Llamedos

Llamedos
Established
Motto
Neighbours	Octarine Grass Country, Hergen
Geographical Features	mountains, waterfalls
Population	Human, & Dwarf
Size	if flattened out, about the same as the Sto Plains
Capital	Pant-y-Girdl
Type of government	Theocratic (Druid)
Notable Citizens	Imp Y Celyn, Evil Harry Dread, Rhys Rhysson, Dai Dickins, Lawrence "Leeky" Llwyddianus-Bonheddwr
Imports	monoliths, trilithons
Exports	rain, coal, silver, Evil Lords, sergeants, bards
National Anthem	Various. Raindrops Are Falling On My Bed has been mentioned.
Books	Soul Music, Raising Steam, The Compleat Discworld Atlas

Llamedos is a hilly and permanently rainy country on the main continent. It is the home of druidism and druidical music and lots and lots of cold, exceptionally wet rain (It even has rain mines). It is also home to some dwarf clans, who mine coal in its hills. Famous inhabitants include: Rhys Rhysson, who would become Low King of the dwarfs; Imp y Celyn, a.k.a. Buddy, lead singer and guitarist of The Band With Rocks In, during the Music With Rocks In fever in Ankh-Morpork (see Soul Music); and Sgt. Dai Dickins, a stalwart in the Glorious Revolution (see Night Watch). Evangelist and explorer Llamedos Jones, reputed to have discovered the Brown Islands, was also a native. The main town would appear to be Pant-y-Girdl.

The odd tendency of local placenames to spell strange things backwards in Morporkian does not arise from any jocular attitude on the part of the Llamedosians. They are known as a rather dour and humorless group. The Compleat Discworld Atlas hints that it even rains indoors and books have titles like How Damp Was My Mattress. Sheep do not need to be dipped so much as regularly wrung out, for instance.

The Prince of Llamedos is, historically, the courtesy title given to the eldest son and heir to the throne of Ankh-Morpork and may derive from a time when Llamedos was part of the Ankhian Empire. The current (undeclared) Prince is Carrot Ironfoundersson. It nominally at least provides one Army regiment: the 35th Llamedosian Foot. Their last stand at Lawke's Drain is a battle honour the nation remains quietly proud of.

According to Raising Steam, Llamedos, and Pant-y-Girdl, are on the coast of the Rim Ocean. However, the The Discworld Mapp places the country well inland: the only way Llamedos could have a coast and a seaport is if Hergen, otherwise in the way, is moved up or down the coast a bit. Or Hergen is a western province of Llamedos. The Compleat Discworld Atlas resolves this problem, blaming the somewhat ephemeral nature of Chimeria for any confusion. The river Llwk-Yu (see note on spelling) runs through the town, and the recently expanded port serves both river barges and shipping to and from the Circle Sea and Sto Plains ports. On the world map, Llamedos is seen to be a long relatively narrow country with a coastal strip, just hubwards of Chimeria, with Hergen to the rimwards-by-turnwise of both. Koom Valley and the beginnings of the settled countries leading down to Quirmand Ankh-Morpork are to the hubwards-by-widdershins.

Two other named towns in Llamedos are Cwtch and, confusingly, Cladh.

Annotation

Llamedos and its inhabitants closely resemble Wales and the Welsh, with a possible Gaelic (Scots-Irish) fringe.

The name Llamedos is a reference to Llareggub, the town in Under Milk Wood, the poem by Roundworld's Dylan Thomas. The trick is to read them backwards: