the region of Bassorah
While working on the Inner Sea map I took a little time to work on a new map in the Atlas Elyden series. This is the first map I’ve made in the series that doesn’t occupy the entirety of an A3 page. The map itself is 3 distinct unrelated regions, one occupying an A4 face of the sheet, and the other two occupying a space of A5, respectively. You can see the line denoting the page spine once the thing is assembled into a book and/or pdf.
I haven’t yet included the grid (the letters and numbers corresponding to the index that will feature in the back of the atlas, once it’s done) and will add it in later. I also changed the style of the cartouche, going for something more modern. Some people had commented that once the maps are arranged together in an atlas, the cartouche style (particularly the wording) I was using wouldn’t really make sense. So going forward, all new maps will include this new cartouche style, including a rational scale as well as the old scale bar, as well as a short note describing the projection (as it’s a fantasy world some projections - notably those named after someone, like Mercator or Wagner etc. will be renamed to fit into world, though other types of scale, such a the one used in this map - equidistant conic - will retain the same name as there’s no point confusing people just for the sake of doing so :p). I’ll be updating the older maps as I go along as I tend to have to update certain things on them anyway, particularly when working on neighbouring regions that appear on earlier maps that weren’t fully fleshed out.
Most of these maps already appear in other maps, at least partially, and serves as a bit of a spotlight on smaller regions that might otherwise be missed out, like Achera. Bassorah is mostly depicted in the map of Skaros and most of Ipanah appears in the maps of Azazem and Skaros, and Madour is already all visible in the map of Vârr though I wanted to zoom in a bit (I might add some more detail to it in the form of new labels that couldn’t fit into the map of Vârr.
Bassorah
A recent addition to the nations of Llachatul, Bassorah emerged from the newly independent Ipanah in the years following the Dissolution of the Korachani Empire in 3705 RM. Like Bassorah, it is a land founded by immigrants and refugees and they have made a name for themselves as traders and merchants, growing rich as intermediaries between Almagest, the people of the Old Forest (Tar Yo-dhai), and the Korachani empire.
The stereotype of the typical Bassoran amongst the people of Korachan is, at best, a moustache-twirling merchant or, at worst, a skulking thief. The truth is far more complex. Bassorah is at a crossroads of cultures, where religions and different beliefs mingle amongst the many merchants, leaving its people somewhat jaded and more world-weary than your typical work Slave in the empire.
Ipanah
A Small, relatively recent nation to appear in Llachatul, Ipanah was settled in c. 3020 RM by refugees fleeing from both Almagest and Korachan in the years following the War of the Artifexes./ Much of the nation is built over the ruins of the older extinct nation of Asibaia, around an ancient cenotaph dedicated to a now-forgotten scion.
Its people were often attacked by slavers, with uncounted thousands of individuals carried into the empire in its ceaseless hunger for fresh bodies. In 3534 RM the nation was invaded by Korachan, and its people taken wholesale as slaves, leaving it largely deserted by the turn of the century. Following the Dissolution of the Empire in 3705 RM, its lands were later repopulated by dverg from Chthyrid between c. 3730 – 3750 RM as well as human immigrants, many of which would go on to expand north into what would by 3800 RM become Bassorah.
Achera
Also known as ‘the Rusting Citadel’ Achera is in truth a monolithic fortification, comprising redoubt, concentric star forts and miles upon miles of trenches and walls in Llachatul, between Laaskha, Ipanah and Azazem. Originally erected in the early days of Korachani dominance in Laaskha in response to dissident attacks, the network grew into a militaristic conurbation with a population of over 100,000 at its peak. The citadel’s purpose changed over the years, leading up to c. 2910 RM, at which point it had diminished, becoming an independent caravanserai controlling 800-square-miles of land between E Lhaaskha and W Skaros, governed by an order of knights bound to both neutrality and the people it protected (pop. c. 3,000).
In the centuries since then the region has become an autonomous state, still bound to its self-declared laws of neutrality. It is the smallest autonomous regions recognised as a state by most other powers around the Inner Sea and its people, though few, are very proud.
Madour
An ancient city dating back to the early days of the Korachani empire, Madour was once a part of an independent pre-imperial Vârr, then became part of Rhamia before falling to Korachan in 792 RM. When Korachan was driven from the region in 1019 RM Madour became its own entity once again, turning to piracy in the Sea of Propontis, though traffic across the sea diminished over the next centuries. The city then became insular, its merchants and privateers, once a common sight, dwindling until all contact was lost with the outside world. Rumours grew across Vârr that a quarry within the city struck a deep hollow that led to the underworld of Carceri.
By 2200 RM those passing close to its borders would see a towering wall of iron and limestone surrounding the city, with no doors leading out. The Korachani empire reappropriated Rhamia late in the 4th Millennium RM its diplomats and explorers braved the city it in 3989 RM. The old city was found abandoned, a particularly deep mine collapsed, leading into Carceri - proving the rumours. The mines were sealed with reinforced concrete, the high walls levelled and the city - the strategic importance of its location clear to the pragmatic imperial colonists - rebuilt. Now landlocked following the retreat of the Sea of Propontis, a harbour links the city to the sea where slaves from the north east arrive.
Thumal
A small nation in southern Llachatul, south of the Mull City-States. Thumal is composed largely of islands, which together form the southern-most point of the Toliasor Mountains. Parts of the region once formed part of the Korchani colony of Amondor though broke away in 3820 RM. It is people are the descendants of Korachani colonists and people native to the region, whose blood was mixed millennia past with that of mulls. The capital of Elbia is known for its beautiful and expansive natural harbours.
Another nice one Vorro. I especially like the shape of Thumal on this one. Seeing this and the Hololach map again, I'm wondering if you ever considered to make a 3D or wilbur render of your maps? You have so many details on coordinates and altitudes, I'm pretty sure it could be spectacular!
I'm not sure how easily it would be to reverse-engineer these maps so that they make sense both here and on Wilbur. I had made a proper height map of one of the continents (Bror) though I was just messing about with the program. Now that I have so many regions well-mapped out, I'm not sure I can recreate them on Wilbur. Do you think I could? If i can create the topography through some other program more quickly that i presently am, I'm all for it!Originally Posted by Ilanthar
Another nice one Vorro
I honestly don't see why you could'nt. Sure, it could represent a lot of work if you don't have the different altitudes levels on different layers, but still possible to do anyway... I've done my Guildworld map with far less consistency and informations than you haveBy Vorropohaiah
I'm not sure I can recreate them on Wilbur. Do you think I could?
I'd probably have to go back and redo all the maps I've done so far so that the topography matches the Wilbur heightmaps, which truth be told isn't something I;m looking forward to!I honestly don't see why you could'nt. Sure, it could represent a lot of work if you don't have the different altitudes levels on different layers, but still possible to do anyway... I've done my Guildworld map with far less consistency and informations than you have
Unless I can take the topography, bur it and render it in greyscale and use that as a rough heightmap, which would keep the generic details of the landmasses the same. I wonder whats the max size image i can import into Wilbur?
I'm not sure you're using the same method as I do... I mean, I could do something directly from this map, but I'll have to do each layer based on your actual contours. Some filters are quite good on contours too, maybe it could be used before wilbur.
I can't really answer that, since for me, it's more a matter of computer than software (or so I guess).By vorropohaiah
I wonder whats the max size image i can import into Wilbur?
some software is quite limiting, like G. Projector. Seems a shame if that's the case as nowadays such limits should be imposed by hardware rather than software, though I don't really know what I'm talking about
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