February 2018 Challenge: The Isle of Grace, in the Marsh of Time

[AzureWings]

Of the set of prophecies I got from the linked generator, one stood out to me in particular:

"Upon the Twilight of Grace, in the Marsh of Time, the Helm of Wrath shall be lost"

The Marsh of Time sounded like a rather interesting place to me, and then with Time being a part of its name and all the thought struck me: what if the Twilight of Grace were not solely a time in the prophecy, but also a place?

This idea led to my plans for the Isle of Grace: A large island, or small continent depending on your definition (large partly just because I like my regional maps ) situated in the midst of a mysterious wetland known as the Marsh of Time. From without, the Marsh of Time is a decently large, swampy wetland, filled continuously with a white mist. Were one to venture out into its increasingly-watery midst, however, it becomes larger than should fit within its perimeter, until one sails or rows (or heaven forbid, swims) in less a swamp than a sea. And within the mist, the Isle of Grace, a landmass that should certainly not fit within the marsh's geographic confines and upon which time and place are linked in a way quite unlike in other places. Northwards from the island's center, it is frozen in eternal night and winter, while the south sees an endless noontide summer. To the west, trees bear leaves of resplendent fall color at all times, somehow dropping them now and then yet never running out, and their color is only made more vibrant by the sunset of the eternal evening. To the east, dawn breaks on as it has since the Isle's discovery, and the blooms of springtime never wilt.

So it is that the Isle of Grace's regions can be equally defined by their time, and straight west of its center lies the land known as the Twilight, its skies eternally living up to its name.

I decided to incorporate the prophecy that generated just after the one above, as well, because it too named Grace in a way that could be a place:

"The King of Grace shall be slain when the moon is crowned"

The King of Grace, I have decided, was a nigh-immortal, sorcerous tyrant, who ruled the Isle of Grace with an iron fist for centuries if not millennia. He claimed the construction of the most great and mysterious edifices of the Isle, which had predated any other settlers, as far as it was known; chief among these the Clocktower of the Moon, a structure mysterious in that it was a tower at the center of the Isle of Grace, so tall it even eclipsed Grace's tallest mountains in height, the glow of its clock-faces, each displaying a phase of the moon, visible from farther away than should be possible.

In this claim, the King of Grace lied, for the Clocktower came before even he (not that many other inhabitants of the Isle knew or would speak otherwise), and neither he nor any other truly understood much of its purpose or power (indeed, this is largely still unknown). But it proved his undoing: the crowning of the moon described in the prophecy that foresaw his downfall was the moment in which the Helm of Wrath was found, after having been tracked down starting from the Twilight, where the prophecy had first foretold its disappearance, and it being brought into the heights of the Clocktower of the Moon. The precise events that unfolded are unclear, but it seems that some result of this was that the Time whose passing he had ignored caught up with the King of Grace, all at once, and he was no more, freeing the Isle's people.

My challenge entry will lay out the journey of those who found and recovered the Helm of Wrath and brought about the prophecy's conclusion, and will in the process display the Isle of Grace's geography and landmarks as well.

So far, I have this to begin with, basic linework on a parchment background for coastlines, mountains, hills and forests. Here it goes:

### Latest WIP ###
MarshOfTime.jpg

[Diamond]

Very good ideas and art. Keep 'em coming!

[Ilanthar]

Nice start!

[AzureWings]

Convincing myself to get up and do the shading has been slow going, but here's a small progress update with coloring for forests and mountains (plus shading for the latter). The seasonal differences on the Isle of Grace should be pretty apparent now; I was a bit of two minds on having my mountain shading for the map also reflect the differing fixed times of day - while it seems like a cool detail, the transition zone in the east/west middle (where it's permanent noon or midnight respectively) still kinda needs shading for the mountains to look nicer, so I put it on an arbitrary side there which makes it overall a little less consistent in feel. So I'm still deciding whether to actually have the eastern mountains be shaded for morning light direction in contrast to the rest of the map that uses the other shade direction, the effect of which you can see in the current WIP.

Speaking of which:

MarshOfTime2.jpg

Bear in mind that the answer to 'how are there forests and plants and so on when the seasons and times of day are fixed to one value' and related questions about the Isle of Grace's ecosystems will always be to not think too hard about it .

[Southern Crane]

I like the shading a lot. As a tree-aficionado I feel the colors well depict the difference in deciduous and evergreen forests.

[Samstego]

The vibrant colours are definitely a nice touch.

[AzureWings]

Some more progress with more color and shading (hill shading and land/sea color, specifically) and the first few sites of interest, all on the autumnal part of the Isle. I toyed with a few different methods of sea styles; there was one involving some filters I liked the visual appeal of more had it not clashed too much with the hand-drawn linework style of the rest of the map. The current seas are less flashy but also fit the map better, I think.

### Latest WIP ###
MarshOfTime3.jpg

Among the sites visible so far are the village of Serdrus in the Eventide Islands, a place where a culture survives that is long gone from the world outside the Marsh of Time; Arvende, the populous City of Weathervanes that enjoys the almost-continuous harvest season of its location; the Western Equinox Stones, which though much rougher might be as old an edifice as the Clocktower of the Moon; the forest village of Woldwaen, it and its inhabitants under a dark curse placed by the King of Grace for a slight so long ago none of the villagers from that time are alive to remember it; and Harvest-Moon Lake, in which the travelers who sought the once-lost Helm of Wrath to bring down the King of Grace dredged an ancient stone tablet of obvious import but which they could not yet decipher.

[Diamond]

That's looking spectacular, AW. The colors are vibrant and blend well from zone to zone, the lore is great too.

