. It is fringed in red when flown where the sovereign is present.
Capital	Lugard
Ruler	Roedran Almaric do Arreloa a'Naloy
Throne
Crown
Palace

Author: Toral Delvar

Unless stated otherwise, all information herein is taken from The World of Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time", Chapter 30.

General

Murandy's border with Andor has always been fluid, with many wars and skirmishes, but after the Salidar Aes Sedai spent a month there, the new border became effectively fixed (TPoD, Ch. 18). To the east lies the unclaimed land of the hills of Kintara. As with Altara, it is in many ways a land in name only, with many inhabitants seeing themselves as primarily subjects of a particular lord or lady rather than a subject of a monarch. The nobles themselves seldom pay taxes or more than lip service to the king. It is perhaps only the fact that it is surrounded by strong neighbors that keeps it together as a nation, since fear of annexation is strong. Despite this, they can act together if the need is there; for example, and when a false Dragon arose in Murandy, they dealt with him surprisingly quickly (TGH, Ch. 4). The Eastern border closely follows the River Storn and the western border closely follows the River Manetherendrelle.

Following Rand's battle in Falme and his taking of the Stone, Murandy, as with many of the other countries, suffered from Dragonsworn. This was exacerbated by Pedron Niall and a plan he set in motion to have Dragonsworn plague the country (LoC, Prologue; ACoS, Ch. 12).

Geography

Relation to Previous National Borders

Before Artur Hawkwing, the area that is now Murandy was split between the nations of Nerevan and Aldeshar. During the time of the Compact of the Ten Nations, the land that is now part of Murandy was claimed by the nations of Coremanda and Eharon (TWoRJTWoT, Ch. 10; TWoRJTWoT, Ch. 15).

Borders

Murandy is a landlocked nation bordering on Altara, Illian, and Andor. Much of the western border follows the course of the Manetherendrelle, and the eastern border the Hills of Kintara.

Geographical Features

Bodies of water

• The River Armahn
• The River Cary
• The River Reisendrelle
• The River Storn

Hills and Mountains

Government

The Throne

Though in theory ruled by King Roedran, in practice Murandy has long been a patchwork of all but independent lands, held together more by the fear of Illian and Andor swallowing them up than by any loyalty to the country itself. The throne has changed hands numerous times, often at short intervals (TFoH, Ch. 11). When Egwene took the rebel Aes Sedai to the Tower, they marched through Murandy and were opposed at the border by a mixture of Andoran and Murandian nobles. After the Aes Sedai decision to stay a month, the Murandians started to look to the Andorans for leadership (TPoD, Ch. 18).

There have been attempts to unify the country, most recently in 996NE, when the Aes Sedai identified a lord Dulain as a man who might be able to achieve this and instructed Gareth Bryne not to interfere with his border raids. Unfortunately, he was killed by a farmer in such a raid (TFoH, Ch. 28). Since that time, Roedran has made an effort to extend his control by using the Band of the Red Hand as a threat that the nobles must unite against, with the intention that by the time the threat is over, they will be so tightly bound to him that they cannot get free (TPoD, Ch. 18). This seems to work as he does gather them behind him (WH, Ch. 8) and is satisfied enough when the deal ends that not only does he give enough money to pay the Band for well over a year, he also gives Talmanes a copy of Fog and Steel, by Madoc Comadrin (KoD, Ch. 25).

Nobility

Noble Houses

• do Catalan a'Coralle
• do Ahlan a'Conlin
• Almaric do Arreloa a'Naloy
• do Fearna a'Conn
• do Avriny a'Roihan
• do Morny a'Lordeine
• do Mehon a'Macansa
• do Avharin a'Roos
• Murow

Military

When Meri do Ahlan a'Conlin's husband went to the Aiel War, she considered it natural that she join him. Many Murandian soldiers married foreign-born women during the Aiel War (NS, Ch. 5).

Cities, Towns, and Villages

Cities, towns, and villages in Murandy

• Inishlinn
• Lugard
• Mindea

People and Customs

People from Murandy are often described as having a lilting accent (NS, Ch. 5; CoT, Ch. 10). The accents can fool people into thinking they are peaceable people (NS, Ch. 5), but they are considered quarrelsome and prickly, fighting duels over points of honor no one else can see (NS, Ch. 4). A saying about Murandians is that two people who argue or fight "fought each other as hard as two Murandians with one blanket" (Falion; ACoS, Ch. 17).

Mindeans boast of having the worst tempers in Murandy (LoC, Ch. 5).

Appearance, Clothing, and Dress

Men commonly have curled moustaches, waxed to a point (ACoS, Ch. 27). They may also have small beards on the tip of their chin (LoC, Ch. 52). Along the border with Andor, Murandians are indistinguishable from Andorans except by dress.

Murandian coats have a distinctive cut and are long, reaching to the knees and made of bright silk, red and yellow being common colors (LoC, Ch. 5; ACoS, Ch. 34).

Village women wear dresses with long colorful aprons that Mat thinks must only be for show (ACoS, Ch. 14).

Expressions

"Trust no one but yourself, and yourself not too much" - Lugarder saying

Characters from Murandy

Main article: Murandian Character List

Quotes

"Even less of a country than Murandy is." (Huan Mallia about Mayene; (The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 32)

"Ask and they do not even call themselves Murandians, but Lugarders or Inishlinni or this or that lord's or lady's man." (Anaiya; The Great Hunt, Chapter 4)