Howdy everyone!

Right around the mid point of this challenge I'm going to join in with the rest of you!

I teamed up with Kellerica and was given this brief:

"A realm through which a dark, magical infection is spreading.

A couple of things I'd like to see on this map:
- a clear, visible difference between the infected and the clean areas (but there can be a smoother transition between the two).
- some sort of a sentinel keeping the infection at bay somewhere. This could be a man-built wall, or a magical river, a row of enchanted pumpkins... Get creative, just keep it out at all cost!
- a headquarters of the folk resisting the thing. An unspoiled elven forest where the elders pray to earth mothers, a university filled with the brightest minds tirelessly working to find a cure, anything you like, as long as it is conveniently located. This should be one of the main focus points of the piece.

How you choose to depict all this is up to you. Any type of map, be it regional or encounter level scale, even a city or village, everything is fine. I'm naturally thinking a more traditional fantasy setting for this, but nothing is stopping you from turning it into a futuristic one if you so desire.

Color scheme wise, I'd like you too to try and step out of your comfort zone a bit. You know I love dark colors, this is no secret, but it doesn't necessarily have to be that. Just try to do something in terms of color you haven't done before. Try a crimson red ocean, or go for a full, bright autumn theme for all the vegetation. Find some way to push yourself to where you haven't gone before."

This immediately sparked a lot of ideas and I finally got around to making a first draft version.

### Latest WIP ###

Against_the_Taint_1.jpg

And here's a short bit of background I made up:

"A year ago to the day it started. The frist news reached us about the Taint, though we knew nothing of it at that time. We studied it, in hopes to find a cure, but it was unlike anything we'd ever seen before. This was a disease, but... more. It started in the human city of Werden. Initially it affected humans. It turned their skin grey and stone like. Within four days anyone who caught it would turn to stone. The streets started filling up with statues made of its inhabitants. It soon started affecting dwarves and elves too. This had never happened before; there is no disease that affects more than one kind. Still, it didn't end there. After a month or so it started affecting fauna, and then flora. The very air would turn grey and impossible to breath. Water turned solid. We retreated, killed everyone that was contaminated, and fled to Mayandaara. Even there we weren't safe: within a week the taint had crossed the ocean and reached the continent. The only place left untouched is Tiraldra, but it won't be long. The only choice left is to fight it..."