Inspired by @Scalenex's great work on his fantasy RPG world and his truly tremendous index, I have gone back to working on mine. This has been an on-again, off-again project of mine since at least 2003 Many bits and pieces are done, and I made something of an over-arching “story” with several fun characters, but mostly I like branching out and getting into some deep world building. I don't have as much written down as I would like, so hopefully this will give me an opportunity to organize my four binders worth of notes, maps, and drawings. Some of the main themes that go into this world: - 'Reverse Pangaea.' I love maps, so this world originally started with a map. The concept is based on continental drift, and what would happen in the far, far future when all the continental plates crash into each other on the other side of the world and form a new supercontinent. - Six Elements. The magic system is comprised of controlling and manipulating the six elements: fire, thunder (lightning), earth, air, water, and ice. These six also formed the backdrop of the overarching history of the world, and the flavors of the six species of beings that inhabited the world throughout its history: humans, elves, dwarves, kanar (trolls), sprites (sylvan peoples), and the vran (ice people). - Heraldry. I enjoyed making heraldic-genealogical charts when I was younger, which lended itself to making kingship lines and dynasties, as well as coming up with ideas for numerous noble houses and kingdoms. - History. I am a big fan of history (specifically Mayan, also Chinese, Japanese, Medieval, and Mediterranean history) and have incorporated many ideas inspired by what I have read into around 25 centuries worth of human history in this world. All the eras before this are considered “pre-history” as there are few known written records from the non-human species that exist (and fewer even able to be translated). Lots more summaries to do, I look forward to diving into greater detail on all of this stuff. Be advised of course, in the event of a tie between what make sense and what is cool, normally what is cool wins
On Species Skipping right into a summary of the mortal beings who inhabit the world. There are six primary species of the world, each corresponding to one of the six “Ages.” They are (from most recent to most ancient) humans, elves, dwarves, trolls, sprites, and vran. - Humans- the dominant mortals of the setting. I have sketched out roughly 25 centuries worth of history for many of the key human civilizations and dynasties that have risen and fallen. Just to give you an idea of what I am taking about... Spoiler: Calendar in brief... 25 centuries is a lot of material to go over... - Elves- superior in many ways to humans but due to their greed are now immortal, but cursed. Great practitioners of magic who taught the first human mages. Were pretty similar to most fantasy elf-stereotypes, except these guys are now basically werewolves. - Dwarves- short, stocky, bearded, and belligerent, they are master miners, builders, craftsmen, architects, and inventors who taught humans metalworking, craftsmanship, and many other technologies. - Trolls- Once upon a time they called themselves the Kanar, controlling a powerful and magical empire that dominated the landscape and ruled from castles in the sky. Their catastrophic fall split the world, and their descendants are no more than degenerate barbarians. Except for the barbarian versions they are mostly extinct. - Sprites- Spiteful creatures who once lived in a world untouched by technology and civilization, who cultivated the ancient forests, fields, jungles, and reefs, coexisting side-by-side with the natural world until their kingdoms collapsed in an orgy of decadence and violence. The sylvan races are split between many different subfactions, and are the most diverse of all the mortals in terms of habitat and good/evil spectrum. - Vran- Mythical beings from the most ancient of legends. Winter personified in living form, they survived the catastrophe of the last world and built a towering theocratic empire high in the northern mountains while the world was wreathed in an ice age. Civilization fell with the arrival of the warm-blooded races as they awoke from the underworld caves and returned to the surface. Now extinct. Each species has various races/subraces within it (for instance, sprites are divided between Wood Sprites and Water Sprites) and I hope to cover them all more extensively. Sorry @Scolenex, never was able to work in panda people
