Atlas Elyden #29 - the Independancy of Khamid

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A key/legend to the map can be found here.

So here's the latest map in the Atlas Elyden series. Khamid is one of the first regions I came up with, before I actually started working on the world of Elyden - it's a remnant of an old D&D campaign system I had come up with for 3rd edition (or possibly 3.5) that I imported into Elyden since I hate wasting a good region! I redid the map and recycled the place names and the Cataclysm (more on this below TL,DR: a HUGE magical disaster destroyed half the nation a long time ago) from the original setting.

Back in it's first incarnation it was a very blatant ancient Egypt analogy (read 'rip-off') and positioned on the southern coast of an inner sea. I re-did the map and came up with more original history, whilst keeping some of the Egyptian influences.

A key/legend to the map can be found here

Atlas Elyden #29 - the Independancy of Khamid

Khamid is a land viewed with empathy and awe by those in the west, and its mention would likely conjure images of monolithic destruction, mystic shapers, granite pyramids, and gigantic pylon-shaped mausolea. This was once true, though it is only one facet of a long and troubled past.
    Its defining trait - the Great Cataclysm of 101 RM - is a shackle that Khamid has been unable to shake, tethering it to the past in many ways. To understand this impact this great calamity had on the Khamidians, one must understand Khamid’s past, a tale that walks side-by-side with the early spread of shaping amongst the mortal races.
    The Art of Firmamentism was pioneered Ages past by the Demiurge Duruthilhotep, who handed down its secrets to his mortal children, the ifirmians, just as the Demiurge Rachanael first taught the secrets of the Atramenta to his children, the plagi.
    For a time the secrets of the dichotomous matter of creation were just that: secrets held by the Demiurges and their chosen ones, but contact between the Two-and-Twenty tribes slowly increased, propagating a slow spread of the Art of shaping. It was a Scion of Duruthilhotep, Khamar, who travelled west with a handful of ifirmian acolytes and brought knowledge of Firmamentism with him to a land of farmers who revered their dead and gazed upon the stars with wonder.
    He saw in them much potential and, together with his ifirmian aides, taught them the sciences of astronomy, architecture, medicine, and embalming. Under his aegis they prospered and spread, taking the Scion’s name as the name of their homeland. Proud of what they accomplished, he moved on to new lands, and allowed them to govern themselves.
    They escaped the darkness that ended the Fourth Age of Mortal life relatively unscathed and went on to become one of the more powerful empires in the region, ruled by the Pharoants - a caste that legend claims to be descended from the Scion Khamar (and, by extension, Duruthilhotep himself!).
    These rulers were priests and shapers of the highest magnitude and were considered gods amongst men. As other cultures struggled with rebuilding following the devastation that ended Fourth Age, the Pharoants and their people were dominating trade across the Dark sea west into the Inner Sea and south across the Iapetan sea, taking advantage of the needs of nascent peoples that surrounded them. By c. -250 RM they were trading with the Nathi Kingdom, sharing secrets of alchemy with the city-state of Midal. By the time the Nathi Kingdom fragmented in c -150 RM Khamar had grown into a decadent place, its Pharoants using their Firmamental abilities to prolong their lives, growing more and more debauched off of the spoils of trade. Their people were hardly ill-treated, but the chasm between ruler and ruled continued to grow even as a third class made up of powerful merchant-lords grew in influence.
    The secrets of shaping grew stagnant under these apathetic dynasties, and many processes and techniques were lost, preserved only in ancient treatises that were forgotten. What was not lost was their expertise in prolonging life and stalling the effects of decay on their bodies following their eventual death.
    By the first decades of the Korachani calendar, Khamar had become Khamid following the evolution of its language after prolonged contact with Hara and Venath. It was in this time that the so-called Cataclysm of Khamid took place, in 101 RM.
    Some say it was a Firmamental ritual gone calamitously awry. Others that is was Khamar, returned to appraise his people, punishing them for the sins of their indifferent rulers. Some say it was a natural disaster, unfortunate yet inevitable.  Though speculation is rife, the truth is we do not know - almost all records of the day were obliterated, alongside most of the nation’s populace.
    At the time of the Cataclysm, most of Khamid was concentrated in territories south of the Snjemet Mountains, sue to the mineral richness the regions. Most of its major cities and trading centres were destroyed, alongside its jewel, the capital of Kharr (the present-day Kharr, built in memory of the fallen capital, is roughly 40-miles south-east of the sunken ruins of the old capital). What remained, north of the Snjemet Mountains, were mostly rural communities that worked hard to maintain the affluence the South Kingdom had grown used to.
