So today, I did work on a soft-reboot of The Descended.
...Wrong webcomic. I know! I'm supposed to be working on my other webcomic, not that one.
But the whim struck me to refine the world of Soano, so...I did so.
In particular, one of the things that was always dragging the comic down was that, while I had some idea of what the geography would be like in the world, I didn't have it nailed down. Until today, where I managed to extensively map out the workings of the world, basically every major area. I even drew a map! But I'd have to scan it, so maybe later.
Soano has five continents: two of them are major continents where most important events happen, and three of them are minor continents where almost nothing happens. The major continents are Gaiitia and Faraand. The minor continents are Aatlaan, Saela, and Reino.
Gaiitia is located on the western hemisphere. Its shape is loosely akin to what would happen if you meshed North America and South America into a single continent. Its function in Soano is basically akin to Eurasia: it is the continent that most major recorded instances for the last few hundred years (at the very least) have occurred. It's a political, and adventuring, hotspot. It is divided by the Yule Mountains (I'll need to look at my notes to confirm that's their name), which start at about the midway point in the continent and work diagonally up and to the right at about a ~50-60% angle until reaching the shore at where Yeras Wharf used to be.
This produces North/West Gaiitia, and South/East Gaiitia. Prior to about 20 years ago, Faragawa was the most important city on the continent, forming the foundation for the loose nation of Fargawania. After the city fell into ruins from a mysterious attack, the nearby city of Helops reformed the nation into Helopia. Helopia had many trials, from a demonic invasion to a war with Aqiria, a nation on the North/West side of the Yule mountains, which Helopia eventually won. However, about one year prior to the events of the comic, Helops suffered the same fate as Faragawa, and this time the whole nation was wiped out.
Once the hub of trade for the entire continent, now people must avoid "The Corrupted Lands", for fear of encountering the monsters that dwell there. It is considered suicide to adventure within, because the ruined nation is one of only two places known to spawn godkiller monsters. What's even more scary, it's the only place witnesses have observed godkillers be eaten by monsters even worse than godkillers. (The only reason they survived, they surmised, was because they'd be like an ant would to a human: not appetizing enough to be a meal.)
Still, the land remains important, since Aqiria took in the survivors of Helopia, and formed The Helosian League, a supernation of alliances between many races and nations which has influence basically all over North/West Gaiitia above the equator, along with some influence in the easternmost parts of Faraand, a large part of Aatlan, and even the Myraneans.
In the northwestern-most portion of Gaiitia, there is an ice tunnel, which leads to Faraand. To the west at that same latitude, you get the frigid sea. South of the frigid sea between Aatlaan and Gaiitia is the Black Waters, formerly part of the Green Sea, but which has been corrupted along with the land of formerly-Faragawa.
South of the black waters, you get the Green Sea: this warm waters is where the majority of trade routes currently head, bridging Gaiitia, Aatlaan, and Reino. On the western side of Gaiitia, you get the Arid Ocean: so named because it is one of only two oceans which are difficult to cross and which contain virtually no land. It is the mariners equivalent of a desert, because there's nothing until you've crossed the whole thing in one continuous, draining trip.
The other such place is to the south of Gaiitia, the Empty Ocean. It starts just to the western side of the southern tip, because once out there, there's nothing until hitting Reino from the far side, or stumbling into Saela. It's theorized that the empty ocean may be responsible for Reino's unique properties.
Reino, which is basically shaped like a ring on your standard map, is effectively a hybridization of Antarctica and Australia: it's remote, at the southern end of the map (and evenly split between western and eastern hemispheres), mostly a jungle, and everything is trying to kill you, but it has extreme value for its resources. It's the other location where godkillers can be found.
Aatlaan, which is shaped suspiciously like Africa with a shade of South America, also has some minor Australia traits, in that the land is mostly barren. However, its location makes it an absolutely vital trade hub, and there are still many resources to be found, for those daring enough to brave the wasteland. It is a very common adventuring spot as a result, because there's a ton of loot to be found, but not quite the same level of suicidal risk associated with Reino. (Most Reino residents are scientists and traders, there to provide a stop for ships who are on their way.)
To the east of Aatlaan is the Oceaner's Sea, which is roughly akin to the Mediterranean Sea: it is the trade route of Soano which basically all ships pass through. In the middle, at the coordinates 0,0, lie a series of small islands: the islands of the Myraneans, AKA, the Sea People. (Humans who have adapted to living on water their whole lives, essentially.)
From there, you can get to four of the five continents without traveling into any other sea or ocean. Faraand to the north, Saela slightly to the south and east, Aatlaan to the west, and Reino to the south.