On Magic The magic system was one of the first things I wrote down about this setting, so its one of the major constraints I have built it around. In most cases, "energy" is synonymous with magic in this world (magic = energy = magical energy). In the "present day" of the 12th Century, magic and science are essentially the same thing, and magical knowledge has progressed significantly in certain areas of the world to a mid-late renaissance era of technology. Magic/energy is often used in aspects of certain technologies, though it is not widespread as it is usually kept within the secretive magical guilds due to their monopoly on the subject. Each element can be considered its own lore or school of magic. Each element is able to be manipulated or combined in various ways for different effects. While every magical practitioner regularly uses multiple elements of magic in any one spell, it is extremely rare for any magical practitioner to be able to consciously practice or learn more than one school of magic. The Elements of Magic: - Fire. The release of heat. Color is red. Magical energy that is closest to the energies of creation that produced the world and life itself. In many ways is considered the "spark of soul." To use a much more science-y term, this magic is fundamentally exothermic, as in it releases energy/heat from within. The magic is produced and/or drawn directly out of the soul/essence of the magic user. The stronger a user's essence, the more powerful the magic. This power can be replenished with rest, but it is not endless. More powerful users can produce this magic for longer periods and for greater effects; there is always the danger of pushing too hard and completely extinguishing your inner life force in the process. - Lightning. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed. Color is yellow. Also called Thunder magic in much of my earlier notes, and while ligtning more precise, thunder sounds cooler (though thunder itself is sound, which is air magic). A very diverse form of magic with many facets. Fundamentally it is a stylized (one step up) version from fire magic in complexity. Involves both the innate and learned understanding of energy (see: magical energy) and of its complex patterns, of chance and possibilities, and the ability to manipulate, control, and channel this energy in various ways to empower or cause harm. - Earth. Magical energy in solidified in form. Color is orange. The basis for existence, the material component of the world, its creatures, and the literal shell of the Earth proper. All mortals, creatures, plants, animals, and rocks are connected to this form of magic in some way, though it is mostly inert. It is up to the earth magic practitioner to be able to see this inert energy and form it into something useful. Earth magic is concerned with hard work and perseverance in order to master their craft, as well as strength of character and trustworthiness. - Air. Magical energy in its invisible and gaseous form. Color is green. This school of magic usually involves the use of "air sight," visions and the ability to see and manipulate the invisible currents of magical energy as they soar above the surface of the world. Air magic always requires some kind of sound or speech component to invoke (as sound is a form of air magic), often in song. - Water. Magical energy in its fluid and liquid form. Color is blue. Involves the fluid energy of watery environments, the ability to use liquid energy and understand its capabilities. Since life as we know it is fundamentally based on water (encased in a shell of earth magic), water magic is often considered the key element of life. In its basest sense it is also blood magic, it is also paired with the healing arts. Evoked with the idea of purity of heart, a desire to help others, a love of life and all of creation. - Ice. The absorption of heat. Color is purple, usually dark purple. Ice magic is the mirror image of fire magic. It is the magic of the removal of energy. It is endothermic, and its ability is to absorb heat until what remains is frozen. While fundamentally this is not an evil ability, it is often seen that way, and is therefore one of the rarest versions of magic to be seen practiced publicly as it involves the leeching of energy, drawing power from the outside, absorbing the heat instead of releasing it in order to produce its effects. Like fire magic, it also has a cap as it can only be used in so much as the user is able to absorb. The magic user can therefore be overwhelmed in the event they attempt to absorb too much energy. I am going to expound upon something I touched upon while explaining water magic. In terms of worldview, this how most modern human would think about themselves: - Water is the fluid of life, the blood and fundamental basis. - Earth is the shell of life, the physical body. - Lightning is the mind of life, the knowledge and the inner spark of intelligence. - Air magic includes the ideas and thoughts of life, the invisible abstract concepts that separate mortal beings from animals. Similar to lightning in this regard, but a step up from instinctual knowledge (Another potential way to think about these two is right half/left half of your brain. Needs to be fleshed out more) - Fire is the soul of life, the inner power, the fundamental spark of creation, the vessel and residence of the being. - Ice is considered the death of life. When the soul is extinquished, the fire grows cold.
