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.

* * *

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

the City-Kingdoms of the Haréshk (and Tamar) - Atlas Elyden

So, another month and another map for the Atlas Elyden is finished.

The City-kingdoms of the Haréshk are relics of an ancient feudal system, and though that system of governance was consigned to history long ago, foreigners still know the Haréshk for its feudal lords, heraldry, classical literature and knights. 

The truth is the region is on the cusp of industrialization, and looks to the West and the Korachani empire with impressionable eyes. Trade with more advanced nations is on the rise, bringing City-kingdoms in contact with Tamar, Khamid, Malan, Saua and Ahrishen, like never before. Even Lydiria, known for its xenophobia, has established trade with the City-kingdoms, bringing a wealth of resources, goods and information into the region. Factories are beginning to appear on a scale as yet unseen outside of Korachan, and wealth is finally moving from the descendants of the ancient feudal families to upstart merchant lords, business owners and magnates.

Unlike other pats of the world, which are variously afflicted by the world's waning, the Haréshk is an idyllic realm of rugged fields, rocky escarpments and clear water, something that the voracious empire of Korachan is not ignoring...

the City-kingdoms of the Haréshk

Work begins on the Republic of Almagest, a large region autonomous from the Korachani empire. As the region is somewhat north of the Inner Sea, I;ve had to start work on its topography from scratch, which is taking some time. I was considering dividing the map in two - having the north-east in one two-page spread and the south-west on another two-page spread - since its a large country, though I'm not sure on how 'nice' that will look, and how easily the transition between pages can be accomplished. Well, it's not something I need to worry about until the topography is complete, speaking of which:

WIP topography

This is a partial stitch of 3 base maps I'm using when working on the topographies (most of the areas in  the above map have only partial topographies, apart from the finished regions, of course). This is here to show how small each atlas entry really is - see the finished Korachani overlay on the lower right and compare it with the Almagesti territories in the top left. Quite a difference, keeping in mind both of those white frames are meant to be A3 in size!

Almagest is actually 3 separate parts of the map - the mainland and 2 'colonies' in the headland to the west and again farther west across the sea. There are also colonies that are farther away, similar to the inset maps in the Korachan map, and if I have enough room on the main map i'll include them too. All will be revealed soon!

***

#Atlaselyden, #Fantasyatlas, #theharéshk, #Tamar, #Encyclopaediaelyden, 

AZAZEM Atlas Map

the Demesne of Azazem 

Here’s the next WIP on the Atlas Elyden: the Demesne of Azazem; one of the original seven nations assimilated by the empire of Korachan, near 4,000 years ago. It has been a major producer of food throughout its presence in the Korachani pantheon of nations, though its role has changed over time, as overworked farmlands have now been replaced by dross farms and hundreds upon hundreds of square miles of greenhouses that are fed by aquifers. Dross, is an artificial grey slurry made to sustain the working classes of the empire and is made from mosses, grains, recycled food and water, charnel and (in some cases) the bodies of the dead (think Soylent Green, but bad J ).

Next on my to-do list are either the region of the Haréshk or the Republic of Almagest. Both are amongst my favourites: Almagest is one of the oldest regions I ever came up with and splintered from the Korachani empire almost 1,000 years ago so has developed its own character. The capital and city of Almagest is one of the largest metropolises in Elyden and is a dystopic version of manhattan, with 2 rivers that are mostly hidden beneath vaulted regraded streets of rusted steel and grey stone. It’s a city of multiple levels and gigantic manufactories all connected by walkways and gantries. It was once a thriving centre of astronomy and industry though starvation has seen it diminish of late, with large areas disused or inhabited by degenerates and destitutes. Cagerunning (Elyden’s version of freestyle running) is common amongst the young. Almagest will likely be one of those maps that will have a small city insert detailing the major city districts – something I;ve wanted to do for a long time.

The second choice – the Haréshk – is one I have visited before, albeit in a more antique style, so will be fun to revisit in the Atlas style, updating it to match world events.

So which is it to be?

