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number11train — Alva Map - Geographical
#alva #arcem #map #arcemalva
Published: 2014-10-12 15:47:35 +0000 UTC; Views: 10206; Favourites: 74; Downloads: 97
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Description
Previous map versions
1 | 2 | 3
➢ Recent History
- The entire island of Nisalvini sunk deep below the sea. Its magically-sensitive flora adapted extremely quickly, becoming a lifeline source of air for submerged survivors.
- New land rose up from the sea between the east and west continents, carrying with it the fabled Citadel of Crowns. Having been underwater for so long, this land is deeply strewn with salt and seabed debris, and is overall rocky and barren.
- The Molvahain Forest rapidly expanded, engulfing the eastern fields of Bratkowice.
- The region of Cantor burst into flames and continues to burn.
- The region of Reluir was shattered into many small islands.
- Valsk's Thyre Glacier has melted and flooded across the land, leaving a multitude of lakes, and Maelog's Spine has been levelled from the centre.
- The land north of Song-Lu's mountains has been smothered in lava, creating new, volcanic coastlines.
- An unnamed new woodland has begun to spread southwards from Tusa's capital.
Confession: I love making maps
//rolls away and off a cliff, I'm sorry, I promise I'll try not to spam my watchers with resources for this group but I kinda wanted one map in my gallery ahahaaa o)--<
For , a map showing the main geographical features and cities of Alva.
Mountain brushes by Josephe T. Vandel
→ Political & Travel Map Extras:
Map of Iadlain
Tapestry map of Imarion, Cantor
Related content
Comments: 58
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Questions about the Sarl river: if there is a hydroelectric dam somewhere along the river, where would it be located? Is the city next to the river or split by the river? Would the dam create some sort of reservoir? Would it be like the Thames river in England where it is big enough to have a lot of ships pass through or even a shipping port? Although not being connected to the sea or directly to Linhythe is rather interesting, is there a reason?
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The dam is in the mountains, before the water enters Koben city (and fairly close to it). The city is split by the river, and yes there is a reservoir in the mountains for the dam (combination of excavated and very tall weir built). It's large enough that ships can go up and down to transport cargo, but only medium-sized ships. A long time ago the river may have reached the sea, however irrigation and climate change from milennia back means it doesn't any more. (OOC it was more or less an arbitrary decision XD)
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After a bit of digging, the end of the Sarl is a lake, so that makes sense xP But thanks, good info
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Could you tell me a little about the Heilin Wilds and the Molvahaim Forest? *trying to decide where her character likes to call home*
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Hi, sure thing! This information comes from skyggedal , who is the mod of both areas:
Heilin WildsThe Heilin Wilds are a large, rough area with crags jutting out of the uneven ground, wild thickets of scraggly trees and bushes cover great patches of land, broken up by fields of rough grass and beautiful wildflowers in vibrant colors. The ground is treacherous, littered with sharp stones and the occasional pitfall. Several roads have been cleared through the wilds, the main one being a stone-paved road that seems to reach toward Bratkowice, but slowly fades into the ground the further east one goes.
People tend to live in small fishing villages on the coast, where the wilds are gentler and the ground less broken. A few hunters live in cottages along the roads, since the deeper wilds are teeming with wildlife. As one goes south toward the Crown Ridge, known in Song-Lu as the Moonlit Crown, the ground breaks up further, revealing dangerous, pitch black lava tunnels and the occasional geyser. Trees become sparser and even more twisted until they disappear entirely once one reaches higher elevations, leaving the south wilds scarred, yet somewhat gentle slopes leading into the mountains.
Molvahain ForestMolvahain is a semi-domesticated place, quiet in the day, with massive, giant trees. The people who live there make their living gathering the fallen leaves which are used as fuel, and some even live inside the trees, in carved homes, some which have been inhabited for centuries. People tend to stay at the edges of the forest, because of the whispers that one can hear at night - the forest is the site of many suicides, as well as a popular place to go to confess one's sins to lighten the heart, and the words echo among the trees when darkness falls. Its merely a whisper at the edges, but it is said to get louder the further in one goes, and it gets progressively more difficult to orient oneself.