    The Khamidians grew fascinated with death following the Cataclysm, continuing a tradition started by the Pharoants of building gigantic pylon mausolea, hollow, with inner loggias that housed thousands of embalmed bodies. During this time the Khamidian people turned on their Firmamental heritage (leading some scholars to believe that misuse of the Firmament was responsible for the Cataclysm), leading to a purge of many Firmamental records - a great blow to those studying the history of shaping in the region.
    Khamid was devastated. Its leadership, its trade, its military were destroyed in one blighted day, remembered bitterly to this day by its descendants. Other regions were quick to fill in the cultural vacuum - Venath to the south, Hara and Goetia to the North-West, pirates and corsairs, and Char Mâthi to the east (though the latter was also affected by the destruction), and for many centuries the land of Khamid became a hunting ground for more powerful political players, it’s people prey to their slavers and armies.
    By c. 800 RM a descendant of the Pharoants, known as Sapet Besayt, emerged in the region of Nehrenhat, bringing the people together around the town of Iahnef. Over the next decades he was able to ally himself with the people of Haré Shka to the north. With their help he was able to train Khamid to defend herself against attack. So good was he that by 992 RM, when Haré Shka was threatened by Melayan barbarians it was Khamid who went to its aid. This cemented a close coalition that lasted for many years, leading to the establishment of a port and embassy in the settlement of Lamea in Caria in 1012 RM, which became a centre of trade between the two nations.
    Sapet became the first in a new dynasty of Khamidian rulers that led Khamid into a golden age of sorts. Honourable values were instilled into the Khamidian people under this new dynastic rule, with reliance on esoteric arcana ignored and discouraged. Ancient idols, temples and colossi were allowed to fall into ruin as the Khamidians looked to the future instead - technarcana instead of shaping, trade with the outside world, industry, and diplomacy all became traits of Khamid, who, though its silver-tongued ambassadors, was able to maintain good relations with most outside nations.    
    The Sapeti dynasties, as they became known, lasted until 2384 RM, when Shedkharkhem IV, the last in their line, was assassinated, replaced by a powerful demagogue Natit Henshef who used fear and tyranny to bring back a belief in the old gods, elevating him to the statue of emissary. He took on the mantle of Pharoant, a practice his descendants would continue for centuries.
    Desperate to gain some new territories and resources following its losses in Almagest in 3014 RM, Korachan turned to the East and found Khamid; greatly diminished under the stewardship of the new Pharoants, who busied themselves erecting gigantic pylon mausolea in their honour, allowing the good done by the Sapeti Dynasties to falter. Following a blockade between 3019 and 3021 RM the Pharoants agreed to surrender on condition they be granted citizenship of Korachan, with lands and titles in the heartland. By 3023 RM the Pharoants had married into imperial Archpatrician families and had become little more than instruments of the empire.
    The name Pharoant slowly fell into disuse and these imperial puppets eventually became indistinguishable from western Archpatricians (though they maintained a flair for the dramatic - with garb inspired by their ancient namesakes), and ruled the region, handing over a portion of state-owned resources to the Korachani empire until the Dissolution of the Empire in 3705 RM, after which it was placed under control of the Domnitors who abandoned it fully in 3781 RM, leaving Khamid independant after seven centuries of subjugation. The descendants of the new Pharoants left Khamid when the Domnitors were installed, fulfilling a destiny promised by Korachan in 3021 RM and claiming the lands they were promised so long ago. Many of these Khamidian-descended patrician houses are still around today, proud of their eastern heritage.
    Korachani rule saw Firmamental practices, already greatly reduced since the days of the Cataclysm, all but forbidden, replaced instead by technarcana - which the people of Khamid saw as a defining symbol of their oppressors, causing them to dismissive of it.
    Most Khamidians remain distrustful of the technarcane arts as well as shaping in general to this day, which is somewhat of a burden in today’s post-industrial landscape, though there is a small but growing interest in the region’s ancient history and links with the dawn of Firmamentism in the west, with some individuals travelling to Meniscea to learn the truth behind the Art. this may lead to Khamid becoming a centre of firmamentism in the west.

Hello!

