H M Sealey
Kingdom Rising
The
Series
The Locations
Some of the main locations are real, some are not so real.
Lonely Mountain features in most of the books. It is the mountain above the town of Llancoedmawr (Shlan-coid-mower) where Lonely Farm stands.
Within the book, Lonely Mountain was the home of Blodeuwedd, the druidess who cursed Darian Epton. Throughout his long life, he has always returned to this spot and sometimes considers it home.
The mountain has been contested between the "new" religion of Christianity, and the old, pagan ways. It was once a Celtic Hill Fort, although the evidence of this has almost disappeared.
It is also non-existent. However, it is inspired by the mountain that rises high over Penmaenmawr (The inspiration for Llancoedmawr) on the North Wales coast.
Druid's Circle is a real, Bronze age stone circle on the wild mountain high above Penmaenmawr.
Saint Olave's Church in Chester is a real, 11th century church on Lower Bridge street. Most of the descriptions of Chester in Deva Rising are accurate.
Larochette, the village in Luxembourg that appears in the later books, is real. La Maison Tranquille, thankfully, is not, although there is indeed a castle standing over the village. I assure you that this castle is not a sinister mental institution but rather a very pleasant tourist destination.
Foxes-End, the town in which Ish and Rick live with their children, does not exist, but would be somewhere on the Welsh boarder between Mold and Chester.
Hearton-On-The Mill, the centre of England, does not exist, although there are many small towns that make this claim. Hearton was inspired by Meriden.
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There is no manor house where I have placed Darian's residence "Lion Gates" in the books. Dunchurch, however, is indeed a pretty village just outside Rugby.