Stephen King's the Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance Revised and Updated (79 page)

WILLOW GROVE:
Roland and SUSAN DELGADO make love here. It is Susan’s favorite place, and eerily prefigures the WILLOW JUNGLE in which Roland later encounters the succubus, or ORACLE OF THE MOUNTAINS. IV:311, IV:315–19, IV:321–23, IV:343, IV:435, IV:436, IV:537

ONNIE’S FORD:
IV:306, IV:311

ORCHARDS NORTH OF HAMBRY:
IV:341

SANTA FE:
There is a sign for this city at BLAINE’s termination point in TOPEKA. However, there is also a Santa Fe in Mejis. For more information on the significance of Santa Fe to the series, see
ATCHISON, TOPEKA, AND SANTA FE RAILROAD
, in OUR WORLD PLACES. IV:68

WASTE LANDS:
There are wastelands beyond Hambry. But later on, when Roland and his new
ka-tet
reach the city of LUD, they find much nastier ones. IV:271

MIA’S CASTLE

See
CASTLE DISCORDIA
,
in
PORTALS

MID-FOREST (MID-FOREST BOG)

The wooded region which our
tet
travels through at the beginning of
Wolves of the Calla
is known as Mid-Forest. It marks the beginning of the BORDERLANDS. While following the PATH OF THE BEAM through this fairy-tale wood, Roland and his
ka-tet
are tracked by FATHER CALLAHAN and the other representatives from CALLA BRYN STURGIS. Our
tet
makes their first trip to NEW YORK, via TODASH, from their Mid-Forest campsite.

V:38–47
(traveling through; mentioned on 41, 45),
V:66–68
(Roland follows Susannah),
V:80–169
(setting),
V:197–206
(setting),
V:246
(woods),
V:406, V:604
(named),
V:681, VI:30, VII:594

BOG:
While Roland’s
ka-tet
travels through Mid-Forest, MIA, daughter of none, takes over SUSANNAH DEAN’s body so that she can feed her CHAP in the Mid-Forest bogs. Although she is actually eating frogs and binnie bugs, Susannah-Mio dreams that she is dining in CASTLE DISCORDIA’s BANQUETING HALL. V:82–86, V:88

**MID-WORLD

When the author STEPHEN KING refers to the whole of Roland’s version of Earth, he uses the term
Mid-World.
However, when he refers to specific regions
of Mid-World, he uses the terms IN-WORLD, OUT-WORLD,
Mid-World,
END-WORLD, and the BORDERLANDS. In the Mid-World version of Earth which our
tet
travels through in the Dark Tower series, both time and directions are in drift. Hence, ANDY (CALLA BRYN STURGIS’s Messenger Robot) often refers to it as Mid-World-that-was.

In
The Waste Lands,
Roland drew a metaphysical map of Mid-World, which was meant to encompass all the known lands of his reality. According to this map, Mid-World was shaped like a sequin impaled upon a central needle. The center of the needle—or the hub of the Earth-wheel—was the DARK TOWER, or the nexus of the time/space continuum. Radiating out from the Tower were the BEAMS, those invisible high-tension wires which simultaneously held all of the universes together and maintained the divisions between them. According to this map, End-World (home of the Dark Tower) sat at the center of everything, like a bull’s-eye, and In-World (the hub of human civilization when Roland was a boy) didn’t even appear on the map. Although the terms
End-World
and
In-World
are confusing when viewed in this manner, readers must remember that Roland’s map was meant to be figurative, not literal. It was a teaching tool used to explain universal forces, not actual geography. (For an explanation of why In-World was called In-World, see the IN-WORLD entry, listed separately.)

Although the term
Mid-World
is usually used in its most general form, the word originally applied to a specific kingdom—one which tried to preserve culture and knowledge in a time of darkness. Mid-World’s ancient boundaries stretched from a marker near the edge of the GREAT WEST WOODS to MID-FOREST, the wooded area which abuts the borderlands, to TOPEKA, the city where BLAINE the Insane Mono terminated his run. The city of LUD (which our
tet
traveled through in
The Waste Lands
) was Mid-World’s largest urban center. Since King often implies that Lud is a future version of our world’s NEW YORK, and since the BEAR-TURTLE BEAM runs through both New York and Lud, it seems likely that the ancient kingdom of Mid-World was (geographically at least) more closely linked to the northeastern part of the United States than to the Southwest, which it resembles.

In Roland’s youth, the great city of GILEAD tried to keep Mid-World’s traditions alive and in many ways thought of itself as Mid-World’s successor. Hence, Roland sometimes refers to his world as Mid-World, a term which includes both the IN-WORLD BARONIES, such as NEW CANAAN, and the farthest reaches of Out-World, including forgotten ruins such as ELURIA. In the 2003 version of
The Gunslinger,
we learn that Roland has been searching for the old Kingdom of Mid-World for a very long time. He has heard rumors that green lands still exist there, but he finds it hard to believe. Interestingly, the term
Mid-World
is reminiscent of both Middle Earth—Tolkien’s magical world—and Midgard, the realm inhabited by human beings in both Norse and Anglo-Saxon mythology.