Moving on to Faraand, it is the second major continent in existence. Its shape is basically a combination of North America and Russia, and it actually serves a similar role: it is a bountiful land, with vast unexplored areas. There are far fewer nations than on Gaiitia, with a great deal of isolation. It is the largest continent, albeit not by much, and the only continent that crosses both the latitude and longitude lines that are equivalent to GMT and the equator.
Though, that said, the crossing over the equator does lead to Saela, but more on that in a sec. Faraand is where most adventurers start up. This is actually a bit of a self-feeding loop: adventurers start from Faraand. They ascend to godhood, and protect their homes from threats as a god (because nobody wants to mess with a god). Legends of their exploits spread to locals, who themselves become the next batch of adventurers.
It helps that Faraand is the only continent that can help serve adventurers from level 1 to level 800. Gaiitia is better suited for 50-200, Saela is better suited for 100-300, Aatlaan is better suited for 300-600, and Reino is better suited for 700-999. Like Gaiitia, Faraand also has a division in regions, but the division is more arbitrary rather than geographically-inclined: south/west is called "Somewhere", North/east is called "Elsewhere, southeast at the tip of Saela starts Nowhere, which transitions into Saela.
The major three locations I've mapped out are the Eastern Plains (south of Acadia, and contrasting the Western Plains which exist in Gaiitia), the "road to the middle of nowhere" (where Argus starts out), and Acadia, the current base of operations for the Elementals/Latens, and Argus's home town. Acadia is not considered the capital of the nation, and is actually a very small town, but it's a versatile location because adventurers can find equipment of any level in the local store, and is of extreme sentimental value to many adventurers that consider it their home.
Saela is basically shaped like a sideways South America, but with a touch of Africa thrown in. It also, geographically, would be about where Australia is on our maps, except Saela is over twice that size. Similar function, though: while it is suited for adventurers of a mid-low level, it mostly serves as a land of material goods, which are mined and processed and distributed throughout the world. There are many cities throughout the whole continent, but the majority are along major trade routes.
So like I said, there's two major continents, where the majority of human+ intelligence comes from, and three minor continents, which are less populated. The result: still a bit of a patchwork map in heavy need of detail refinement, but a far more detailed world for them to exist in.
Now, dangit, Bree, go work on the comic you're supposed to.
...Wrong webcomic. I know! I'm supposed to be working on my other webcomic, not that one.
But the whim struck me to refine the world of Soano, so...I did so.
In particular, one of the things that was always dragging the comic down was that, while I had some idea of what the geography would be like in the world, I didn't have it nailed down. Until today, where I managed to extensively map out the workings of the world, basically every major area. I even drew a map! But I'd have to scan it, so maybe later.
Soano has five continents: two of them are major continents where most important events happen, and three of them are minor continents where almost nothing happens. The major continents are Gaiitia and Faraand. The minor continents are Aatlaan, Saela, and Reino.
Gaiitia is located on the western hemisphere. Its shape is loosely akin to what would happen if you meshed North America and South America into a single continent. Its function in Soano is basically akin to Eurasia: it is the continent that most major recorded instances for the last few hundred years (at the very least) have occurred. It's a political, and adventuring, hotspot. It is divided by the Yule Mountains (I'll need to look at my notes to confirm that's their name), which start at about the midway point in the continent and work diagonally up and to the right at about a ~50-60% angle until reaching the shore at where Yeras Wharf used to be.
This produces North/West Gaiitia, and South/East Gaiitia. Prior to about 20 years ago, Faragawa was the most important city on the continent, forming the foundation for the loose nation of Fargawania. After the city fell into ruins from a mysterious attack, the nearby city of Helops reformed the nation into Helopia. Helopia had many trials, from a demonic invasion to a war with Aqiria, a nation on the North/West side of the Yule mountains, which Helopia eventually won. However, about one year prior to the events of the comic, Helops suffered the same fate as Faragawa, and this time the whole nation was wiped out.
Once the hub of trade for the entire continent, now people must avoid "The Corrupted Lands", for fear of encountering the monsters that dwell there. It is considered suicide to adventure within, because the ruined nation is one of only two places known to spawn godkiller monsters. What's even more scary, it's the only place witnesses have observed godkillers be eaten by monsters even worse than godkillers. (The only reason they survived, they surmised, was because they'd be like an ant would to a human: not appetizing enough to be a meal.)
Still, the land remains important, since Aqiria took in the survivors of Helopia, and formed The Helosian League, a supernation of alliances between many races and nations which has influence basically all over North/West Gaiitia above the equator, along with some influence in the easternmost parts of Faraand, a large part of Aatlan, and even the Myraneans.