So, there’s been a bit of a radio silence on my blog over the past year. For those who are unaware, I’ve basically switched over to my Patreon page – don’t worry, all the content you used to see on here – maps, lore, history, etc. – will still be available there free-of-charge, but there is bonus content to those who become paying patrons, such as access to map PSDs, higher-res files, textless maps, more detailed lore etc.

however, I thought I’d upload some of the maps I made over the past year here, more for completeness than anything else,

So please find various regional maps here over the coming days, as well as links to more details with each map:

Atlas Elyden #21 - Ezasuh and Tahall

Ezasuh and Tahall

Atlas Elyden #20 - the Old Forest and Rhamia

Atlas Elyden #20 - the Old Forest and Rhamia

Known as Tar yo- Dhai in the Korachani empire and as Vanefar by its natives, most names for this region, regardless of language, can be roughly translated as: Old Forest. Not without reason is that name used, for this area is amongst one of the few virgin woodlands remaining in the continent of Llachatul.

Ancient accounts tell us that the forest once stretched across all of central Llachatul, from the eastern shores of the gulf of Skaros in the west, to the Argent mountains in the east, and from the northern shores of the Inner Sea to the polar circle in the north, covering most of central Llachatul - an area no smaller than * square-miles. So vast was it that it became a haven to disparate people fleeing ancient wars and genocides. Its dense cover and size meant that anyone with the ability to survive in the wild could enter its periphery and disappear, forgotten by the outside world for millennia.

The descendants of those early immigrants went on to populate the Old Forest, and from these small pockets emerged various groups of people - the attori, ramon’athi, valkai nomads, sidhe, and vanefari, amongst others - each with a history going back to the Fourth Age. These people populate different regions of the Old Forest and though propaganda and bigotry informs outsiders that they are a united people, they are in truth divided, linked only by the ancient traditions and religions they adhere to, and their hatred of outsiders.

There is a great deal of superstition surrounding the Old Forest and its people. What was once history became corrupted by distance into legends which have become ingrained in the cultures of lands surrounding the Old Forest. Tales of blood-moon worshipping druids, ley lines of ancient power, horrific fey creatures that defend their lands savagely from intruders, unicorns whose blood is said to be magical, ancient dragons, and bestial tree-kin are all common within lands such as Almagest and the empire. Modern scholars have tried to trace the origins of these myths to their mundane roots, though common sentiment is difficult to change. Besides, the greatest evidence of the evil nature of the Old Forest can be found in the tombs of the beings that rest there - no less than four Demiurges are believed to be buried within its reach, tainting its lands, adding to the sense of unease that overcomes outsiders entering that primal realm.

Testament to the depth of such superstitions has been the Korachani empire’s reluctance to explore the region, which is found so close to the capital’s doorstep, even though its explorers have charted all of the world’s seas and marched thousands of miles south into far more inimical lands.

Despite this almost preternatural distrust of the region, the scattered progress of technarcane arts and the coming of industrialisation between 1400 and 1800 RM saw nations as disparate as Korachan, Laaskha, Azazem, Almagest, Pelasgos, Ahrishen, Saua and Vârr growing hungry for natural resources. As old sources became depleted, they looked elsewhere to sate their hunger. Beneath the forest hid a great wealth of resources - coal, umbra, gems and ores in abundance, and the forest itself was a thoughtless source of fuel. Strip mines, quarries, refineries and lumber-yards all appeared, rapidly consuming huge swathes of the forest’s edge. Every passing year moved its borders dozens of miles from the coast until all that remained were scattered pockets.

By 2200 RM the forest was no longer a singular expanse. It had been reduced to various smaller forests, the largest of which were the Old Forest in the west, the Malani forest in the east, and Kolchis (?*) in the north. The industries that had replaced the forests had mostly fallen dormant by 2800 RM, leaving abandoned pits, polluted lakes and thousands of square-miles of tree stumps. Fertile land changed to dust which blew over the forest into the lands that would later become known as the Desolation of Astudan.

That millennium of expansion and exploitation became known as the Forest Wars, not after its battles, but its wanton destruction of the region. What little trust could exist between the civilised world and the Old Forest was shattered by that period, which decimated hundreds of locations sacred to the religions and cultures of the forest, leaving them xenophobic and highly protective of what remained of their world. They clung even harder to their barbaric beliefs, butchering any and all missionaries and crusades into their lands, feeding the very myths that caused outsiders to distrust the forest-dwellers, which are now labelled as witches and druids.

In many ways it is thought that they value the Firmament and Atramenta and the natural world in ways forgotten by those outside their lands. The truth is far more complex and we are unlikely to know for certain the truth behind these people’s way of life. We know little of their cities or their culture, beyond what twisted lies Church bigotry and imperial propaganda have fed us for centuries, and it is unlikely that we will anytime soon.