Pelasgos and Azazem - Atlas Elyden

Here’s some WIPs on the next batch of maps. Since I have the topography for all of the Inner sea ‘done’ (I use the word done loosely as I’m already seeing parts I’m not happy with on the Korachan map – I need more levels of topography, so I’m thinking of 15 total, so I need to make a swatch/palette for the extra levels, but more on that some other time) I can now concentrate on the maps themselves – transplanting details and features from my old Inner Sea Map over to the newer and far more precise atlas maps.

the Inner Sea

So Far I’ve been working on Korachan’s coastal neighbours to the west and east – Azazem and Pelasgos, respectively – as parts of them were already done when I was working on Korachan (though that doesn’t mean I skipped half the work – as I each map is a different scale, I have to re-label them, so that text and icon sizes remain a constant size across maps regardless of scale).

Pelasgos is farther along and is almost done. You might notice a new ‘road’ design which represents umbra pipelines. Umbra in Elyden is a magical substance that takes the place of petroleum and oil in the real world. Most technarcane engines run on processed umbra and it’s a vital resource. I just need to do a bit more tinkering, add a few more labels (like rivers, lakes and geographical features, mostly), before I can call it done.

Pelasgos

Azazem is a bit more raw, and so far I’ve just managed to transplant the old labels from the Inner Sea map to it and found encyclopaedia entries for the region and am in the process of fitting them into the new geography I came up with. I love this part as I get to rediscover old features and details I came up with years ago that I had forgotten about, so it’s a bit like a historian/archaeologist, piecing history together, expanding upon it and placing it in the world. Azazem is also the first of this new batch of maps to be displayed in landscape mode, due to its orientation.

Azazem - WIP

I mentioned the topography above, and it’s something I’m not 100% happy with. On face value there’s nothing wrong with it, though it seems a bit off – particularly the mountainous levels. They seem a bit bare, so I want to revisit the individual levels to make them more intricate and ‘realistic’, if that makes any sense. At this point it’s just polish though and I can live without it for now, though I do want to go back and revisit the levels in the future, maybe once I have some more regions finished, particularly around the Inner Sea.

Speaking of the future, I’m looking forward to moveing away from the Inner Sea, and somewhere a bit more virginal. I’m thinking of the continent of Bror, in the southeastern hemisphere. It’s an interesting shape and the only true island-continent in Elyden, so it’s something different to the Inner Sea. Either that of the Surrach, which I’ve touched upon before, though not explored in much detail so far. 

BROR - in the S-E of the map

So many choices!

Korachan Atlas map 'finished'!

The first map in my Atlas Elyden series is finished! Now to start work on the next...

Korachan - Atlas Elyden 'finished'

I spent far longer on the topography than I was hoping to but, I can justify it by saying I was working on a large area that sees the basis for around 6-8 maps largely done, so that will save me a lot of time in the future.

I updated the colour scheme, and went for a simpler scheme for the water (no wave lines any more), though there’s no topography for the water (yet… not sure if I want to do that for now, but its easily something that can be done at a later time). I still need to add some spot-heights (and depths) but they’re not essential to the map and can wait for later. I also had to go over the roads and paths to make them fit in with the elevation better (no roads in steep inclines, for instance).

I removed the greyed out ‘focus’ area in favour of a washed out near-greyscale background for areas outside the borders of the focus nation (in this case all lands not part of the nation of Korachan).  

Overall, I’m quite pleased with the end result and am already on the Pelasgos map, which shouldn’t take too long now that I have the base ready. If I can keep up the pace I might try make some encyclopaedia entries for the regions I’ve finished. 

www.patreon.com/elyden

More Topography

I've continued working on the topographical map over the past few days and, with the help of some comments from fellow cartographers (thanks to AzurePlanet over at the Cartographer's Guild) I've revised the levels of the topography, making the map overall shallower and more realistic.

Inner Sea topography - take 2

I still feel as though there's room for more work - polishing off certain parts of the sections as well as altering the edges to make them more realistic. In general I wasn't to continue making the maps shallower until I only need to add 1 or 2 more level of steepness (level 6 / 7) as I don't want this region to be too high in a global sense. The highest peak in the world is something around 10,000 meters (as a contrast Everest is 8,848 meters), I'd like 10,000 meters to be the 12th height level on the maps.