On Maps Next for maps. I love maps, as anyone who has ever perused my art thread will already know. As already stated, the original premise for this world was a roughly sketched-out 'reverse panagea," producing a snapshot of what the world could look like in the far, far future if the continents had moved so far apart at the Atlantic Ocean that they hit each other on the other side of the world and created new continents, and a new set of mountain ranges. Spoiler: original drawing I am not sure when I made this, but it was at least before 2003. It has morphed quite a bit since the early stages, but more or less all the continents have stayed where they were. I have never explicitly thought this world was THE earth, but it could have been an alternate timeline or something. The far north and the boundaries of the map are not ever sketched out on future versions of this map, as the citizens of the place have no knowledge of what is out that far. Some geography: Suffice to say, common worldview holds that their are cold mountains up north and a sweltering sea to the south, with a never-ending sea on either side. Most of the southern part of the world is tropics or tropical (light green regions). Tropical areas vary a bit but tend to feature a lot of rain, lots of varied wildlife and fauna, etc. Volcanoes do exist (some inert), and deserts also exist but don't necessary line up to the only between the 30 and 60 degree parallels. Deserts are hot, with few if any rivers. Aridic/Meditteranean/Scrubland accounts for areas that are generally pleasant to live in, maybe a bit hot in the summer, but not so hot as to be a desert or tropical region. Temperate include areas that I would say are analogous to northern Europe, northeastern/western USA, and some parts of northern China. Temperate forests, broadleaf trees that change color in the winter, pine trees that keep leaves year-round. I am amazed at how much stuff I still have from my old notes that despite the water damage it holds up pretty well! Spoiler: Sampling of maps, some heraldry included Here are some maps of various sub-regions. Will go into more detail about these later: Old Map of the Valley of Varannon, pretty important place and location of the most powerful kingdom/empire of the setting. Think a Holy Roman Empire with six powerful kingdoms competing for power, with a magical Order with religious trappings providing a counterbalance against the powers of the individual kings and the High King. Map of the Peninsula of Vaya, with its most important cities labelled with their corresponding heraldry. The cities of Vaya are major trade nodes (in the center of the Inner Sea), and have similarities to Italian Renaissance cities. Another geographical map, this one of Mecqu'ram in the far eastern portion of the world: Another map of the far east, this time encompassing some of the other regions to the south. I was shocked to find this old gem, as it not only goes over some of the trading commodities found in each region, but straight up labels some of the historical cultures I based the regions on! Didn't realize I ever made this! Very stylized map of Balidor. This region is a pet favorite of mine, as it is based on a lot of ancient Maya history . Never came up with a "world name" for this world. In our own western tradition, we call the earth "the Earth," which means dirt. Previously some people called in Terra in Latin. Still need to work on this one, but none ever jumped out at me.
On History Time for some history and heraldry, starting with the pre-history of the world first. First Age. As already stated, this would could potentially be an alternate earth that suffered a big catastrophe. At some date in the distant past, a cataclysmic war blotted out the sun with clouds of ash, plunging the world into a millennia-long ice age. Most of the survivors fled deep underground where the world still was warm, with only a few remaining on the surface world eking out a meager existence in the darkness and cold. This was the domain of the Vran and their frigid empire. Second Age. Then the ice began to thaw, and the first of many new sentient species appeared upon the surface of the world, coming up from their slumber beneath the world’s roots. These were the Sprites, the sylvan peoples. Equipped with primitive stone-age technology but also an innate grasp of magic, the sprites adapted and spread out in all directions, becoming one with the fields, the woodlands, and the ocean environments. Third Age. Eventually the sprites were overtaken by the kanar, who were the next to awaken and rise up from the underworld. The kanar did not simply spread out and become one with the natural world as