July 2018 Challenge: Elion: Dead Risen in the Shadows of the Woodlands

[AzureWings]

Didn't save a screenshot, but this was the list I generated:

1. Tirine, a marvelous world of volcanic mountains, cratered lowlands, and storm-wracked seas. The world is primarily populated by dwarves, with smaller numbers of other races.
2. A grassy hill amidst a cratered field. The air is filled with the scent of ozone.
3. Somewhere amidst an amber field.
4. A crystalline cavern on the 5th level of the Halls of Bloody Annihilation.
5. Elion, a medieval world of wooded hills, misty valleys, and cratered lowlands. The world is primarily populated by humans, with smaller numbers of other races. The denizens of Elion are infamous as powerful necromancers.
6. A volcanic island in the Sea of Allas.
7. Somewhere amidst a desolate waste. An ancient and long-forgotten temple lies half-buried in the sand.
8. A chamber filled with sand on the 8th level of the Dungeon of Indomitable Death.
9. The bank of a wide river amidst a verdant jungle. A noxious fog fills the still air.
10. Mithlothlin, an elemental plane of azure water and scattered bubbles of air. The plane is the domain of Finore, a demigod of oceans, and is populated by sea dragons. The denizens of Mithlothlin are at war with invading demons.

After some deliberations I decided to go with number 5, Elion. I'm taking a few liberties with the term 'world', here; Elion as known to Elion probably isn't an entire planet or world, though it is large enough to contain quite a number of distinct kingdoms and states within and there isn't a whole lot without that the people of Elion interact with - in something I'm seeing turn into a bit of a trend with some of my maps the borders of the map are where they are for reasons and tend to be barriers to travel in one form or another. In Elion's case, there is a dark pall hanging over the north, a shadowed darkness that none dare enter - or at least, that none are known to return from. Considering Elion itself and its inhabitants, that says something.

As noted in the prompt, Elion is primarily inhabited by humans. Many of those are dead, and so of questionable humanity; the living remain, however, a majority (if somewhat more narrowly). Also as noted in the prompt, necromancy in a variety of forms is a big thing in Elion. It is hard to say whether the prevalence of the risen dead came first or various arcane practices about them did, but whichever is the case across Elion there is generally a notable presence of the undead, or those who work with them, or become them. And also stranger things, sometimes... Nonetheless, what is perhaps unusual about necromancy in Elion is perhaps how mainstream it is. In Lotherem, all the common folk serve in their nation's proud military for two generations post-mortem; the aristocratic classes of Aleveri are vampires without even the slightest pretense of secrecy, though the implementation of the blood tax is usually quite humane in recent years; and the rulers of Medorjnsy would be lost without the wise counsel of their honored ancestors' centuries of knowledge. Next to all this one might think the Hollow People of Ulsk wouldn't even stand out (although, no... they're still feared by most of Elion's other inhabitants).

That's not to say the unquiet dead rife across Elion are necessarily no threat to the living therein. Particularly troublesome are the blasted fields that remain on the sites of its nations' most fierce battlefields, which are often roamed aimlessly by the less sapient of militarized undead, guided by orders long past having any sense or context if they are guided by anything at all.

Anyways, with that context and intro, here's the start of my entry for this challenge... currently just a coastline and mountains, with rough blobs in the vicinity of where I plan dense forests (green) and blasted, cratered flatlands (purple-gray).

### Latest WIP ###
Elion-1.jpg

EDIT: ...I seem to have forgotten the proper July 2018 Challenge: header for the title. Don't think I can fix that on my end, although I see the thumbnail scraper still picks the thread up. Is there a way I could have that added back in?

[Diamond]

Fixed it for ya, Azure. And I love to see your imagination at work once again! You always have some of the best descriptions/lore in your maps.

[AzureWings]

Small update just to get those unsightly blobs replaced with something better. I've added in Elion's dark, brooding coniferous forests and those cratered battlefields mentioned in the previous post. Those battlefields, being largely useless land (and often roamed by feral undead and lacking any sources of food for the living besides) often are features through which treaty borders between different vying lands are formed. Some individual notes about them follow:

In the west one can see the Badlands of Brethst, the remains of the great conflicts fought between Aleveri in its great valley north of the blasted lowlands and the Bone Throne of Knosprith in the coastal region to the south.

A long, deep canyon gouged in the earth is left from a battle in a past age of Elion, known as the Lethemar Rift.

The singularly vast crater in the south and the destroyed lands around it are known as the Tempest's Rage. So thoroughly disintegrated much of what was once here is that winds coming off the ocean can unpredictably whip up storms of stinging, stony grit. Tales from those who have tried to explore it over the years have reported having strange hallucinations when within the crater itself.

