Emelan is a fictional realm that provides the main setting of the Circle of Magic quartet by Tamora Pierce, primarily in the capital city of Summersea and the nearby temple of Winding Circle. Of the follow-up books, only Magic Steps of the quartet The Circle Opens and the opening sequence of the standalone book The Will of the Empress take place in Emelan.
The map of Emelan and the surrounding countries is noticeably based on the Mediterranean and Middle East regions, both in geographical features and in culture.
Emelan itself resides on the northern shore of the Pebbled Sea, the fictional equivalent of the Mediterranean sea. Its location parallels that of Greece on the world map, extending a peninsula surrounded by many island of various sizes into the sea. However, Emelan seems to extend over a larger and more diverse territory.
All countries between Namorn in the north and Tharios in the south were once a part of the Kurchal Empire, and the language common to these areas is...
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