Annar, sometimes called the Inner Kingdom, was the greater part of the continent of Edil-Amarandh, and was generally held to be that land South of the Lir River, West of the Osidh Annova (the Mountains of the Earth) and North of the Southern Deserts.

The Seven Kingdoms were smaller, situated in a loose ring around Annar along the Western coast: from the North, they were Lirhan, Culain, Ileadh, Lanorial, the Isle of Thorold, Amdrith and Suderain. Suderain was close to the realm of Dén Raven (sometimes called the Lost Kingdom), a poisoned country which was the stronghold of the Nameless One, and which continued to be the biding place of Hulls and his surviving servants even after his defeat by Maninaë the Great and the Restoration of the Light in Annar. 9

Maninaë united all the Seven Kingdoms under one rule for the first time after the Nameless One was thrown down, ushering in a long peace. Maninaë was unusual in that he was both a King and a Bard, although in him the Barding was not strong and he forswore Barding when he became King. With one other exception, the Kings and Queens of Norloch have never been Bards; and this was considered a crucial element of the Balance.

The Monarch's authority over the Seven Kingdoms was extremely limited, and was freely given than asserted by force: the situation parallels more closely to an alliance of City States and loose autonomous regions surrounding them. It is telling that the only name for the whole continent was the extremely archaic Edil-Amarandh, which dated from before the Dawn Age, and that this name was seldom used. The unity of Edil-Amarandh was a result of the influence of Barding, rather than from any enforcement under kings. The Bards were also a source of the relatively loose hierarchies in Edil-Amarandh: since a Bard might come from anywhere, even the poorest of communities, it was entirely conceivable (and commonly happened, especially in the first centuries after the Restoration) that the lowest might hold sway over the Wise. 10

The regions were called Kingdoms, but they were not strictly Kingdoms or Principalities in the generally accepted sense. This was because of the dual authorities of Barding and ruling authorities, both of which shared governance of their various peoples, and which by their complex nature mitigated against absolute rule. Over many years this evolved into a complex political and social system, differing in each region, of mutually interdependent autonomous structures. It appears that in many Fesses (the regions around the Schools) and other regions there operated a variation of democracy: Stewards were elected by popular vote, and all adults over twenty five, no matter what their social status, had the right to vote. Only the Monarchy operated on a system of hereditary rule, and many Bards saw this as a primitive system, tracing from this "original sin" the subsequent demise of the Monarchy . 11 However, it has to be admitted that the Monarchy, within its limited powers, governed over a peaceful kingdom for several centuries before it degenerated into civil war.

The dual system - which only roughly parallels the mediaeval division of secular and religious power between Church and State, although it is a tempting syllogism - was considered to be at its most ideal in the community of the Dhyllin, where Bards and the Peoples lived and worked closely together, to their mutual increase and pleasure. It was not in practise always ideal, and at times disagreements or rivalries led to bickerings and even war, sometimes between Bards and Monarchs, sometimes between rival regions. All such occurrences were regarded by the Wise as a corruption of the Light. 12