Piteous Gate - one last rehash

Roy C. Lackey · 24 May 2006, 18:15 · from 2006-May.txt.gz

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From: rclackey at stic.net (Roy C. Lackey)
Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 13:15:55 -0500
Subject: (urth) Piteous Gate - one last rehash
Message-ID: <000a01c67f5e$1c902560$de3ec6d8 at rclackey.stic.net>

mourning s glory wrote:
>But now for my own belated attempt at solving the mystery -- one semi-based
>on an already extant theory.
>
>Would a sighting of an undine in the river Gyoll be enough to sally the
>Autarch's troops, both within the wall and without?

The main problem with this theory (as with the Borski version you allude to)
is one of logistics. I know of no river conduit anywhere near the Piteous
Gate. It required an afternoon's walk from the Botanic Gardens to reach the
Inn of Lost Loves, which was near the Sanguinary Field. The Field itself was
still "leagues" away from the Wall. The military compound where Severian was
taken after the duel is on one side of the Field. After leaving the
barracks, Severian and Dorcas had to walk for some time before they found
Talos and his troupe. The next morning they had to walk some unspecified
amount of time before they caught sight of the road and the gate, which was
still "half a league" away. Best I can tell, the Gate was many miles away
from Gyoll.

-Roy

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