Speaking about height maps I'm still working on the scale for them but will likely settle on something similar to this (though it's far from final):

12  - 10,000 meters
11  - 8,000 meters
10  - 6,000 meters
9    - 4,000 meters
8    - 3,000 meters
7    - 2,000 meters
6    - 1,500 meters
5    - 1,000 meters
4    - 750 meters
3    - 500 meters
2    - 250 meters
1    - 100 meters


I'm now looking to a final map that's hopefully a stylistic cross between this and this (colour of the former and the clarity of the latter), and though my hopes of finishing the map in December have been thwarted I hope to not take too long on it. though I am keeping in mind that the topography above will be useful for quite a few maps, which will save time there (hopefully!) As I work on the topography I notice that some roads and other routes currently pass through very rough and steep terrain - those will need to be revised.

As I said at the onset - this was a 'proof of concept' map showing me what can and cant be done and I've learnt a lot about the order in which things need to be done, so work on the 2nd map (Pelasgos - half of which is already done thanks to the orientation of the Korachan map) will hopefully be completed a lot quicker. I'm tentatively hoping for at least an average of 1 map per month...

We'll see :)

#topography #elyden #fantasycartography

Korachan Topography

I've been quiet for a while as I work on the Korachan map for the Atlas Elyden. 

I spent some time deciding whether I wanted to keep a Portrait orientation or whether I wanted to switch to a landscape orientation. The reason for this was largely scale - witching to landscape would have given me a bit more legroom in terms of scale (increasing the map size from 100% to 108%), though this would have been at the cost of having to remove Hoamm from the map. Here's the 2 maps next to each other:  

Korachan - Landscape

Korachan - portrait

I settled on the second of the above maps, as a compromise between the two as the portrait orientation was more pleasant given the vertical shape of Korachan - I kept a portrait orientation, though would not include Hoamm as a 'focus' of the page, which gave me a bit more room in the bottom, at the 'cost ' of making the eastern part of the map stick out of the frame (which is a quirky feature I always liked on atlases).

So that's that. The map itself is largely finished, though I may still add a few labels here and there (largely geographical features once the topography is ready - more on that below) and I need to go over the icons again as the resizing left them somewhat blurry. 

Speaking of topography, that's what's been occupying most of my time lately. Of course, since this is me and I have to complicate things, I had to use a top-down approach, rather than bottom-up (start ith the world and work my way down to regions, rather than the other way round) so had to determine things like highest peak and so on before I could start work on the topographies. So far what I have is this: 

The world map will use a maximum of 10 levels of height, each representing 1-mile (the highest peak on Elyden is just under 8 miles (compared with 5.5 miles for Everest, keeping in mind that Elyden is larger, with slightly less gravity and, well, created by gods), though I may change this. So far the map below has 5 layers of elevation, so there's room for 3 more, though I need to revise the topography to make most of the map 'shallower' as it's turning out too high, given the limitation on height I've set myself - Korachan is not meant to be a particularly high region so I don't all available topographical heights, if any of that makes any sense.

I have no idea how accurate or realistic my topographies are (if you spot anything wrong with them please let me know!), though I have to say I'm really enjoying making them. They are a bit time-consuming, especially as I need to try and make the map fit in with features and regions that are already established, though they're very relaxing to make! If anything I need to try and limit the amount of time I spend on them as I could get carried away, though hopefully, more time spent on the map means a better end product.

A note on the colour - these colours are just a temporary feature while I work on the map, and I have a few options in mind - colour gradient, just the topographical lines, or use the topographical lines to help me make a relief map in greyscale. I'd like to try all 3 options and see which fits in the best.

partial topography map - Korachan

EDIT: the entire N-E part of the map is unfinished as yet - just the 'coastal' regions, so far. Also the attached map is larger than the Korachani maps in previous posts as I figured i might as well work on a larger area, in preparation for the next map.

I also settled on a portrait aspect with inset maps on the right, as shown below:

Atlas Elyden Key

A quick post to show the Key that I've been working on for the Atlas Elyden. I spent most of the day redoing the key on the Korachan map to match this one (still some work to do on the labels! As long as there's room on the page, there's room for more labels!) and I'm close to finished.

key so far

The majority of this key is dedicated to settled areas. There's 6 generic city keys, depending on the city size, though there are colour variants to denote capitals, as well as fortified variants, for a total of 36 (6 of each city keys).

The rest is dedicated to other labels, routes, physical features as well as political borders. There's room for more, as I'm sure there will be as I progress (I know for sure I will need to add more physical features, such as deserts, badlands, etc. and I'm looking forward to fleshing out the maps to include such features as they can only make them seem more alive).