the sprites did. Instead they were builders, creating great cities in the tallest mountains. Also great practitioners of magic, they were able to perfect their power to the point where they were able to create cities in the sky in order to be closer to their gods. But the kanar went too far, and the great event known as the Fall destroyed their civilization. The sky-cities fell back to the earth, great earthquakes destroyed their land cities, and their civilization collapsed. The Kanar fell upon each other in madness and became the trolls that still stalk the mountains in the dangerous parts of the world Fourth Age. Next came the dwarves, who when they reached the surface world decided they preferred to live in the earth after all. Builders like the kanar, they were mistrustful of magic knowing what happened to their precursors. They instead carved for themselves many mighty kingdoms built upon the back of astounding technology. The kanar were a stone-age civilization like the sprites before them; the dwarves meanwhile discovered how to mine, smelt, and work bronze, then iron, propelling them forward and enabling their conquest of the world’s mountains. Fifth Age. Then appeared the elves, similar to the sprites in their fey appearance but even more attuned to the magical nature of the world. They rebuilt much of the surface world that had been shattered during the fall of the kanar, and built many great cities across the continents. Magical practitioners that have not been equaled since, the elven mages studied each of the six elements and created numerous traditions, practices, schools, and methods for learning and growing their power. Ultimately their power became their downfall, as while the elves were long-lived, they were still mortal. In the pursuit of immortality, the elves were cursed and doomed to live immortal lives at the price of their own sanity. Sixth Age. It is now the age of the humans, the newest and youngest species to rise up from the caverns and caves under the earth, to claim sovereignty over the world and build a new and lasting civilization… One of the themes I have incorporated is the rise and fall of each civilization. While much of ancient history is murky, it has been much embellished by future human scholars (and me) to fit into the neat little narrative of civilization rises, reaches its peak, then falls and is overtaken by the next civilization. And it fits neatly into the six-element theme I have going on as well (vran -> ice, sprites -> water, kanar -> air, and so on). Lots of history and stuff happens, and in the present day humanity as reached its heyday… maybe even a little bit past its heyday and has begun a turn towards a downward spiral. Also note, the "ages" were assigned by human historians, not by the mortals who inhabited each age. History for humans is guesswork (no time machines), so they got a lot of things wrong, and it looked prettier for the human scholars this way too. I have recently been looking into more of my deep lore, changing a few things, and one of the biggest things is working on a religious system. So far I have determined that the main religion of humanity would be a pantheon of gods, corresponding to the six elements, with pairs of each element/god having a good/bad aspect. I figure the humans would have adapted similar gods to what the elves had prior to them, and just made embellishments as beliefs, values, and traditions changed. Below is a list of the main regions and human kingdoms/empires that inhabit the world. Valley of Varannon (pronounced var-Ah-non) and the White Order. The Valley marks the spot where the greatest city of the Kanar fell to the earth; its impact made a giant crater that split the earth in two. The elves later made this region their capitol, bringing life to the desert and created the six rivers that fed into the sea, and built their beautiful capitol city on a series of islands in the center. The elves and the trolls are long gone, but the humans remain, and from this fertile valley have created an empire that has lasted for over thousands of years. At its height, the Alcaron Empire stretched across the world, thanks to the power of the mages at the command of the emperor. Now the High King only rules within the mountain slopes of the valley itself, and is reduced to balancing his power amongst the six kingdoms constantly bickering for power. Lots of western European history sprinkled in here, from Rome to the renaissance. Land of Mecqu’ram (pronounced mek-QUAR-ram). In their own tongue it is the Land of the Dragon People, as these humans are believed to inherit both elvish and draconic ancestry. While some of this continent was conquered