III:153
(Mid-World Railway),
III:154, III:163–64, III:177, III:256, III:266, III:267, III:334, III:347, III:375, III:410, III:419, III:420, IV:66
(Mid-World ends near Topeka),
IV:71, IV:445, IV:447, E:147, E:165, E:198, V:4, V:13, V:18, V:25
(the Mids),
V:31, V:35, V:39, V:44
(term for Roland’s world),
V:48, V:49
(term for Roland’s world),
V:51
(term for Roland’s world),
V:56, V:58, V:61, V:71, V:89, V:100, V:108, V:111
(term for Roland’s world),
V:137, V:138
(Mid-World-that-was),
V:165, V:202, V:214, V:478, V:501, V:631, VI:7, VI:30,
VI:40, VI:67, VI:84, VI:122, VI:148, VI:247, VI:403, VI:404, VI:405, VI:407, VII:12, VII:37, VII:51, VII:84, VII:103, VII:141, VII:234, VII:260, VII:262, VII:300, VII:336, VII:382, VII:395, VII:398, VII:555, VII:580, VII:594, VII:598, VII:601, VII:607, VII:668, VII:669, VII:670, VII:715, VII:802, VII:810, VII:817, W:11, W:13, W:15, W:19, W:20, W:25, W:109, W:110, W:162, W:220, W:245

MID-WORLD LANES

See
MID-WORLD LANES,
in
PORTALS

MID-WORLD RAILWAY

See
MID-WORLD RAILWAY,
in
PORTALS

MILLBANK, THE

See
MEJIS, BARONY OF
: HAMBRY

**MOHAINE DESERT

In
The Gunslinger,
Roland crosses this desert in pursuit of WALTER. The Mohaine is described as “the apotheosis of all deserts, huge, standing to the sky for what might have been parsecs in all directions. White; blinding; waterless; without feature save for the faint, cloudless haze of the mountains which sketched themselves on the horizon and the devil grass which brought sweet dreams, nightmares, death.” It is a harsh and unforgiving place that steals youth and sucks moisture from the very soul. The town of TULL is located near the desert and BORDER DWELLERS live on the edges of this wasteland, but nothing can live within its desiccated heart.

In pursuit of the MAN IN BLACK, Roland crosses this desert on foot, making his way along the old COACH ROAD, which winds through PRICETOWN and Tull. He stops briefly at BROWN’s hut (the final human habitation), then travels across the hardpan until he reaches the WAY STATION, where he meets JAKE. The final leg of this journey (from Brown’s hut to the Way Station) almost kills him. Much of MID-WORLD has been reduced to desert, but the Mohaine seems to be, by far, the worst. In the 2003 version of
The Gunslinger,
we find out that the Mohaine is haunted by at least one TAHEEN—a hybrid creature with a raven’s head and a man’s body.

In
The Wind Through the Keyhole
we learn that, long ago, the WESTERN LINE ran trains from NEW CANAAN to the Mohaine Desert. However, in the years before Gilead fell, the train line ran to DEBARIA and no farther. When TIM ROSS rode on the magical DIBBIN, he felt like a prince of the Mohaine on an elephaunt.

I:11–22, I:30, I:31, I:42, I:44, I:45, I:52, I:65–81
(72–81 Way Station),
I:83–95
(83–92 Way Station),
I:119, I:124, I:127, I:134–35, I:209, II:40, III:43, III:101, VI:180
(indirect),
VI:283
(not directly named),
VI:288, VII:175, VII:515, VII:594, VII:827–30, W:40, W:256

NA’AR

See entry in
PORTALS

NEW CANAAN, BARONY OF

The Barony of New Canaan, ruled by the gunslinger descendants of ARTHUR ELD, shares its name with the biblical land of milk and honey. Before the fall of the AFFILIATION, New Canaan (and its barony seat of GILEAD) was the hub of IN-WORLD. Like the ancient kingdom of MID-WORLD (the kingdom for which Roland’s version of Earth is named), New Canaan tried to keep alive the ideals of hope, knowledge, and light. Roland remembers his home city of Gilead as a jewel set amid New Canaan’s green-gold fields and serene blue rivers. Unlike many of the OUT-WORLD baronies, New Canaan still had working electricity.

I:136, IV:108, IV:148, IV:153, IV:182, IV:190, IV:199, IV:266–67, IV:289
(apple orchards),
IV:350

FORESTS OF NEW CANAAN:

BABY FOREST:
The Baby Forest was located west of Gilead’s castle. In it took place one of the apprentice gunslingers’ tests of manhood, overseen by none other than the infamous CORT. Cort maintained that neither clocks nor sundials could be depended upon all of the time, so his students had to learn to keep a timepiece ticking inside of their minds. Summer evening after summer evening, the apprentices were sent out to spend an uncomfortable night in the forest until they could return to the yard behind the GREAT HALL at exactly the moment that Cort specified. As Roland testified to SUSANNAH, it took a great while to get that internal clock ticking, but once it did, it ran true. Roland lost this ability when the BEAMS began collapsing, but after the battle at the DEVAR-TOI, the skill returned. VII:587

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