I guess it was mapmaker's intention to have a sword battle with the placement of your civs though. Good thing Erikk was persuaded
Looks like you are equal in land area more or less
I think your wonder choice is indeed a good choice considering the situation you seem to be in. Are horses in neighbouring lands?
So, are your starts equal? If so, how do you think Erikk got a lead on you? Where did you develop differently? I wanna learn more about the initial phase of a pbem