by the Alcaron Empire in ancient days, the area is characterized by many competing factions, conquest, and bloody warfare throughout its history. Notable events include the rise of the Fyrenic Empire in the wake of an Alexander-the-Great-style conquest, followed by an insane dwarf invasion, followed by several dynasties rising and falling with varying degrees of success in ruling the continent. And a antipathy with the Rhynlings (see next group). Lots of “oriental” themes and inspiration in this part the world, to include some Chinese history that I had a lot of fun putting together. In the present day the southern part of the continent is controlled by a weakening dynasty, with the northern half having been conquered by a coalition of ogres (trolls by another name) and humans. Isles of Rhyn (pronounced same as Rhine). The many islands of the Sea of Rhyn were once part of the Alcaron Empire. After its fall, the various city-states quarreled amongst themselves for a time, before eventually establishing the Peace of Rhyn which lasted nearly a thousand years in which no wars were fought on Rhyn proper. The city-states continued to compete with each other on the sea, building great navies and colonies abroad on both the Rhyn Sea and many other locations. The Rhynlings are a seafaring peoples, big colonizers (some European influences but not quite as high a level of technology) who carved for themselves some mighty trade empires, and fought many wars with the kingdoms of Mecqu’ram, Vaya, and others. Kingdom of Mithraedir (pronounced meh-THRI-eh-deer, long one that I have never been 100% happy with but it is sticking for now). When you think of these guys, think of knights, jousting, and heraldry. Maybe some Bretonnian thrown in there too. Their early history is tied hand-in-hand with that of Varannon and the Alcaron Empire, but diverged into their own distinct culture after that. Empire of Vaya. Another offshoot of the Alcaron Empire now independent, they evolved as a trading hub at the center of the routes between the Inland Sea and the Isles of Rhyn. In their history they had a string of seven dynasties come to power, most were ruled by Vayan emperors but some where foreign, such as the 3rd Dynasty (Rhodan conquerors) and the 5th Dynasty (Whelmish conquerors). The 4th Dynasty launched some major crusades into the Balidor basin, and by the time of the 6-7th Dynasties the peninsula had taken on many characteristics similar to the Italian city-states in the renaissance. Spoiler: Side note: Vayan Calendar Side note: the Vayan Calendar. The Vayan Empire, due to their centrality, also had their calendar adopted by the rest of the world, taking over from the outdated Old Alcaron Calendar (OAC). The New Vayan Calendar (NVC) took over from the Old Vayan Calendar during the 2nd Dynasty, and has been in force ever since (except in Mecqu’ram where they do their own thing). Dates having taken place before the New Vayan Calendar went into effect are labeled as Before the New Calendar (BNC) counting backwards. When I say “present day,” I am referring to the 12th and 13th Centuries NVC (roughly 1170s to 1200s). Realms of Savar. No single empire rules here, but many minor kingdoms have risen/fallen across this continent. To be honest this is my least inspired area of the world, so a lot is left open for me to fix. The Rhodan Tribes live here (some migrating horse lords/Mongols/knights/marauders), along with several other human and even non-human groups such as the Abbasad (a sylvan offshoot of barbaric, lion-themed sprites) and the Myern (xenophobic water-sprites who have survived to the present day in part due to them being fantastic warriors). Tapir and Apher are down in the corner of the continent, don’t have much lore on these guys yet. Greater Balidor. One of my favorite regions and the one I keep coming back to, but so much of my notes are disjointed I really need to organize it all. With a civilization even older than the kingdoms of Varannon, the denizens of Balidor inhabit a colossal jungle now strewn with remnants of many fantastic ancient ruins, both of kanar and ancient human origin. Lots of ancient Mayan inspiration here as well as a healthy amount of Japanese Sengoku (so of course, it’s a favorite), and in the present day many petty kingdoms vie for supremacy in the wake of a devastating civil war. Lands of the Dwarven Kingdoms. As it says is the name, these are the only two major non-human powers in existence through most of human recorded history up until the end of the 6th Century NVC. The two dwarven kingdoms of Donzandring and Arador were major economic, trade, and production centers for much of their history until their collapse