[AzureWings]

I really need to pick up the pace if I want to get this done in time! If I end up not finishing though I'd like to at least put some more progress out here, so here are... most of the sites of interest I've planned on adding - still have a handful left! One of my ideas regarding the Isle of Grace is that it isn't trivial to reach, but is such a source of strange phenomena many civilizations have tried to colonize it over the eons. Generally this has been of little success, mainly because not only must one launch a ship into a wetland in order to reach the point where it becomes a sea, but the mists surrounding the Isle seem to actively mislead one's course and plotting a reliable route through is truly difficult. Then of course there is active interference, such as by the King of Grace before his prophecy-predicted downfall. The result is that the cities, towns and villages of the Isle of Grace are meant to have a highly varied hodgepodge of cultural styles to them, so hopefully that carries through with my drawing.

### Latest WIP ###
MarshOfTime4.jpg

What constitutes a 'site of interest' varies from a major notable geographic location to sites that aren't as big of a deal except that they were visited by the people who fulfilled the prophecy. Going counter-clockwise, we have the shipwreck on which one of those said people washed up on the Isle of Grace, or rather the fringe Eventide Isles. There is Port Krastas, where a large statue of some unknown knightly figure forever watches over the harbor and the only spot on its local river one can cross on foot thanks to the city's bridge. The Temple of Wind Valley, nestled in its titular vale and distinctive with its red-painted windmills, is a secluded place where keepers of knowledge reside, and is where the travelers of the prophecy were able to get the tablet found in Harvest-Moon Lake translated - it hinted at the location of the lost Helm of Wrath, which though having purportedly gone missing in the Twilight of Grace, had somehow in the intervening time ended up somewhere around the Bay of Beginnings, in the Paling of Grace, instead.

The thick Grennerwood easily leads travelers astray, but the travelers of the prophecy were able to seek aid at a humble village of woodcutters, its rough palisade (for keeping safe from wild animals and beasts) making it distinctive, in the forest's midst. South from the forest, in the more arid regions where the sun stands eternally high at noon, there is an ancient stone barrow in a hill, in which there are edifices of ever-burning fire. East of that was once the grand city of Solstitia, but when it grew so large and grand its inhabitants thought they might question the King of Grace's power the tyrant struck it all down at once, leaving a broken crater. Still thriving is Catamar, the City of Dry Wood - on the edge of an arid hill it is a forest of wooden buildings built on stilts and atop one another, confusing walkways twisting all about them and colored banners waving in the breeze. Off the southeastern coast lies the aptly-named Isle of Flowers, a serene place where the eternal season is just right for a riot of colorful flora in full bloom to fill it always. North of that is the cousin to the West Equinox Stones - the East Equinox Stones have their differences but anyone who has seen both can tell the two megaliths are kin.

Nestled in a springtime mountain valley is a makeshift fort, the militant hidden city of Valiak, where rebels against the King of Grace gathered their forces in secret, mustering in preparation for a final push. The travelers of the prophecy were tempted to throw their lot in here, with the numerous resources and brave preparations ready to oppose the tyrant, but ultimately decided to keep to their task - a wise decision in the end, when the rebels launched their attack and were destroyed at the walls of the King's fortress-capital.

On the very tip of the Finger of Dawn, the northeastern peninsula, there is a lighthouse of rather impressive construction, its light shining on untended for eons though in present days there are a handful of people who have nonetheless appointed themselves the lonely tower's keepers. Back southwest is the village of Dahelms, a quiet place in the mostly less-populous northern half of the Isle of Grace. Old tales told by the locals here revealed to the travelers that the Helm of Wrath had sunk in the Bay of Beginnings, to the north (where it can be seen on the map). The travelers ultimately needed to travel to Ravennas, the mysterious City of Black Iron. The strange relationship between the Isle of Grace and time led at one point to a mass of people from some unknown era arriving upon it, with strange knowledge and ways who built a city of metal and machine in a mountain cleft within the eternal winter and night of Grace's Midnight. Though unsettled by the unfamiliar place the travelers were ultimately able to secure equipment to dive into the depths of the Bay of Beginnings and retrieve the Helm.

East of Ravennas is a small, cold lake, and in calm weather the stars of night are reflected brilliantly on its surface. The town of Strellata, on its banks, lacking such wonders as the fire-belching machines of Ravennas to keep warm, is largely built underground, with only a few snow-covered surface buildings of brick and stone. Far north of this, at the edge of the Isle, is an old shrine built around a great evergreen conifer tree; its purpose is unknown but it seems to commemorate the winter solstice, judging by its location.

Finally, in the center we can now see the Clocktower of the Moon, with a stylized metaphor visible above it representing "when the moon is crowned", showing the Helm of Wrath with which it was done. South of it also is Crestival, the King of Grace's fortress-city from where he ruled with his iron fist, a city of tall, smooth-sided stone obelisks like spears pointed at the sky.

[AzureWings]

Whew - made it! This may well be as done as it gets - I'd considered some heavy color overlays to give more of an impression of time via 'lighting', but am reluctant to mess with the coloring work I'd already done at this stage of the game. Decided to give hand-labeling in a pseudo-calligraphic style a shot, and the surrounding ring should help make the distinctions between the parts of the Isle more defined. The on-map labels I tried to make look like they were written on a 'cutout' section over a lower layer of parchment - hopefully they aren't too jarring.

### Latest WIP ###
MarshOfTimeFin.jpg

(I'd prefer to put up a PNG for the final here, but I was a few MB too large at this point.)