Thanks! I'll be working on labelling this week
This is great so far! i really like what the dwarfs have done with the place, can't wait to see more!
Thanks! I'll be working on labelling this week
I played a bit with the labelling and fonts yesterday. Wanted to get to something really dwarfy for my symbols and key and use them to add some color to the map. This is the result.
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I like it.
Looks nice!
Have been doing some boring work today. Just labelling and labelling and labelling. Stupid slow Photoshop didn't help to make it any better. But it's finished by now, and I'm nearing the end of my map.
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You'll be able to find the meaning to all these symbols in the oncomming map keys. That mute will have to do for now. And sorry, but no story today. That halfling is nowhere to be found, but I'll keep on looking for him. He better finish what he started, or else.
awesome! this is 100% a dwarf home, no questions asked. You really nailed it there!
Do not worry folks! I can see your tired faces; but this story is nearing to its end, and won’t last any longer.
The dwarves in Barkinia have been fighting an enduring civil war for almost 350 years now. In the meantime, they have formed factions around each of the founding fathers. That is what my map here depicts:
Let’s start with Mekkar. As a far relative of the King, he wrote to his family in the ancient mountain halls of Lokhatia, and undoubtedly got royal support. He was given permission to use the royal colors, -mainly agatha green- and this earned him lots of support. His faction is now the nearest to what can be considered an official power in Barkinia, and have fought fiercely to gain control of locations as important as the Royal Palaces, the Court, Central and Castle Squares, the Shipyards or the Lyceum.
Mekkar’s two main opponents nowadays are Dipp and Holger, whose factions have got to control large parts of the tunnels and halls, spreading their influence throughout the city.
Who would have ever thought back in Lokhatia that a cook could reach the status of a clan chief? But so it is, here in Barkinia. Dipp, who chose red as his banner based on the color of his secret sauce, personally cooks for all his supporters with his famous fast-food recipes, and they turn it back to him by guarding his domains: The Hospital, where his supporters can be treated of frequent indigestions; the New Market Halls, where Dipp buys his supplies; Frank Guests’ Inn, where he celebrates banquets and parties; or Eloquency Corner, from where he gives his speeches followed by feasts, are some of the most important locations under his control. Not to mention Bottom Depth, the deepest, unexplored hole in the city and from where he expects to dig out countless riches when he finishes building his new Small Wagontrack.
In a similar way, Holger still controls beer production, which no doubt grants him many of his supports. With blue as his faction color, main locations under his controls are a second Hospital, where his men can recover from hangover; the Main Prison; the Althing; the Provincial Grounds; the Orchards, where he grows barley and corn for his beverages; or Burrow-by-the-Pond, where he gets water from. And you shouldn’t forget that due to this beer flux, he can count on the Rooster Gang being by his side.
There are other minor factions too. Bordur’s may be the most important one today, as he, being an engineer, has gotten the support of the dwarven technicians and scientists in Barkinia. Therefore, his chemical orange banner flutters in the dark halls of the Schollars’Quarters, the Whitecollars’ Offices, the city’s Main Fair, the Zeppelin Fields both new and old, and the Merchants’ Quarters. Even Gorn, the mad inventor, is by his side.
In fact, Bordur has grown in such power that for the last 50 years he has got to found a protectorate on Sunlil’s territory, who was saved by this from being swiped by Mekkar’s forces. Located in the most eastern regions of Barkinia, both Sunlil and Bordur share the domain of the protectorate, which has become a symbol of peace and holiness, as important religious locations belong there: the Sanctuary; the Hoy Rose or the Cathedral may be some of them. Also Zam’s burrow, the dwarven archpriest of Barkinia, is there, too.
Havil’s domains neighbor the protectorate’s, although his are of minor importance. He only can take advantage of the Things Charming mine, the richest in town; but his territory is poor on resources. I mean, just look at the names in there: The Gully, Clearances, the Big Hole. Pfft.
Dunlop seats in the other edge of town: his domains are limited, but poorly connected to the rest of the city, and there he enjoys a peaceful existence far from the ongoing Good Fight. There, as the typical grumpy bearded dwarf, he has dedicated his existence to a productive life of work and crafts. That’s why you can see names like New Mill, the Barracks, or the Belltowers.
