The Infinite Lands of Grackslu
Here it is! And Infinite Lands is its name. My first map. It got the name from that round river, which is an almost infinite source of power, which changes the land's economy a little tiny bit. I'm not sure if I'll work on this map anymore, maybe that 3d version I've posted about in the WIP section. And I'm posting two versions, one with and one without borders. Hard to tell which one I like more.
well, anyhow, here they are (what do I write in this section? The lands history or something?)
here's the wip thread: http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=7382
grackslufinalwborl.jpg
grackslufinalwoborl.jpg
Okay! Now that I know what to write I can begin. Tutorials I used: Ascension's atlas style mostly. Really, that was a great, helpful tut that was the main reason why I started making that map (I accidentally stumbled upon it, and voila! Here is the map). Of course, after I began the creation process, I read most of the photoshop tutorials that are in the tuts subforum, so there's a chance I used elements from other tutorials (trees are a variation on what pasis did in his tut). Then, I used a few times Coyotemax's "aged paper" paper, although it is barely visible, and farm fields tut by Turgenev. For the fonts... Well, verdana and Morris Roman, and I think that's all, although I can be wrong. I won't start with stuff I learned, because then this post will have at least a million words. In short, a lot. Adding a lighting effect to a scanned aged paper has very interesting effects, makes it feel even older. And yes, the jasmine coast was somewhat an inspiration. But mostly I just stared at it and wished I could do something as great as it was.
As for the history... Well, about 150 years before the actual year there was a clash between two warriors during one of the larger wars. Shael, a chaoist (mage who mastered the chaos energy) and Tephin, bearer of the Word of the Wind (a kind of an artifact, lets you rule over the wind and air). Their fight spawned almost the whole Infinte Land, and created the cliff valley. Somewhere to the south you can see Shael's fear, cry, and pain. The places where he made his 9th, 10th and 11th mistake, the last one was fatal. That fight, and especially the creation of the cliff valley changed the course of those lands. You see, in the elevated masses of land were hidden tons and tons of precious minerals, mostly energy infused metals. The country, Jenlau, made the pact with the Pure Dwarf nation in the mountains, who had control over the Infinite River, and the rest is conquer. In a hundred years Jenlau, with the help of Dwarf-manufactured armours and weapons, conquered most of surrounding lands, and even ripped their way to the ocean. After that, they suddenly stopped and signed a peace treaty. Their goal was to get the terrains around Dry Mountains and at least one port. After Shael's and Tephin's fight in the to be cliff valley, the soil was practically useless, no crops would grow, while the lands surrounding Dry Mountains were famous for their rich soil. Food became the reason for war. Then, 50 years passed in peace when a senseless conflict began. It will take some time untill the historians learn the truth.
As for the floating mountains, there are anomalies in the energy flow called void. Void comes every 4 hours, and for 30 seconds all energy in the world disappears. Imagine that your 30lvl d&d character for 30 seconds becomes a 1st lvl character. And that there is an organization of assassins who specialize in killing people during that short period. Back to topic. Void shakes the energy flow, and that creates more anomalies, like... mountains that "feel" modified gravity upwards. The heavier parts flow a few meters a year, while the lighter simply disappear behind the broken sky (the first gods created a fake sky, so humans wouldn't dream of space travel. That fake sky in some parts shattered, when the first gods disappeared). Pretty much the same thing goes with random and shell mountains (random change their height, shell mountains are empty). And I'll stop here, because when it comes to my world I can write for hours... Really
Oh and here's the whole world with the part the Infinite Lands are highlited
mapapapier.jpg
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