I;ve also decided to try a greyscale topographical style for depicting mountains and hills. I hope to try them out before the end of the year so I can settle on a style before starting another map - this one was the 'guinea pig' of the Atlas as I've tested and redone labels on it, so the next one should be quicker, though as always, the labels will take some time!  

I;ve also been hard at work preparing the index for the Atlas, so here's a document detailing the Korachani and Hoammi labels on this map (the top half is pg 1 and the bottom half is pg 2)

#Atlaselyden, #Fantasycartography, #Encyclopaediaelyden,

Korachan Atlas Map

So work on the Korachani map for the Atlas Elyden is close to completion. There’s still work to be done with the mountains and some other physical features, but more on that after the map:

Atlas Elyden - Korachan & Hoamm

I’m quite pleased with the map overall though there’s still work to be done. The labels are clear (though I already notice some labels, like the mountains and larger geographical features are too dark, especially compared with the nations), the colours are what I was aiming for (though the actual printed map in the Atlas Elyden will be missing the weathered look to make printing easier) and the overall style is what I was aiming for. One down, about 100 left to go… To give you an idea of what that means: this map alone ended up with me adding over 150 new entries to the Encyclopaedia Elyden. Imagine what the whole Atlas will add to the Encyclopaedia!

I’ve come up with a symbol-based resource key that’s going to be used across the Atlas, which explains why there isn’t a key in this map – the complete Atlas will have a 2-page spread at the beginning of the Atlas detailing the key, labels and other details so they don’t need repeating across all the maps thereafter. In a nutshell I’ve come up with a few dozen symbols pertaining to resources and industries – pickaxe for mining, fish for fishing, grain for farming, etc.  think most are pretty intuitive, though some, though want of better design, might not be. One particular symbol I’m having trouble with is the symbol for dross (a slurry-like food that’s a staple amongst the lower classes and slaves of most nations, made from everything you can think of – discarded veg & fruit, insects, grizzle & animal fat, human & animal corpses, and other things), which is a bowl. Hopefully its good enough as I really can’t think of anything else to use as a symbol.

Map symbols

There’s various roads and routes – main roads, roads, pilgrimages (the Shadow March) and sea routes. I was thinking of adding distances to the sea routes (which I can’t do with the land routes, due to there being so many labels!), but I’m not sure they’re necessary in this map (other than for my own ease of reference when writing fiction based in those areas)

This particular map will be presented in landscape orientation, with each individual leaf sized at A4 (for a total size of A3). Once all the maps are done I’ll have to add a gutter (3mm per page half) to make it easier to read the map (something I notice most modern atlases seem to ignore), which is why the border on the top and bottom of the page are larger than the left and right.

The page borders have not only the standard graticules and degrees but also an alphanumerical grid (A1, B2, C3 etc.) which will be used for the index in the back of the Atlas, listing every entry alphabetically. I'm going to start work on that now that I've finished this map, to give me an idea of hiw long the index will be. I'll post that once i'm ready with it.

I also added a ‘focus’ the map. In this case the focus is Korachan and Hoamm, so I faded all other territories by greying them out, as well as their labels and keys. I’m not sure if that comes across well in the finished product – any feedback on this, or anything else in general?

Obviously this leaves me with mountains and other geological features (marshlands, deserts, salt pans, reefs etc.). The mountains, as always, are giving me a hassle as I just cannot settle on a style that I like and feel fits in with atlas style & time period I’m aiming for. I like coloured topography maps but fear they are too ‘modern’ for the relative time period I’m aiming for (1880 – 1900), which leaves me with my nemesis – the hairy caterpillar ridges, which are very time-consuming. Though if I spent as much time drawing them as I spent complaining about them I’d probably have done them by now!

#Atlaselyden, #Encyclopaediaelyden, #Korachan, #Fantasy cartography, #Elyden

Atlas Elyden

So, work has continued on the Atlas Elyden (volume V of the Encyclopaedia Elyden). Though I haven't posted much over the past year-or-so regarding the atlas, I've been slowly tinkering away on this between other projects. I've settled on a colour palette I'm happy with, and have decided to rotate the maps to make the longitude lines line up with the page orientation a bit better than before.