In the north, the ruined battlefields mark where Evanth created and maintains a militarized border warding off the Hollow People of Ulsk who lie to the north of the region. It is obvious when one nears the Ulsk side of the border, as the weathered and broken standing stones that remain of Evanthi soldiers - a common hazard of fighting or dealing with the Hollow People, and one that threatens living and undead alike - become more common, in some placed arrayed out almost like troops still in formation.

Another notable feature that can also be seen now is the Red Island. Not only are the trees of its forests red, but the ocean waters near it carry a bloody tinge as well. This is the sum total of what is known about it in Elion, as all the reports come from vessels that did not approach too near the island.

### Latest WIP ###
Elion-2.jpg

Edit: And thanks Diamond; I'm glad the lore I blather around my maps is enjoyable. (I always get so wrapped up in my update posts I forget to respond to previous posts like I intend to.)

[AzureWings]

Finally roused myself to do the mountain shading, which I always find to be one of the most tedious steps for me. Also added: rivers, lakes and ocean coloration (including the lovely waters around that island no one wants to go near...). I think the colors I've chosen for water overall help with the darkish tone I was going for with this one.

Additionally, I've marked cities - the large diamonds are capital cities while the circles are other major cities. Elion is big enough I'm only marking the big or otherwise particularly notable ones at all. Labels are to come, which will help with putting the names I've mentioned previously to places where that hasn't already been hinted at.

### Latest WIP ###
Elion-4.jpg

Things I've to add next: notable roads, kingdom borders, sites of note that aren't cities, and labels, the latter to include coats of arms because why would one map a medieval world without taking the opportunity to make some of those . I'll also need to add some black cloudiness to reflect the Darkness on the northern land edge of Elion.

The city markers are all silver-ish because silver is somewhat of a big deal in Elion - ignoring any concerns of material wealth it interacts in varying ways with some of the myriad necromantic traditions practiced on the continent. Often that interaction is harmful to the undead; it isn't a surprise that silver is thus a material of interest and import (it's even tightly controlled in a number of Elionese kingdoms).

That mention of 'necromantic traditions practiced on the continent' is actually relevant. The inhabited southern island (the one closer to the mainland that doesn't come with its own implicit neon warning sign on the map), is home to the Kingdom of Torventhal which is remarkable for wholly rejecting all forms of necromancy, including prohibiting all undead or 'practicing necromancers' (a rather varyingly-defined legality in practice) from setting foot upon its shores. Needless to say this attitude hasn't won the kingdom any friends from its continental neighbors, but the instances where this has escalated to armed conflict the island has proven too tough a nut to crack for invaders. Its nearest neighbors - Medorjnsy and Symurth - begrudgingly engage in trade with it anyways, most of the time, in part as this serves as motivation for Torventhal to reign in its many sailors of well-known skill from engaging in too much privateering. The position of the island between the Lithan Sea in the west and the Vlochen Sea to the northeast gives it a disproportionate ability to influence sea trade, (which none of the continental powers are all that happy with) which has prevented its strained interaction with other lands from stifling its progress and economy as much as might otherwise have been the case.

[Tenia]

I've always admired people who engage in detailed forest representation, very nice, your forests have a style

[Bogie]

Really coming along good now!

[NarramoreArt]

Looks like it's all progressing really well!
There's a lot of character to it already,
but I am wondering what your plans are for the lower left corner of the map. Compass rose?

[Adfor]

There is something about those mountains that I admire so! Especially the lonely mountain on the southern island, this has got the looks!

[AzureWings]

I've always admired people who engage in detailed forest representation, very nice, your forests have a style

Thanks! The forests are just a GIMP brush pipe like I usually do for forests; I drew 8-10 conifers with black lines and white fill, added flipped versions of them all to have more variations for the brush, and then just drew trees down for the forests. I do like how they turned out; for this map I feel like the forests were one of the best things I've done in any of my maps in terms of getting close to what I originally envisioned for them.

Really coming along good now!

Thank you!

Looks like it's all progressing really well!
There's a lot of character to it already,
but I am wondering what your plans are for the lower left corner of the map. Compass rose?

Yes, I'm going to be putting title/legend and compass rose in that big open ocean area. This time I remembered not to cut my map too close to the coastline so I would have room for that!

There is something about those mountains that I admire so! Especially the lonely mountain on the southern island, this has got the looks!

Thank you! I've observed that a lot of my isometric-style maps have this bold-lined almost 'cartoon' feel, even though I'm often aiming to have more fine and subtle linework "this time" each time I start one . This time though I started shading the mountains and looked at how it was turning out and decided to own it for this one, because the strong two-color shading seemed to be working out. Glad to hear they look nice! That one on the southern island is certainly important to Torventhalans for sure!