#Vorropohaiah #Elyden #FantasyCartography #FantasyMap #Worldbuilding #AtlasElyden

Here's the next map in the Atlas Elyden series. Slowly but surely I'm filling out the lands around the Inner Sea 😀

This map details 3 regions with a close history - Ahrishen, Virahan and Baatan (from right to left, respectively). The seas of Elyden are slowly retreating, and this is one of the areas hit hard by the advancing coastline - so the map includes an inset map showing what the coastline looked like 1,000 years ago.

Ahrishen as we know it has existed for less than 250-years, though the region has a long history going back millennia, to the dawn of the Fifth Age. Until a thousand years ago the region bordered the Sea of Pyrea, an extension of the Sea of Propontis that allowed merchant and fishing fleets to ply their trade of the eastern Inner Sea, but the slow retreat of the Inner Sea saw the Sea of Pyrea dwindle, leaving behind a flat expanse of wetlands and saltpans in its wake. This destroyed the economy and way of life that had sustained the region for centuries. The region crumbled into disparate townships and no-less than a dozen separate states that struggled to survive in their changed world. Piracy and slave-raids from Korachan did not help the situation much, either.

This state lasted until the arrival of the so-called Child-Prince, an unageing infant of prodigious supranatural ability, who managed to unify the region in 3763 RM, supplanting an ancient sky-based religion with worship of its own unchanging form. Though its fleets were no-more, the region came to be dominated instead by the river Aresh, which flows for over 2,500 miles west, feeding already rich soils with nutrients due to its yearly flooding. This has led to the region’s adoption of farming of a pastoral and arable nature. Rich cities thrive along the floodplains of this river, each surrounded by dykes and canals that defend against flooding. Between cities live gigantic herds of wildlife, relatively untouched by mortal interference.

The Ahrisheni people have a reputation for hard-work and the land is known far-and-wide for its beauty, which is even recognised by the Korachani empire. Living on the doorstep of Korachan has seen Ahrishen fend off many crusades and incursions into its land, though it’s wet coastline makes invasion from the sea difficult.

#elyden, #fantasycartography, #atlaselyden, #vorropohaiah, #ahrishen, #virahan, #baatan

Remember you can get exclusives (like PSDs, texless, and high-res versions of the map on my Patreon.

Atlas Elyden #16 - Parthis

Yes, I've been away for a while - Christmas and new year is always difficult to keep the creative juices flowing, with family obligations, though this is the first new post of what will hopefully be a return to form over the coming year. This will hopefully see the Inner Sea region fully-mapped, paving the way for the two Inner Sea poster maps I've mentioned previously.

This is a map of Parthis and surrounding areas, and, much like the map of Almagest, took a long time to get done as it covers a very large area - much larger than the average map. The topography in the bottom left took a while to get right, also, though I'm pleased with it.

Having said that I am already working on updating some parts of the topography to make it appear less uniform.

Parthis is many things to many different people. It has been a rival to the Korachani empire for millennia, managing to oust it as major superpower in the Inner Sea over the past few centuries. To those jaded and discontented by warring religions and cults it is a secular haven, one of only few of such size and power. It is a centre of flesh-weaving, and is to that art what Korachan is to technarcana. To its rivals, it is a godless land whose profane chirurgeons mess with natural laws. To its supporters, it is an answer to a corrupt ancient order that has reached its death-pangs

Parthis as a secular republic appeared almost 1,500-years ago from the ruins of civil war where 2 kings opposed each other. Before this the region was known as Parthia, before this it was part of the Seven States of Azora. Before that it was known as The Parria. Before that it was Sama Paria. Before even that one of the greatest city states of the mythic world, and ancestral home of humans - Azer - was located there. The people of Parthis draw their roots back to this mythical time and are proud of such a long and ardent lineage.

The people of Parthis are amongst the most educated around the Inner Sea, with highly-literate merchants, and diplomats who have studied in some of the most regarded colleges in the known world. Slavery was abolished there in 3794 RM, making it the only major nation around the Inner Sea to do so. Its capital, Tethra, is a marvel of design and architecture and is dominated by an awe-inspiring administrative structure that can be seen from without its walls and acts as a beacon to outsiders and citizens alike.

Here's the latest map in the Atlas Elyden, a land-locked region in the continent of Sammaea. this is the smaller version available to everyone. Patrons giving at least $5 a month also gain access to a larger version, a textless version and .PSDs of the maps, thanks!