Now it's just a matter of adding the labels, which, as always takes time with me :)

Below are the two maps I'm actively working on at the moment: The first is a political map, depicting Korachan, centre of the High-empire:

A political map of Korachan  

The second is one of various 'feature' maps I have planned, depicting not necessarily nations, but particular regions. This is the Shibboleth, one of Elyden's largest rivers:

A map of the river Shibboleth and its drainage basin

The maps were re-oriented and re-scaled from the previous versions so most of the labels need to be repositioned to line up with the latitude lines.

I'm not 100% sold on the fonts yet (so far I'm using various fonts from the IM fell family), though they will do for now. the line running through the middle of the maps shows the crease between pages, so ill have to add a gutter once they're done for printing.

The shaded areas in the maps are the areas of focus and will be described in a small cartouche, though the previous style cartouches wont be used (a generic key will feature in the beginning of the Atlas. The shaded area in the first map denotes the lands of the nation of Korachan (in the north) as well as the Dichotocratic Republic of Hoamm (in the south). Another map will focus on Hoamm in more detail, and another will concentrate on Korachani colonies, in insert atlas style. The second map is the drainage basin of the river Shibboleth and will concentrate on tributaries and other river-related labels in favour of normal places (though capitals and major cities will be featured).

#Atlaselyden, #Encyclopaediaelyden, #Korachan, #Shibboleth, #Fantasycartography,

Atlas Elyden: the Shibboleth

Shibboleth: the Torrent, Eleventh of the Demiurges

Amongst the most esoteric of the ancient Demiurges, Shibboleth was once the patron of wanderers, travellers, portals and crossroads. Parts of these aspects remain, though have been absorbed by various cultures or might remain in some regions, embodied by saints or other religious figures. Shibboleth is remembered in some regions, particularly in the north of Sammaea where its Magnum Opus, the river Shibboleth, remains as one of the largest and culturally significant rivers in Elyden

Little is Known of Shibboleth historically. What is known is that like its siblings, Shibboleth sought to nullify its castigation. Where other fell into despair Shibboleth travelled Elyden and beyond – it is though that Shibboleth was the most travelled of the Demiurges, spending much time in the Otherworld as well as the Firmament above and the Atramenta below. This likely warped its mind and it spent little time with its children, the merills, who grew without the safety of a Demiurge guiding them. By the time of the Demiurges fall it had disappeared from the mortal realm entirely, becoming a solitary thing, obsessed with the beauty of the Otherworld to which it had become a slave.

Its physical form, if any, was likely lost to its sojourn beyond the mortal plane, and is not remembered. All scholars know is that it is most commonly represented by the symbol of a whirlpool. Its corruptions (deities and philosophies that stem from its original teachings) embody a sense of the inevitability of fate, that mortals have little control over what happens in the world. This is not a nihilistic view of fate though, and most worshippers find comfort in the fact that their futures cannot be changed –what will be will be!

The river Shibboleth is the only known remaining object attributed to the Demiurge Shibboleth and flows through no less than nine nations and territories, watering them. Though her waters are not as fertile as they once were, she remains the life force of northern Sammaea, and were it not for her the region would be far less populous than it is.

 ***

WIP on the map continues, with nations and border now marked out:

the river Shibboleth and its main tributaries

Proof of Concept - Atlas Elyden: the Shibboleth

So, having just finished off the Map of Venthir and Tzallrach I thought I'd carry on with some maps, specifically the Atlas Elyden: the 5th volume of the long-mooted Enyclopaedia Elyden.

I've already posted links to some mock-ups I had designed for the Atlas maps (here and here), though never really gove very far with them. I've decided to base this map on those so as not to entirely waste the work that went into them, though I will be applying some subtle changes.

I thought I'd try create a full map as a 'proof of concept' that the Atlas can be done. And I decided on a particular region - the river Shibboleth - a map that I've wanted to draw for a very long time and one that fulfils a role similar to that of the Nile in the real world. It is seeped in myth and legend and is known to be the work of the Demiurge who gave it its name - the Eleventh, Shibboleth; the Torrent.

The below is my work so far on the map. Not much different to the original version. I hope not to take too long to finish, to see if I like the style. The image is A3 in size and will appear as a 2-page spread in the atlas (as all maps will), and though the map appears in portrait orientation here it will appear as a landscape in the atlas - the dotted line denotes the spine.