So anyways, this is a visually 'small' update, but here are some roads, borders, and national labels with coats of arms and taglines! (The labels and shields are the big part of this one I think, though I'm still mulling over how I've approached formatting for the labels). Forgive the occasional violation of the rule of tincture for the coats of arms (I don't think I'd like to be the one to tell the vampire lords of Aleveri they can't have their black towers on blue anyways, and I don't think the Hollow People care at all ).

### Latest WIP ###
Elion-5.jpg

For lore on this update, I decided adding the names would be a good time to start fleshing out the different lands of Elion. This time, we'll look at the kingdoms of Western Elion.

Kingdom of Miden
- Land of Balance -

The kingdom of Miden lies at Elion’s westernmost tip. Though the northern coast of Elion is windswept and chilly, known for poor harvests, the southeastern half of Miden is shielded by mountains and serves as the kingdom’s breadbasket. Compared to the other states of Elion it could be thought of as low-key in some ways: it is ruled not by powerful undead beings nor by a shadowy cabal of knowledge-hoarding necromancers, but by a line of living royalty and their loyal servants. The vast majority of Miden’s population consists of living humans. What is remarkable, perhaps, is how distributed the practice of necromancy is in the population. In the most usual circumstances, it is a respectable trade for the common man or woman. Where would the Midenese farmers be without their village necromancer to ensure that the remains of beloved grand- and great-grandparents can take a sojourn from their peaceful rest to bring in the harvest when a wave of sickness has left the town short-handed? How much safer is the kingdom’s grand capital of Havindell for the fact that the watchmen know who to call to gather testimony from the victim of a murder?

In the more recent and relevant pages of history, Miden has been a fairly peaceful land. The last time they were involved in warfare was against the aggression of Knosprith to the south, a good fifty years ago; since that time they’ve instead ingratiated themselves to this quarrelsome neighbor as a middleman for trade with lands less inclined to treat with the Bone Throne, and Knosprith’s current Lord of the Hourglass is astute enough to see this benefit as preferable to making the attempt to take Miden for himself. Since then, there’s only been the occasional raid by disaffected Imereli bands, usually rebuffed before too long by the relative discipline and organization (if not skill or experience) of Miden’s soldiery.

Many lands of Elion grab ceaselessly for more power and knowledge in the necromantic arts, for defense and advantage against neighboring rivals or free-roaming hazards found across the continent, to gather power in their own hands, or simply because they’ve made it a part of their ideology. In Miden the tradition is to take a more measured approach, neither rejecting the magics of the dead and undead nor embracing them without thought. It is a land of balance, and a great many of its people see this as for the better.

Kingdom of Imerel
- Those Who Fight -

To call Imerel a kingdom implies more unity and centralization than the reality reflects. The political landscape of Imerel is dominated by clans and mercenary bands (some of which are both). Its lands lie along the cold, rocky, windswept northern coast of Elion, a poor place for harvests. Largely unable to glean greater secrets in necromancy that might offer alternative routes to deal with the problem of finding food for its populace (whether by making more of that populace not need it or other means) without sacrificing their sovereignty to neighboring powers, the Imereli have long had to import their food. They pay for this largely with their chief quality export of mercenaries, renowned across the continent for their skill and ferocity.

Neighboring Imerel is Miden, to the west, which provides much of Imerel’s food; this motivates some of the clans to try to rein in those that would try to raid along Miden’s coasts (though they don’t always succeed). To the east is Aleveri, whose vampire aristocrats look down their noses at their savage neighbors even as they hire those warriors from time to time for one cause or another.

Kingdom of Knosprith
- The Bone Throne -

The Kingdom of Knosprith is a place whose people have exulted in casting off the frailties of soft flesh, and these teeming skeletal inhabitants take pride in a future that need never run out (hence their symbolic hourglass, top ever full). They also aggressively seek to expand and spread their philosophy, which makes them few friends abroad. Their ruler at any given time (succession generally occurring only by treachery, which has happened a few times over its history though the rulers of Knosprith tend to last much longer than the rulers of Aleveri and its viciously backstabbing court) holds the title of Lord of the Hourglass.

As mentioned above, the populace consists entirely of animated skeletons, retaining (at least it is believed) their full mental faculties and selves from when they were alive. This is a double-edged sword for the nation, as its population does not grow very much over time; it also, however, is a population that doesn’t need food which affords Knosprith great productivity and military potential. The south of Knosprith was fertile farmland in some long-past age; now it is all fallow, lightly-wooded and lightly-populated, the formerly-farming populace now largely moved to mines and cities. The skeletal majority of Knosprith tends to have a great fervor for their ideology and philosophy; it is not a terribly friendly land to the living (there is one small city tucked in a wooded mountain valley that is something of an enclave for the living folk under the Bone Throne; the Throne for the most part avoids bothering them about this too much as having some living folk around can be beneficial). Some skeletal Knosprithians affect masks that resemble a living face; this is generally not very fashionable in Knosprith proper as it is depicted popularly as nostalgia for the ‘weaknesses of flesh’, but is a very useful fashion for Knosprithian diplomats and travelers in other lands less used to treating with talking skulls.