I'm also doing an AMA (ask me anything) on reddit about my world. If anyone is interested in asking anything, please head on over there and go ahead and ask me anything :)

Atlas Elyden #15 - Paraiya

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Paraiya is a land that has evolved under two shadows - that of Korachani colonists who settled the region between 1200 - 1400 RM, abandoning it to the Domnitors between 2700 - 2800 RM; and the Atramentally-active region that dominates lands to the south of the nation, known as the Umbra Solare.

   Situated North of the Tropic of Rah, the climate is semi-arid to arid-temperate, and were it not for the many rivers that flow through its lands the region would be largely uninhabited (indeed the name Paraiya roughly translates to ‘Many Rivers’). The ancient people of Paraiya adapted to the harsh climate by constructing bulbous wattle towers that collect condensation in large quantities and surrounded their cities like silent sentinels. Though not as common as they once were they can still be seen in smaller settlements that are cut off from the more urbane population centres. This is just one of many examples of the ingenuity of the Paraiyan people.

   Extant Paraiyan history begins in 73 RM when an exiled prince, Abir Paria settled the region now known for the ruin of the Ebon Palace. His birthplace remains unknown, though his familial name would later become the name of the confederacy of cities that he founded. The region Abir settled was centred on a ruin of black stone that to this day was shunned by the nomads that roam Paraiya, becoming the capital of a confederacy of city-states that emerged by 300 RM.

   By 1150 RM, increased Koachani influence across the Paraiyan borders caused tension within the city-states, leading to a period of hostility and warfare between the city-states, whittling down the once prosperous people of Paria, leaving whole regions and cities in ruins. As the open caste mines of the Korachani city of Beluan grew, so did it become more influential. In 2132 RM the Ebon Palace was sacked by descendants of the Pariayan nomadic caste, the Dynasty of Paria left without heir, the conflict at an end.

   Their resources spent, their homes destroyed, the remaining people left the area, either populating the lands to the north west, around the river Nothiya, or returning to the semi-nomadic lifestyle they had enjoyed before the rise of Paria, giving rise by c. 2300 RM to the three tribes of the Paraiya – the Arena, Belln and Kharan – which remain largely unchanged to this day.

   Korachani colonists abandoned the region between 2700 - 2800 RM, leaving Beluan and other cities in the hands of the Domnitors who would rule as caretakers in their absence. The Domnitors were forgotten by Korachan and over generations they mingled with the upper-classes of Beluan, forming a ruling caste that over the next 1000 years would come to dominate the lands of old Paria, Paraiya as we know it was born. The city of Sopora was resettled in 2750 RM by this ruling caste as a capital. This new ruling caste clashed with the then capital of Bakkou which was the centre of a traditionalist nation that abhorred the memory of the imperial occupation tried to stifle aspects of its culture that had remained (including religion, which has ousted traditional gods in many regions, especially in Sopora). This clash of cultures was most blatant by viewing the lower classes in each city. In Bakkou those of korachani descent were treated as lower class citizens, where in Sopora it was those descended from the nomads who were seen as unclean.

   Frictions escalated into civil war in 3792 RM, which dragged on for 2 decades until 3813 RM, with Bakkou losing and the city being sacked. A ruling Sultanate emerged in 3821 in Sopora, which struggles to this day to unify the region.

   Travel within Paraiyan territories is hostile and most merchant caravans are armoured and guarded against nomadic attacks. Most people do not see the outside of their cities or their immediate environs. The nomads who proliferate the north west are allies of Karakhas, and the subjects of the Sultanate trade north with Mharokk and Lidea, which are loose allies. The nomads are themselves only loosely connected and still exist in three separate tribes, with members meeting on the winter solstice to revere ancient traditions.

#paraiya, #atlaselyden, #elyden, #fantasycartography

Elyden climate map

I just finished this. It didn't take too long to make (as usual with maps with text, the text took quite a while to get done, though this time I was able to pinch some words from my notes), but I needed something like this to help me with the regional atlas maps. I expect I'll be updating this and tweaking it as I work on other regions, so nothing is set in stone quite yet.

Elyden Global climate map

The text from the image is copied below:

Put simply, climate is a stable weather condition averaged out over a long period of time (often 25-years), categorized by specific combinations of humidity and temperature; whereas weather is a short-term phenomenon, based on changes in in wind, humidity and temperature.

   Elyden is currently undergoing a change in climate, and is emerging from a warm period, moving into an ice-age. These cooler temperatures result in lower sea-levels as more sea-water is trapped in polar ice. Despite these changes, each of Elyden’s continents is characterized by particular climates and patterns in temperature and precipitation, amongst others.

