How come Anna decided to live in the cleft with Gehn? Couldn't she live in THE LODGE? Or maybe she might build a house or buy one....

Hello? ? Is anyone here?

I imagine she didn't want to live in the Lodge anymore because her father had died there. The Cleft was a rough existence, but it was close to where her husband had died, and close to the Lodge as well, and it was also already slightly established as a place to camp over for a night or two IIRC, so she wasn't starting *completely* from scratch, and dragging a kid across the desert usually isn't the best of ideas .

I think a Rivenese lifespan is about the same length as one of us (human beings, so maybe 75 years???)

But I have a question: Where did Gehn meet his wife/Atrus' mother? In that distant city that was briefly mentioned in the Book of Ti'ana? Or do people have no idea?