Eterra and Earth

Although never stated or confirmed in any of the books, a common theme throughout the series is the potential parallel between the mythical "creation world" of Eterra and the reader's world of Earth. The following clues suggest this connection:

See also: Landfall as Mars
 * "Terra" is the Latin word for Earth.
 * Eterra was the mythical origin-world of the man-kin. It is said that because of the Cayrian Folly, the man-kin can never return to Eterra. The Folly supposedly despoiled Eterra, forcing the man-kin to find a new home. This suggests that a cataclysmic man-made disaster forced the man-kin to abandon Earth, some time in the far distant past.
 * Eterra is a bright blue star in the night sky over Landfall. When viewed from Mars, the Earth would resemble a bright blue star. (see: Landfall as Mars)
 * In the panamaris, Eterra is depicted as a two-star constellation containing one large star and one very small star. This "constellation" resembles Earth and its one small moon.
 * In the ephemeris, the second star of the Eterran constellation is called "Lunae." Earth's moon is called Luna.
 * According to legend, after leaving Eterra, the man-kin were set adrift among the stars before they settled on Landfall. This is called the legend of the Long Night. Mass migration from Earth to Mars could have involved a long period of sleep or stasis. This is consistent with the theory that the man-kin left Earth and traveled through space to reach Landfall.
 * Eterra is described as a lush paradise, full of life and color, with dark blue oceans wide and deep. This is consistent with the environment of Earth.
 * The constellations in the night sky over Landfall are roughly the same as the present-day constellations we see from Earth. This suggests that Landfall is at least very close to Earth, in space.