   Of note are the Atramenta and the Firmament, which affect both climate and weather as well as other conditions in their vicinity, with their effects more pronounced the farther from the nullambit one moves.

   The study of climatology was introduced in 3982 RM by the scholar Phirun Kamerathis, who divides the northern and southern hemispheres of Elyden into five broad bands, or climate zones, each: Tropical, Dry, Temperate, Continental and Polar in the northern hemisphere and the reverse in the southern. Each of these bands is further divided into more detailed bands which were introduced through later adjustments.

   Each band has distinct traits and qualities that are shared to different degrees across all lands and territories that fall under that band. The bands are not regular and may cover different latitudes, depending on the presence of oceanic currents, mountains, deserts and other factors.

Bror

Despite its distinction of being the smallest and most isolated of continents, Bror is an example of the climatological diversity that’s possible in relatively small areas.

  The Lahaed mountain, running down the entirety of the continent like a hard spine, it the major arbiter of Bror’s climate. Rain shadows to the north and south of the mountain have created sizeable rain shadows, beyond which are tropical regions to the north-east, and temperate to the south-west.    

Llachatul

As the northernmost continent, it comes as no surprise that Llachatul is the coldest. It is the only continent with a land polar icecap and has the longest stretch of west-east land above the north polar circle amongst all continents (7,300-miles).

  Llachatul is generally divided in two: Gnotha to the west and Malani Llachatul to the east, divided by a line drawn from the sea of Propontis to Bielost. Gnotha is characterized by a continental climate, with its western coast heavily influenced by the Erthydaen Flow, which brings warm waters and currents north from the Sea of Lynnae. Farther south, and closer to Sammaea, it ranges from temperate to the arid-temperate climate that characterises the northern coastline of the Inner Sea. Malani Llachatul has a more temperate climate, though lands east of the Argent mountains are arid to semi-arid, with its south-eastern coast ranging from equatorial to hot humid.

  Southern and south-eastern Llachatul experiences a wet season and a dry season, though northern and western Llachatul experience four seasons.

Meniscea

Dominating the north of the far hemisphere, Meniscea is home to the True Meniscus. It lies between 80O north and 10O south, though is concentrated around 70O and 40O, with a continental climate predominating, with tundra to the north and a more temperate climate to the south.

   The southernmost reaches of the Meniscean peninsula reaches to beyond the equator and displays a hot-humid through to tropical to equatorial.

Sammaea

Sammaea is the largest continent, stretching from 50O north to 84O south and encompasses all climates imaginable, save for polar icecaps. The continent is divided into four – Western Sammaea, comprising all lands west of the Karkarmis mountains; Southern Sammaea, comprising all lands south of the Acharkharan mountains; Eastern Sammaea, or Imperial Sammaea, comprising the lands north-east of the Mulciber mountains; and Northern Sammaea, or Kharkharadontid Sammaea, which dominates the lands between – each of which has distinct features.
   The continent is characterized by vast deserts along regions of rain shadows, both tropics, and the innermost regions of the continent, with the largest – the Kharkharadontid desert – being home to the Black Fountain and the most extreme Atramental terrain. It also has the two largest rain forests in Elyden – the Wold in the west and the Waelmigh in the east.
   Away from these areas of extremes, the climate is semi-arid to temperate-arid, though the south is more temperate, with continental and tundra in the extreme south.

#Climate, #Elyden, #Atlaselyden, #Fantasyatlas, #Fantasycartography, 

ATLAS ELYDEN #13: the Desolation of Astudan, and Sabia

Here's the latest map in the series, detailing a largely empty expanse. Funny how it took me so long to finish... 

I've added a few new features, including the rock desert ( semi circle patterns) as well as a faint bevel/emboss texture to the land to give the impression of more detailed elevation.

Let me know what you think!

Atlas Elyden #13: the Desolation of Astudan and Sabia 

Remember, if you become a patron you gain access to exclusive content like High-res maps, textless maps as well as more background and history about the world of Elyden.

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Aptly named, this region, which exists as a buffer between west and east, and south and north, is an expanse of cold stone deserts characterised by wind-worn rock formations and boulder fields and very little else. The lands of Astudan are unclaimed by most, though there exists an oasis of culture in its south-east that has as its nucleus the legendary city of Gâtha.