Audapr has not had luck. He almost got to be proclaimed King of Barkinia, some 80 years ago, by letting his sister Elizabeth marry one of Mekkar’s relatives, who was above him in succession line. But it didn’t work. He did not give up, though, and baptized his faction as the “Bethian Pretenders” and changed his brown banner for a purpled, more royal one, which corresponded to his brother-in-law. He controls the High Land in the north of the city, where he has built a palace for his sister and her husband, known as Queen Elizabeth’s place, and fortified it foreseeing and attack by Mekkar’s men. And oh, what astonishing forts are those of the Three Towers, guarding locations such as Little Hill, where Audapr himself still delves, or Mills Square!
And finally there’s Aggar, and his Confederacy of Lowborn Dwarves. Unbelievably, the uncomplaining butler now leads one of the most powerful factions in Barkinia: all servants, slaves, thieves, assassins, adventurers and other lowborn dwarves from other cities in the world have rallied under his yellow banner in what could be the beginning of the most important political movement in dwarven history. Of course, the other more traditional clans won’t allow this, and fight Aggar’s confederacy with all their forces. This has left Aggar with no allies in the city, but he still has managed to occupy all locations which have been unattended by the other factions and controls them from his secret burrow in Little Barke-No slum. That’s how he has got to take control of places like the Burning Gin Burrows, the High Bogs, the Swamplands, the Pond, Iulius’ Road or Grand Pike. Not charming names, I know. But they’re lowborns, and the slums is where they feel at home. Not that the other factions would let them control more important locations, either. But hey, they managed to take over the Citadel and that’s something. And they control the City Gates, too. And well, that’s not important to the other factions, because you now, out there there’s only sun and elves, but this is what has allowed them to let other lowborns from distant lands enter Barkinia and grow in numbers. A promising faction, indeed.
And that’s all. Maybe some of you would consider a tip to this thirsty Halfling. Maybe someone would wish to buy this map from me? I swear, I didn’t invent any of this, all of it is true. And Barkinia’s history and future will be yours just for… well, better you tell the price.
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I did some more work yesterday. There might be some more to do, but I think I'll leave it here.
Now I'll try to be synthetic and give you some idea of what the symbols mean:
Color: symbolises the faction a place belongs to. Some central, most important locations can be controlled by several factions at the same time. This can mean they have reached an agreement or they're currently fighting for control there.
Frame: Framed locations mean they reach dwarven living standars, this depicts middle and high class areas (with frame) and distinguishes them from lower class areas (without frame). It also may depict locations still on construction.
Font: It may not be evident to a non-dwarven eye, but I've used up to eight different fonts in the map (moria, dwemer, angerthas, davek, kehdrai are some of them) and they represent the age of the location. Each font has been applied to more or less 4 decades of the history of Barkinia. This helps understand how the city has been growing from its start ...if you know how to read dwarf language and are familiar with their runes!
Finally, on the location names: I swear on all that's stony that I haven't invented any of the names in the map: they're actually the translations into English of the original Catalan names, (in some cases with a twist or wordplay in between, so there's a game too in the map: to detect the relation between the real name and the translation; some are evident, some are not).
Even names as dwarfy as Hard Rock, Little Wagontrack, Bottom Depth, The Mushrooms, Tarakon-Salir, Nymph's Bum (I love this one), The Gully, Big Hole, Urg-Him or Gorm's Burrows are real names and real places in real Barcelona.
Maybe that's what I like most in this map. Hope you may like it too!
It's been great to be part of this particular challenge.
Such a wonderful map with all those little details and stuff! Also, I think it's awesome that you had the idea of telling a story that goes with the map, as it adds a degree of depth, like it isn't just a piece of paper that depicts a city, but also serves as the setting of a nice novel. Congrats on that!
Btw, I noticed some typos, is it okay if I point them out?
Well, easily one of the more creative entries this month! So the halfling cartographer managed to draw this entire map while awaiting supper huh? That must have been some wait. Love all the symbols in this piece. So much great detail. Wonderful job!
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
