Quote Originally Posted by Anonymoose View Post
The choice word "spine" interests me, though it only appears in English and German (Japanese says Abalathian Mountains, French refers to it as the Abalathian Chain). I can't help but wonder if it personifies a feminine ... something. The first thing that comes to mind for me is story of the three brothers explaining the tectonic activity of the Three Great Continents, but then who's this girl all up on Aldenard, eh?
The word 'spine' is often used in fantasy to describe long-running mountain ranges that divide regions. I'm not sure of the actual origins of the term but Tolkien's Middle Earth features a 'Spine of Arda' and the Forgotten Realms setting features a mountain range called the 'Spine of the World'. There are many other fantasy universes that have adopted 'spine of X' or 'X's spine' as a common naming convention for long mountain chains. Unless I'm missing something I fear you may be reading a little too much into this one Moose!

Quote Originally Posted by WyrahFhurrst View Post
Abalathia's Spine is the mountain range itself, Abalathia being the name for the greater region that the Spine takes up. The region can then be subdivided into two smaller regions: Dravania, the western portion; and the Coerthas, the eastern region. None too complicated, but not clearly explained.
That is indeed how I understand it to be.