Gâtha is an independent city-state that begun life as a Korachani colony that busied itself mining lodestones, but after high-yield mines were exhausted in c. 3350 RM, Korachan left the region under the leadership of the Interreges. The city experienced a renaissance of sorts decades later and once more became an autonomous region. It attracted adventurers, halfbloods, outlaws, other races, and explorers from far regions, many of whom settled there and its diversity remains a defining feature to this day.

Sabia is situated to the north east of Astudan. Located across the polar circle has made its people hardy and hard workers. Its fishing fleets are well-equipped to navigate the frigid waters of the Bielost and the Sea of Daggers to the north and are legendary for their prowess at hunting whales and sea serpents and it is a major manufacturer of whale oil and ambergris. Like many other regions it was once a target of the Korachani empire, which was interested by its large deposits of meteore under the Echanem mountains. That unfortunate past of servitude and subjugation is now in the past and Sabia enjoys its independence.

Being situated along the Nullambit makes it a place largely neutral to the Firmament and the Penumbra and its lands and culture are also free of their influence.

#Elyden, #Fantasycartography, #Atlaselyden, #Fantasycartography, #Sabia, #Desolationofastudan

Atlas Elyden style guide

By popular demand, a guide to how I create my Atlas Elyden maps.

This isn't a full-out tutorial, though more of a guide to how I create the maps, so a working knowledge of how Photoshop and projected maps work is assumed. I don't go into details like which exact colours are used and so on as I expect anyone wanting to emulate the style to use their own colours. It's no fun copying things word-for-word :)

Here's a link to a PDF with the exact same guide for anyone who wants a slightly less long version to keep.

Hope you enjoy, and as always, you can check out my Patreon for more images and details of the world. Patrons get exclusive content, like PSDs and high-res JPGs of the maps, as well as textless versions for use in your own work. A more detailed version of this tutorial should be up for patrons later on in the month.

#atlaselyden #fantasycartography

ATLAS ELYDEN #10 - Vaalk

“At the end of all things there will remain only one. When the seas are gone and the land is dust and death, one being will be left, observing. As Elyden dies He judges the actions of those who perish. He is the Knower. He is the keeper of tales, the rememberer of histories, the crux of all knowledge.”

- Vaalkan Legend

Atlas Elyden #10: a map of Vaalk 

The Knower is more than national folklore, he is the closest thing the people of Vaalk have to a religion. He is such a part of everyday life that people justify their actions by thinking how the Knower will judge them. “By his actions will the Knower Judge him,” is a common grave quote.

Vaalk was once a Korachani territory, though following the Sundering of the empire in 3705 RM the empire lost most of its southern territories to the Reformed empire of Sarastro. Vaalk, whose loyalty to the Archpotentate Malichar (ruler of the Korachani empire) was absolute, resisted Sarastroan takeover and fought against his forces for 31 years before being finally defeated. Worship of the undying machine was, which was never strong, slowly died, and was replaced with a more fervent worship of the Knower. It remains now as a martial territory and its armies still look to Malichar as a patron.

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This one was done relatively quickly - the topography and most of the labels were already done thanks top my older maps, and it was a relatively small land area to work with. The large empty space in the top right corner will likely be filled in with something informative (maybe a city map of the capital or a zoomed-in version of somewhere else, not sure yet).

C&C are more than welcome, and remember, you can follow my patreon for high-res maps, textless maps, more details on the world and other exclusive content, thanks :)

#Vaalk, #Elyden, #Atlaselyden, #Fantasycartography,

ATLAS ELYDEN map #9 - Hololach

I hate this map so much! The topography took so long (especially in the south). The labelling took so long (largely as this was a region that i had not explored previously, and all I knew was the coastline and mountains in the east and south). But i finally finished it, and I have to say it's one of my favourite maps. I can technically do a lot more labelling in the south, but I'm so sick of this map that I'm calling it finished for now :)

Atlas Elyden, #9 - Hololach

Hololach is very much a land out of time. It is dominated by two geographical features that separate it from the east – the Toliasor mountain chain that runs uninterrupted from north to south for 1,000-mniles; and the Holiasor mountains, which dominate the southern coast for 520-miles and is very difficult to navigate due to the large number of lochs and undulating rises along its length (attributable to ancient glaciers, whose force can still be seen in the boulder-strewn plains of Saleb).

These features have left Hololach largely separated from the east of the Inner Sea and helped forge its relations with the west – Sagittaria, Gnoth, Aquariia, and, more recently, Parthis. Its separation from the west means that many features introduced through industrialisation are not at all common here. Nomads, descended from the first Volupis of Hololach remain common, travelling the lands of Hololach and beyond in a long circuit that can take as much as a decade to complete, in caravans of hundreds of individuals.

