[Child of the 7th Age]

Miz Bella responded with a mirthful shake of her head, "Ginger, you’re asking for more than you know. If I start on this, I’ll never stop, since there’s so much to tell. But let me try. We can’t have you daydreaming all day instead of doing your work. The problem is I can’t show you a proper map. Most maps leave out the New Lands, although Bilbo did mention them in his book of ancient lore. But I may have one thing that will help.”

Miz Bella scurried over to her stack of books and pulled out a bulky volume, old and well thumbed, that was overflowing with maps and charts. She skimmed through the pages until she reached the last chart in the book. “Here, take a look.” Miz Bella pointed to a plate that showed the northwest of Arda, a wide stretch of land from Gondor over to Arnor and continuing on to Forelindon. Beyond this there was only an endless expanse of sea with the words “The Great Rift” labeled across the page to show where Arda had been bent and broken. In the upper quadrant of the map on the far left of the page, there were lines and shapes outlined by a different hand. These were marked the 'New Lands'.

“My father drew this,” Miz Bella explained. “The original map shows you what the world looked like after the drowning of Numenor. At least people thought it looked like this. But there were lands further west they knew nothing about. My father and a few others sailed to those lands by veering to the northwest and hopping from island to island. I was born in the New Lands and lived there many years. I have tales aplenty about the land and the voyage, some happy and others sad, but that must wait till another day.”

“In any case,” she added, “it is a beautiful place, though different than your Shire. Our family lived on an isle with rugged slopes and deep fiords, all surrounded by the sea. There were all type of birds and animals: colonies of puffins and herds of caribou, even great whales who sang songs. A hardy and fair folk dwelled near us on the shores. They lived by hunting and fishing and gathering berries and other things from the land.

“I hope that will satisfy your curiosity for now.” Miz Bella retrieved her book and quickly added before Ginger left, “If you should see Cook, tell her I would like to speak with her when she is less busy. I need to thank her and also to ask her something. There’s no rush, however. And if she does not make it up to me, I hope to be well enough to visit the kitchen late in the day.” With that Ginger scurried down the hall, and Miz Bella went back to rest.