I'm a Bit Directionally Confused...

For example:

October Year of God 907.III.HMS Thunderbolt, Lace Passage, Hankey Sound; Warrior Quay, Queen Zhakleen Harbor; and Royal Palace, City of Gorath, Kingdom of Dohlar

"Charis could easily have pressed far more ambitious territorial demands on Dohlar after its withdrawal from the Jihad, but Caleb and Sharleyan had settled for White Rock in the west, Claw Island in the east, and tiny Talisman Island in between."

(Emphasis mine)

But when I look at the master map of Safehold (the one that shows the entire planet as a Mercator projection), I see White Rock in the EAST and Claw Island in the WEST (based on the location of the Great SOUTHERN Ocean which is at the bottom of the map - leading me to conclude that North is "up" so East must be to the right and West to the left).

I've seen similar issues throughout the series (mainly) in the various descriptions of the Gulf of Dohlar...

Am I missing something?

WeberFan wrote:For example:

October Year of God 907.III.HMS Thunderbolt, Lace Passage, Hankey Sound; Warrior Quay, Queen Zhakleen Harbor; and Royal Palace, City of Gorath, Kingdom of Dohlar

"Charis could easily have pressed far more ambitious territorial demands on Dohlar after its withdrawal from the Jihad, but Caleb and Sharleyan had settled for White Rock in the west, Claw Island in the east, and tiny Talisman Island in between."

(Emphasis mine)

But when I look at the master map of Safehold (the one that shows the entire planet as a Mercator projection), I see White Rock in the EAST and Claw Island in the WEST (based on the location of the Great SOUTHERN Ocean which is at the bottom of the map - leading me to conclude that North is "up" so East must be to the right and West to the left).

I've seen similar issues throughout the series (mainly) in the various descriptions of the Gulf of Dohlar...

Am I missing something?

Yes, you missed the referent points. When looked at from the Imperial borders, Claw Island is closest to the eastern imperial border. White Rock is closest to the western imperial border. Talisman lies between them.

Charisians will see their nations as the center reference and describe the geography of Safehold on that basis.

You could also have the RW equivalent of the U.S.Navy Western Pacific deployment from the Western U.S. to the Far East.