what's next? Atlas Elyden

Ok, so now that the Almagest map is ready, I’m thinking about what to do next. The next logical step is to continue with that general region. Now that Almagest, Azazem, Korachan and Pelasgos are done, All that’s left to complete the N-E part of the Inner Sea coast are Skaros (S of Almagest) and Laaskha (S of Skaros and W of Azazem), and I’ll have a continuous string of nations stretching from almagest in the N to Pelasgos in the E.

the Inner Sea - finished maps so far

If I also complete the nation of Vaalk (S of Laaskha, across the Inner Sea) that will complete what’s known as the ‘Seven Tribes of Korachan’ - basically the first 7 nations (Pelasgos, Azazem, Laaskha, Skaros, Vaalk, almagest + Korachan) that were taken over by the Archpotentate Malichar in the first decades of the Korachani empire’s rule, 4 millennia past (of course the Seven Tribes are no longer recognised in the present day – Vaalk is part of The Sarastroan empire, and Almagest gained independence 1,000 years ago, for instance).

There’s a few other regions I’m itching to map.

The first is Khamid, which is probably the oldest region in terms of my writing – Khamid was a campaign setting a I had devised for D&D about 12 years ago – an Egyptian-themed setting, heavily influenced by Stephen Sommers’ the Mummy and the Mummy returns, amongst others. Even in that old iteration it was a region shaped by a massive magical calamity that sundered thousands of square miles, reducing the landmass of Khamid, leaving the entire region flooded and peppered with cliff-sided archipelagos – the remnants of the land. Only a small hooked peninsula remained in the west, enough for the region to not go entirely extinct and to remain, embittered by the glories and hubris of the past. (the setting was basically transported into Elyden as I started fleshing it out many years ago and remained one of my favourite regions since. I have mapped this area before, as part of the Venthir and Tzallrach map, though it’s never been the focus of a single map before.

Another region I’m interested in fleshing out more is Saviud, or the Surrach as it is known in the Korachani empire. It’s a vast dry region of independent city-states, each ruled by charismatic individuals – tyrants, otherworlders, sorcerer-kings, theocracies, mystery cults, etc. Each city is unique and tends to control a particular resource, making trade an important aspect of life, with merchant caravans and caravanserais a common sight. It’s the setting of the serialised novel I’m working on at the moment and deserves to be fleshed out more. The problem is its an even larger area than Almagest was and the the A3 format I’m working with seem a bit too constraining. I might work on a larger map and then divide it map in two – Surrach north and Surrach south – for more detail, with the larger one featuring in a generic overview of the region that concentrates more on territories and resources.

Any feedback?

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!

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

the Atlas Elyden

I've been working away at more leafs for the Atlas Elyden, trying to get the neatlines and graticules done on as many maps as possible. Its a very tedious process, and possibly the most time-consuming part of each map, other than the labelling, (which, given the fact that only a fraction of the intended areas, settlements and features currently exist may take a while once I get round to them).

the Republic of Almagest

I Got nine done in all so far, including those previously posted. I've tinkered a bit with the degrees outside the neatlines, making every tenth number bigger than the others, to make it stand out more. And I also tried my hand a little characterful thing I often see in atlases - making certain areas protrude from the neatline as way of better using page space. I think they look quite nice, though wondered if anyone has any opinions?

the Haréshk

I've also started coming across areas of maps whose peripheries copy maps that I've already made, though in different orientations and scales. It's been fun challenging myself to make sure I'm not changing any areas and that everything aligns up properly - for instance the bottom right of the new Venthir map includes the bottom left of the Tzallrach (Char Mathi) map; or the entire right-hand side of the Korachan map is repeated in the Pelasgos map. To make sure I don't map the same coastlines twice with different results I'm using the same land layer masks on different maps when they share land area - the best way to make sure coastlines remain correctly proportioned to one-another and properly aligned, which is something I'm very concious of! I'll be coming across this more and more as I go along though look forward to the challenge.

the Heartland of the Korachani High-Empire

Something else I'm also thinking of doing is dividing larger nations or those with lots of different territories, like Almagest and Korachan, respectively, into many smaller maps with more detailed information - like perhaps heraldry or other pertinent details.

the Pelasgosi Free-isles

Included in the new maps is a map of the City Kingdoms of the Haréshk, which some of you might remember is a region of my world I've already mapped. That was a map created by someone from the region. This will be a foreigners' map of the same region so it will be interesting to see the differences. This map also contains a small inset map of an island that's part of the Haréshki kingdoms though which did not fit on the page - I'm pleased with it but I'm not sure it's entirely clear. Any feedback on this? I've also uploaded a resized and re-oriented version of the Korachan map that's been changed to be more in-line with the new pages.

