Mark Millman,
No need to apologize--valid remains your main point about the parallel between old buddies who grew up together then had wildly different adult lives, one became an avatar and one became a boat bum, and yet both been done wrong by their women . . . well, just goes to show how gender segregation cripples 'em, and how their own stereotypes ("as torturers are to clients . . . as women are to men") generate their destinies. And why the old guys are always weeping into their matte down at the cafes on the river.
Distinction between Maxellindis and Syntyche is sorta trivial in this particular application.
Back to the city itself: "Old" Citadel implies a newer one (I'd call it the Citadel of the Archon). Notice the starting point for "The Map"--they are over on the west bank! Wha-hoo! Land of the lion pit and the statue of Night atop the khan! Or maybe just a bit south of that. There's a wharf, and near the wharf is an inn called Cygnet, and a few blocks inland from there is a goldsmith at the sign of the Osela. Well then, what to call this quarter? "Birdland"? "Maestus Quarter; the melancholy place where dreams die, just this side of the grave"? "Treasure Of Sierra Madre"? <g>
=mantis=