In the northwestern-most portion of Gaiitia, there is an ice tunnel, which leads to Faraand. To the west at that same latitude, you get the frigid sea. South of the frigid sea between Aatlaan and Gaiitia is the Black Waters, formerly part of the Green Sea, but which has been corrupted along with the land of formerly-Faragawa.
South of the black waters, you get the Green Sea: this warm waters is where the majority of trade routes currently head, bridging Gaiitia, Aatlaan, and Reino. On the western side of Gaiitia, you get the Arid Ocean: so named because it is one of only two oceans which are difficult to cross and which contain virtually no land. It is the mariners equivalent of a desert, because there's nothing until you've crossed the whole thing in one continuous, draining trip.
The other such place is to the south of Gaiitia, the Empty Ocean. It starts just to the western side of the southern tip, because once out there, there's nothing until hitting Reino from the far side, or stumbling into Saela. It's theorized that the empty ocean may be responsible for Reino's unique properties.
Reino, which is basically shaped like a ring on your standard map, is effectively a hybridization of Antarctica and Australia: it's remote, at the southern end of the map (and evenly split between western and eastern hemispheres), mostly a jungle, and everything is trying to kill you, but it has extreme value for its resources. It's the other location where godkillers can be found.
Aatlaan, which is shaped suspiciously like Africa with a shade of South America, also has some minor Australia traits, in that the land is mostly barren. However, its location makes it an absolutely vital trade hub, and there are still many resources to be found, for those daring enough to brave the wasteland. It is a very common adventuring spot as a result, because there's a ton of loot to be found, but not quite the same level of suicidal risk associated with Reino. (Most Reino residents are scientists and traders, there to provide a stop for ships who are on their way.)
To the east of Aatlaan is the Oceaner's Sea, which is roughly akin to the Mediterranean Sea: it is the trade route of Soano which basically all ships pass through. In the middle, at the coordinates 0,0, lie a series of small islands: the islands of the Myraneans, AKA, the Sea People. (Humans who have adapted to living on water their whole lives, essentially.)
From there, you can get to four of the five continents without traveling into any other sea or ocean. Faraand to the north, Saela slightly to the south and east, Aatlaan to the west, and Reino to the south.
Moving on to Faraand, it is the second major continent in existence. Its shape is basically a combination of North America and Russia, and it actually serves a similar role: it is a bountiful land, with vast unexplored areas. There are far fewer nations than on Gaiitia, with a great deal of isolation. It is the largest continent, albeit not by much, and the only continent that crosses both the latitude and longitude lines that are equivalent to GMT and the equator.
Though, that said, the crossing over the equator does lead to Saela, but more on that in a sec. Faraand is where most adventurers start up. This is actually a bit of a self-feeding loop: adventurers start from Faraand. They ascend to godhood, and protect their homes from threats as a god (because nobody wants to mess with a god). Legends of their exploits spread to locals, who themselves become the next batch of adventurers.
It helps that Faraand is the only continent that can help serve adventurers from level 1 to level 800. Gaiitia is better suited for 50-200, Saela is better suited for 100-300, Aatlaan is better suited for 300-600, and Reino is better suited for 700-999. Like Gaiitia, Faraand also has a division in regions, but the division is more arbitrary rather than geographically-inclined: south/west is called "Somewhere", North/east is called "Elsewhere, southeast at the tip of Saela starts Nowhere, which transitions into Saela.
The major three locations I've mapped out are the Eastern Plains (south of Acadia, and contrasting the Western Plains which exist in Gaiitia), the "road to the middle of nowhere" (where Argus starts out), and Acadia, the current base of operations for the Elementals/Latens, and Argus's home town. Acadia is not considered the capital of the nation, and is actually a very small town, but it's a versatile location because adventurers can find equipment of any level in the local store, and is of extreme sentimental value to many adventurers that consider it their home.
Saela is basically shaped like a sideways South America, but with a touch of Africa thrown in. It also, geographically, would be about where Australia is on our maps, except Saela is over twice that size. Similar function, though: while it is suited for adventurers of a mid-low level, it mostly serves as a land of material goods, which are mined and processed and distributed throughout the world. There are many cities throughout the whole continent, but the majority are along major trade routes.
So like I said, there's two major continents, where the majority of human+ intelligence comes from, and three minor continents, which are less populated. The result: still a bit of a patchwork map in heavy need of detail refinement, but a far more detailed world for them to exist in.
Now, dangit, Bree, go work on the comic you're supposed to.
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