in 385 and 576 NVC respectively. Large numbers of humans lived within the dwarven kingdoms prior to their collapse, working many surface, merchant, shipping, and menial jobs throughout their kingdoms. Crossroads of Kedar (pronounced keh-DAR) and Reef of Kinflen. Kedar has a big mix of cultures between Balidor and Mecqu’ram; aside from the site of a few major conflicts I don’t have much specifics to go over at the moment. Reef of Kinflen is important as an ancient home of the Water Sprites, lots of big coral palaces down there, but it is neigh-unavailable by sea unless you know what you are doing. Lots of sahuagin live down there too though, so piracy is an issue. Spoiler: Heraldry notes Coat-of-arms of the 3rd Varnic Dynasty, the present High King of Varannon. Yellow sun of Alcaron (sun with 8 curved rays) on a light-blue field. Coat-of-Arms of the Ordus Sanctus, also known as the White Order. Six-pointed star of magic (note the six elemental colors) with a white center and black field in the background. The Ordus is both a magical and religious order tasked with both the spiritual and supernatural (magical) well being of the valley of Varannon, and have magical-order offshoots spread throughout the rest of the world. All other human magical orders were either created by the Ordus Sanctus or still hold their allegiance to them, nominal or real. Coat-of-arms of the ruling family of the isle of Fyre (fi-REE) in Mecqu'ram at the height of the Fyrenic Empire. Red flames on yellow background. Coat-of-arms of the Rhynic state of Kantor. Colors of the shield actually should be a yellow six-pointed star on a darker blue background, I couldn't find a better picture. Coat-of-Arms of the kingdom of Mithraedir, representing the three main regions of the country: blue Medine, red Caldahar, and yellow Amarnia. Coat-of-Arms of the Vayan Emperor and empire. Purple sun with twelve rays representing the twelve primary cities on a white background. All the Vayan emperors have traditionally adopted this coat-of-arms to represent their authority, though at times it was co-opted by the senate. All individual dynasties have their own coats-of-arms. This one isn't heraldry, I am currently not happy with any of the stuff I have on hand for Savar, Rhodes, or the others on the continent. This is a depiction of one of the shark-helmets used by the water sprites of Myern. Coat-of-arms of King Sergrius of Balidor (western style shield and naming convention), the last king of Balidor. True name is Huk'pak, Four Jade Shield of the Toka Clan. The Toka clan crest is the Tree of Rayapan (yellow) on a light-green background.
I enjoy your magic system so far. How much of your magic system is something spell casters study or are born with and how much of your magic system is a force in the natural world. Unrelated question, is this map above at the poles and warm in the middle or is it cold up north and warm in the south? In other worlds, outside of spell casters how much science do you have and how much SCIENCE! do you have? The Afran desert has a lot of coastline and rivers. It doesn't have any mountains to create a rain show. The only way that continent would be a giant desert is because of SCIENCE! I notice your map has a lot of large inlets to the sea. How traversible is it? Unless it's choked with sea monsters and crashing rock cliffs it looks like your world is very friendly to pre-industrial travelers which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what kind of stories you are hoping for. What feeds the rivers? Most rivers in the real world are fed from snow melt from higher elevations to lower elevations. This world seems to have a lot of counter intuitive to real world science, but at the same time very strategically placed rivers. Just like with the inlets to the sea, it looks like bulk goods could be moved fairly easily so your world could sustain very large impressive cities with pre-industrial tech. That may suggest benevolent gods are involved somewhere. Balidor really looks like it was created by benevolent gods or terraformed by an ancient long lost race with superior magic and technology. The rivers are almost perfectly located for both travel and irrigation. Quick google search told me that Mayan words for "earth" are "chab, kab, lum" Not majestic enough but you could tack these words onto something grander like kabmundi. Maybe since you are using Pangea as a baseline, Pankabmundi. That's a little clunky. But I would real world cultures you want to draw inspiration from and look for words for "earth, sky, universe, totality, sea" etc and mix and match till you have something suitably fantasy but also relatively easy to pronounce.
I appreciate your reply! Just finished my general overview, it was hard to boil stuff down to key components. A lot of my notes are rambling, incomplete, or super specific. Great questions Magic is fundamentally present everywhere, this is known/believed by faith by nearly all humans, however it doesn't necessarily manifest obviously for most humans to see on a regular basis, if at all. Magical learning does require some talent, it does sometimes manifest in random situations, but usually it requires extensive training. The exception to this is magical items of course, but these are also rare and expensive. If you have a magical item, its a big deal because they are extremely hard to make, as most don't last very long, and the dwarves and elves were better at forging them anyway, and most methods to make permanent ones are long lost. The Ordus Sanctus and the other orders spread throughout the world tend to have a monopoly on both the knowledge and "magitechnology" required to use magic. It is perfectly possible to sail from Vaya to Rhyn with just the use of wind behind your sails. It is much faster if you have a sanctioned Ordus wizard with you trained in wind magic to fill up your sails. You don't need a fire mage on hand to start a fire, but he can also start one without the use of kindling or fire starters if he was there. Magic has been used to great effect in many major wars, specifically in Varannon where a whole one-sixth of the Ordus is dedicated to it (the Ordus Militus controlling the Phoenix Legion, who practice and teach fire magic). Outside of Varannon in the modern age it is much more rare, and often at the service of only the noble classes to make their lives easier/maintain their power. I need to develop this more. Spoiler: side note: the six swords One big thing I will get into later is the six elemental swords; one for each element of magic. They are the most powerful magical devices ever created, and have been used/lost at varying times throughout history. Each has been a big deal whenever it showed up and was used; and its users normally found themselves thrust into positions of great power if they weren't there already. Particularly if a human got their hands on one of the swords. The Sword of Wind was created for one of the Kings of the Kanar, but for him it was basically just a long knife as kanar can be over ten feet fall. The Sword of Fire was the most recent creation, built by the conqueror of Mecqu'ram whose descendants created the Fyrenic Empire and were the first to unite the entire region, and everyone has aspired to be him (and use his sword) since. At both poles it is cold. Most people don't travel south of the -30 degree parallel. The further north you go, the colder it gets, the further south you go, the colder it gets, and it is hot in the center. The world is round, just like ours. But in practice, the general perception of the world is a bit different. Noone has really explored that far south, so the prevailing assumption is that the further north you go, the colder it is; and the further south you go, the warmer it is. Nobody has checked yet. Same as the belief the world is round. Some believe it is round based on science/studies and stuff, but no one has gone to check because it is dangerous/would take too long/what would you do that for? In most world maps readily available, the map ends in the middle of Afara if it includes that far at all (copious monsters at the edges of course). Question: does 'science' here mean actual science and 'SCIENCE!' mean fake science/magic/a wizard did it ? It looks like few of the maps I have posted so far really feature mountains. There are a ton of mountains, especially in the center/north of the world. Here is another old map: Plenty of high places for most rivers to come from, as the majority of rivers do occur from natural springs, ice melting, glaciers up north, etc. There are exceptions of course. The valley of Varannon is the biggest one; after the kanar fell and made a huge crater in the center of the world (crater being the valley) the entire world was split a bit. In reality, the map PRIOR to the fall looked a bit more like this: Little bit of an inconsistency, but I was going to go over it when I cover the kanar in more detail. The continents had already merged at this point and well and truly became a single super-continent. The force of the monstrous sky-cities of the kanar falling back to the earth caused considerable damange, destroying most of the remaining sylvan kingdoms (that weren't already enslaved) and made the inner-lake into the inner-ocean of present day. Giant Atlantis-style civilization-ending event changed quite a bit of the map too. Anyway, Varannon is one of the biggest exceptions. Long after the fall, the elves migrated into the valley which was a deserted wasteland at the time. They created the six-pointed lake at the center (or sea, it might have salt water can't remember) as well as placing several water shrines hidden up in the mountains to create the six rivers. Some of these are easily navigable like the rivers of Throndur and Seadum, but the river in Celebras moves too fast for ships, so most of their trade is carted overland. Afara is another weird exception. It used to be one of the largest forests in the world, until the fall also turned it into a wasteland and a desert. Some of the rivers still flow, but most are dried up. No matter how hard the sprites tried they were unable to save their forest, and the desert-dwelling survivors still carry the weight of this failure to this day. A large swamp/delta (the Guaros) is still present at the border of Afara and the western ocean, but is unusable for most agricultural practices and inhabited by monsters unfriendly to humans. The rivers of Vaya are navigable, as well as most of those in Mithraedir, Savar, and Mecqu'ram, and all tend to work well for trading enterprises. Balidor is another weird one, as the river is navigable but is split by several large cascading waterfalls. The river delta at its mouth is also difficult to get through into the interior. The jungle basin itself is made up of several smaller regions separated by large cliffs, Ta'al is at sea level and borders the Rhyn Sea, but each successive region is a much higher elevation all the way up to Cazamul and Zephras, making it difficult for any would-be conqueror. Once over the delta or waterfalls however, the rivers are easily traversed, mostly by the large canoes or catamaran-like craft used by the human inhabitants of the jungles. In fact, in both the distant past and revived in the present, large fleets were able to completely navigate around the waterfalls thanks to an ingenious series of pullies, locks, and canals built around the waterfalls. Some legends to exist for ancient kanar workmanship having gone into the current structure of the continent of Balidor, as much of the very early human settlers of the continent learned a great deal from them. I like to think some of these are true but there aren't many kanar around to verify this as fact, and those that do probably won't know either. Spoiler: another Balidor map The Inner Sea is very navigable, and holds one of the largest trading networks in the world hence why the Vayan Empire has maintained such a powerful position throughout its history. This network suffered considerably after the death of the two surviving dwarven kingdoms, but has since mostly recovered. I have a map of major trade routes somewhere but can't find it. This is some great brainstorming. I like "Pankab," short and simple. It would work really well for the Balidoran name for the world, possibly with kanar origins as they get much of their early culture from them. I am hoping to create out a more "latin" sounding name too, for what the Varns and the Vayans would call the world.
science says earthquakes are caused by tectonic plates shifting against each other. SCIENCE! says that earthquakes are caused by giant subterranean monsters river dancing which shakes the world above.
Hmmm... that is a great example. I would say mostly science with a lower-case "s" fits better, as the second definition seems to fantastical for what I am going for. An earthquake is caused by the plates shifting around and against each other faster than normal, or abruptly/unexpectedly. This is caused by the earth energy within them. Earth energy is magic in solid form, often considered inert to the unaided eye, but it is in fact moving infinitesimally slowly. A mage knows this, and could coax it to move faster, or to form itself into a different shape. Mages and practitioners of magic can see the elemental energy that incorporates all life/life forms/inorganic matter, and can manipulate it. I can assume most natural phenomenon include copious amounts of their respective elemental energies. A tornado would have huge amounts of wind energy within it; a hurricane a mix of wind and water; a thunderstorm wind, water, and lightning mixed in. A volcano eruption would be fire and earth, likely fire energy heating up the earth in the form of molten rock. A sandstorm would be earth moved by air. A blizzard would have water and air, with ice leeching any residual fire energy right out to make everything colder Warmer areas could be considered to have greater ambient fire elemental energy. The frigid tundra would have plants (made up of earth and filled with water) grow colder due to the creeping influence of ice elemental energy, causing them to freeze.
Great to see you getting in on the world-building scene mate, I'm really enjoying what you've been working on so far. All of this is getting me in the mood for working on Escalonia again, for a long time I've been struggling to develop a full mythology for it but recently I've been getting back to it and have been developing a good story revolving around its foundation. I especially like the full-colour maps and heraldry! Why am I not surprised that there would be Bretonnian, Mayan and Samurai nations? I'm interested to see how you do combine Mayan and Sengoku, because the cultural aesthetics and so on of those peoples differ quite a lot. I certainly understand how you feel as to favouritism, as when I've been writing about Escalonia many of my notes are currently about Calderon, the neo-Celtic faction, because it is just so much easier to write about the factions you're more interested in. It can be a nuisance at times when I want to write about the other factions but all that comes out is more and more about Calderon and the Tarkalians, but I've just learned to follow my muse and write it all down when it does come to me. I eagerly await your next writings!