The land is still ruled by a Volupis – halfblooded descendant of the first ruler – who is recognised as a divine being and treated as such. Hololach is divided into eight prefectures, each of which is ruled by a docent: practitioners of the Volupis’ divine teachings and shapers of unparalleled success – a dubious honour for the art of shaping is forbidden outside the docent caste, who maintain a strict vigil over the demiurge’s old art due to the dangers of its use there. The region of Oghyathav, in the north of the nation is a twisted wasteland where the Atramenta manifests as tangible nightmares thought to be ancient remains of a demiurge’s presence there millennia past. The nightmares take the form of twisted blackened formations, vaguely reminiscent of humanoid shapes or evoking emotions. Atramentists and scholars have studied the region hoping to learn more on the art of Oneiromancy (divination through dreams) and the history and mythology of the area.  

#hololach #atlaselyden #fantasycartography #elyden

ATLAS ELYDEN #8 - the Free Lands of Vârr

Vârr is an unfortunate place, haunted by the echoes of a past tainted by the actions of a mad god. Vorropohaiah, he was once known as, though his name is now whispered only amongst the most learned of scholars. He was one of the Two-and-Twenty worker gods – the Demiurges. They were abandoned by their creator as punishment for their hubris in creating the mortal races. Vorropohaiah went mad following his divine emancipation and spent his days shaping the features of Elyden into monuments: first to his Father, then to himself, and finally to nothing at all. Many of these ancient monuments survive in the dead parts of Vârr, testament to his godly artifice.

None, however, as famed or feared as the twin wonders of Carceri and the Varrachon. The former is a world-spanning cavern built by the god in the latter days of his insanity. None know its purpose or how even such a monolithic edifice can survive the timeless movements of the land itself, but it simply IS. To descend into its depths is to court madness and the whispers of the languid god, or, if one is lucky, merely death. The latter - the wretched mountain known as the Varrochon - measures no less than 400-miles long and 175-miles at its widest point and is commonly thought to have been created by millions on toiling hands hauling rocks from the construction of carceri into a large valley that in the day dominated the area. over the years the valley was leveled and was slowy turned into the foul mountain we see today.   

In more recent memory, Vârr was occupied by the Korachani empire, which used it as little more than a resource to be plundered. For over two millennia the empire mined its ores, cut down its forest, and fished its seas. IT left no resource untouched and retreated only 300-year ago after taking all it could. Vârr now lives in the shadow of that empire, al and unwanted and uncared for despite its attempts at rebuilding the ruin that Korachan left behind.

A dichotomous leadership – in the form of the priestly Heirogoths and Regent-kings – picked up the pieces left by Korachan. Some of the abandoned quarries and open cast mines are not fully spent, and they work them at great toil to get what they can from the land. Forests stripped bare by Korachan are only now starting to regrow and the Vârrans have learnt to tend to them, careful not to take too much, as the risks of what await over-exploitation are all-too apparent.

the Free Lands of Vârr 

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So map #8 is done, and with it the journey around the Inner Sea slowly continues. This was a relatively easy map to do – the south west was ready from previous maps (Korachan and Pelasgos), and the region of Vârr itself was pretty well-thought out in my head. This type of map doesn’t do the region justice at all. I have a mood board for this place filled with pictures of grey hills covered in tree-stumps, sprawling open cast mine, industrial pollution, wastelands and other inspiration. It’s a bleak place, but I have a morbid fascination with such things, and that’s really where Elyden came from. Vârr is probably the epitome of what Elyden and the Korachani empire are.

Some of you might recognise the word Vorropohaiah – so now you know where it comes from and what it means J

I've actually made some updates to the maps - making the territories outside the focus map paler. I’ve also made the roads thicker and clearer added a bit of hue/saturation to make the colours 'pop' a bit more.  I also started applying a greyed-out colour to show areas of corruption, which I felt was missing before. I now have to go back and update the older maps to match this one.

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mosaic

I've also updated the mosaic map to include the latest maps. I've also added a grey-out border showing a poster-map I hope to make of the Inner Sea once the individual nations and regions around its coastline are done. At this rate though I don't imagine I'll even start if for another year or two... If I continue at this rate I might manage 16 maps by the end of the year, which is close to circumnavigating the Inner Sea, though not enough to map all the lands that fill out that area.

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#Elyden, #Fantasycartography, #Atlaselyden, #Varr