The current Lord of the Hourglass currently is focused on military and diplomatic schemes against Aleveri, a longtime rival of the Bone Throne, as well as plans to combat Torventhalan piracy on Knosprithi antrade. Miden is currently considered to be best left as a friendly power on the rear flank (and useful way to make contact with other lands friendlier to the living, or at least living-looking, than the typical Knosprithian), though there are dissenting opinions on that in the court of the Bone Throne.

Kingdom of Aleveri
- Valley of Night -

For hundreds of years, Aleveri has been ruled by an aristocracy of vampires. There’s no pretense of secret; even out openly as their blood-drinking selves they’re more palatable overlords than the skeletons to the south (at least, given the culture of Aleverians. How palatable they are varies in practice). Despite the potential immortality of their rulers, Aleveri tends to go through monarchs rather quickly; its court is somewhat renowned for its backstabbing and intrigues.

How pleasant life in Aleveri for the common human varies greatly, depending on who is currently ruler of the Valley of Night. Blood for the vampiric population is sourced by tax, and how humane and potentially-dangerous the collection is varies in the same way. From the point of view of the living commoners, the rulers have varied in character from sorts like Emilski the Serene (‘Whosoever shall intentionally cause the death of one of the living in the pursuit of life-blood, for any reason, shall be sentenced to stake before the sunrise’) to Queen Brelyta the Claret (‘Fetch more of those common cattle; I require a fresh bath’) to King Obliverus (‘I SHALL DESTROY THAT WRETCHED SUN!’). The current monarch is Queen Sevelya, whose rule has been rather popular among the commoners, having brought back many of the code of laws instituted by Emilski the Serene; opinions on her are mixed among the nobility but none of the less happy ones have managed to get rid of her as of yet. Social mobility for the lower classes is poor; elevation to the aristocratic classes best accomplished by catching the eye of someone who is already a member of it. Within the vampiric aristocracy advancement is a dizzying whirl of intrigues and backroom dealings with the occasional one-in-a-blue-moon actual grant of favor from an overlord on account of merit. It’s worth noting that not all vampires in Aleveri are aristocrats, but all of the aristocrats are vampires. Even the vampires that aren’t of the nobility tend to be seen as a higher social class than living commoners.

Aleveri has grown over past eras, conquering (and sometimes ‘conquering’) adjacent and smaller kingdoms, and in its current state it is rather large and wealthy and seen as a threat by many of its neighbors. In the case of Knosprith this feeling is mutual; Evanth would really rather worry about the Hollow People than have to concern itself with greedy vampires to its west. Noxe is happy to trade and less happy about other forms of political pressure. Imerel tries its best to be too irritating to try and conquer, and is occasionally useful as a source of deniable/expendable assets for one scheme or another (or in more repressive Aleveri reigns, for rebel suppression).

Aleveri also likes to see itself as a beacon of culture, priding itself in superiority over its neighbors in realms like arts and fashions (though some of those neighbors don’t care, particularly Knosprith). To some extent this is true though; Noxe tends to follow Aleveri fashions and some trickles into Evanth.

Trade League of Noxe
- The House of Gold -

The trade league of Noxe occupies a small geographic area - but it is one right at the center of the Lithan Sea’s coastline and right in the middle of Elion, which suits it just fine as it leaves more ways for money and goods to flow through. A cabal of ancient trading houses rule Noxe, political leadership going to a council of the heads of these houses. It isn’t impossible for a new guild or house to gain a seat - just very, very difficult; it has happened only three times over the about two-hundred-year history since Noxe’s formal creation.

Noxe is a rather meritocratic state, at least compared to its neighbors (which isn’t saying all that much) - in principle, if one can accomplish enough (and become rich enough) one could rise from the poorest street urchin to the head of a merchant empire. In practice, it is very difficult to attain much social advancement without a good deal of good fortune, intelligence, and/or missing scruples. As with most of Elion, necromancy can be a source of great power and status, but the necromantic arts in Noxe tend to be treated much like any other trade secret - hoarded viciously. The nation does tend to be a surprising melting-pot, with the specific necromantic arts of many regions trickling in alongside the broader flow of trade. Alongside the human majority of the population there are minorities of vampires from Aleveri, skeletal Knosprithians, lyches from Fyrovan, ghosts from Vleoh, and even the occasional Nelskan shade or even (it is rumored) a Hollow Person or two from Ulsk.

Though small, Noxe wields significant influence through its mighty engines of trade (and the associated piles and piles of money). When militarily threatened by its neighbors it has a small but well-trained and very well-equipped force of its own, which it can easily afford to supplement with fierce mercenaries from Imerel.

[Bogie]

This map is really coming together nice, great mountains.