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On another note I do love it when people leave coments as it shows that people do read my ramblings and often have ideas and questions about certain things. This is very encouraging to me as it also makes me think and question certain things I might have missed otherwise.

Such an exchange of comments led to someone mentioning one of my favourite characters: Queen Hetepheres the Strangler, a sphinx (one of the last, if not the last of her kind). It got me thinking of a short story I hope to post here in the coming weeks. Fingers crossed (but lets not hold our breath)

the City-Kingdoms of the Haréshk

So, I finally finished the Haréshki map, after some setbacks (both real-life and within photoshop - damn i hate saving after making an unnoticed mistake that cant be edited...).

The Haréshk is a dichotomous place, its idyllic terrain and beautiful hills and grasslands forming a stark contrast to the politicking of its regions and their rulers; kings and queens and their countless lords and advisors. The place is somewhat antiquated, still holding onto traditions that the world's major powers (amongst them the two Korachani empires and the Secular Parthian Republic chief amongst them) consider to be antiquated, such as knightly traditions and a feudal state. The region is renowned for its myriad flags and heraldic devices and the angelic and draconic motifs (both attributed to its religion) that fill its art and culture.

Hareshki heraldry

Just thought I'd post this quick pic of some of the heraldic devices I've been working on for my next regional map (that goes with the history I'm devising for it).

A few pointers on some of the emblems that appear in the shields:
Angel/wing: the region's deity is an angelic figure that appeared around 1500-years ago to a shepherd-girl, who is now revered as her prophetess.
Hourglass: a relic said to have belonged to an avatar of the angelic figure, now carried by a missionary of the faith.
Skulls: a chthonic demigoddess of death common to this and other regions; the skull is a common emblem and appears in design motifs of areas that venerate her.
Pastoral devices: the Hareshk is an uncharacteristically idyllic land, with verdant hills and fertile farmland and as such, many of its fiefs bear pastoral emblems - livestock, seafood, wheat, scythes, sickles etc.

Other devices are more closely associated with their respective fiefs and have little bearing on the region's personality as a whole.

I only need 38 shields for the map, though I'm having so much fun making these that I'll probably make some more, at least 10-more, as i continue fleshing out the region and come up with more historical events or characteristics that i can depict on the shields. I'll then pick my favourite ones (with the aid my my girlfriend! time to give her something to do...)

world map

Hey all. Just thought I'd post a quick WIP of a world map I've started working on.

Yes, its yet another large wall-map, though i tend to like these maps that show off a large area. At this stage the map is more of a colour and style study than anything else, though it also helps me see the layout of things so I can plot things better. Looking at this, the first thing that strikes me is how long it is. ill probably increase the height of the background, which will also give me more room for other details and information.

It also serves to show off the more distant parts of the world to anyone interested. The projection is stereographic, so there is some degree of distortion around the edges of the maps, though distance is constant throughout, which is generally the point with these maps. It's intended to be a stylistic map rather than a reference one and when done will probably end up being something akin to the map in this link (this link), as well as to this real-world counterpart:

Also, on the worldbuilding front, I'm busy fleshing out another region of the world: the City-kingdoms of the Hareshk. I'm also getting close to finishing a new map for that region (look at me, ever the multitasker!). This map includes something i've never really looked at before: heraldry, and comes after a good few months of research and book-buying (yay! adding to my home library is always fun!). though the world isn't the real world, i like to base some things on reality and the laws and rules of heraldry seemed like something interesting to extrapolate from. Of course I've not stuck religiously to the real-world rules of heraldry (particularly metals and colours), though most changes do have an in-world explanation.

I'll post the regional history together with the finished map, though for the time being here's a snippet of the WIP on the map itself: