If labels are a problem, why not do something in a language not found on Earth: eg. runes, obscure scratches, hieroglyphs etc. Just a thought.

Also, here's my two cents on the map. Foremost might be right about adding a few details to 'spruce it up.' But if you didn't want to do that, maybe you could really try to make it look like a forsaken and forlorn land, perhaps slightly melancholy, like a place that has been abandoned or lost, with winds howling over empty dunes. To achieve this effect, I think you could aim to add as few details as possible. The map already works well in this way, but could still be enhanced further. What d'you think?

THW