The people who live there are thought of as simple, a little disturbed, and a bit more insular than other Bratkovans.
Of course if you have more specific questions about your character then we may be able to offer more specific answers, but I hope this helps!
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Well, my character is a wood elf, but I wanted her to be part of the Empire so obviously she couldn't be from Estraude. After reading the description of the Molvahain Forest, though, I was thinking it might be cool if maybe a large branch of her family fled/were banished from Estraude generations before and the wound up settling there, maybe hiding from something/someone. I haven't decided why yet, and my character wouldn't know, but the reason is passed down from family head to family head. I thought it might be neat to kind of wait out the group plot and see if something interesting popped up plotwise that I might be able to tie in to her family's exodus.
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(Hi! 
Things to consider then would be why and how they settled in with the insular Bratkovans, who are very distrustful of strangers. They would stand out, especially as elves, especially if there's many of them. Keep in mind they'd have to live on the edges of the forest, so it's not a great place to hide
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Hmm that's true...would it be strange to have wood elves living in Koben? I ask because I was glancing through the chara sheet gallery and I swear I didn't see any.
Also, would it be safe to assume that newspapers and war propaganda are a thing in this world? I was thinking of making a news reporter type person that runs around battlefronts documenting the war, maybe with a magic powered camera or something?
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Great questions! I think 2StreetsDown can give better answers about wood elves in Koben, so I'm tagging her
Some form of newspapers surely exist, and I believe rudimentary cameras. Propaganda would be essential for recruitment and keeping the population content to avoid war weariness.
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Ok thanks!
And right, so rough cameras that are probably no good if anyone in the shot is moving, but probably more illustrations, like a Victorian Era newspaper?
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That's how I imagine them!
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Jeezzz.... Like this is in the top 100 of the maps search I did for 'map' or 'map brushes' .... Top 100 or thereabouts. You rock.
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Ahaha really! Well, I'm glad if people like it! XD
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Sure! They are basically just very wide, flat steppes that go from temperate to dry the further south you go, until they become arid desert (with maybe some dry shrubland before it turns completely to sand/rock). The arability of the land similarly decreases from north to south, so for agriculture it goes from cropping to grazing to unusable, and towards the Relan border the land becomes more hilly instead of flat. I hope that answers your question! But feel free to ask more if I missed what you were after!
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Just a question; is there a map showing cities and villages within each region?
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There's no more detailed maps at the moment, but they are planned eventually, when each region mod has time to make them :>
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Oh, okay. I hope that there are some by the time there's another join week. c:
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Hehe we'll do our best! \o/
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The Whistling Reef is a very large, mostly untouched coral reef. C: Since it makes that coast of Linhythe and Tusa extremely hazardous to ships, there's not much normal trade or activity in that area, but quite a few pirates do use this inaccessibility to their advantage and hang around there to avoid authorities. So it's an overall dangerous and avoided spot for normal people haha, but a great place for coral and sea life to flourish uninhibited. Also, it's called 'Whistling' because the coast there has a lot of caves/holed rocks, so when the wind blows a whistling sound is often heard.
I'm not sure if this is the answer you were after but I hope it helps, feel free to ask or clarify further! :'D
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No, that's perfect. I was trying to make a Mount species and thought of a tropical hippocampus called the Aquestrian, originating in the Jewel Sea, Nisilvani, and now the Whistling Reef. I'm still drawing it, but it's design is sort of based on whippets, the leafy seadragon, and the American quarter horse. Super speedy and sneaky.
I was also sort of hoping to link it to the Wild Kelpie's lore, where Aquestrians take the livers of the animals the Wild Kelpies don't eat.
(Beta Lore - "While most of their life is dedicated to roaming the sea, Aquestrians are also capable of walking on land for long periods of time. Recently, it's been found that the is reason being their curious connection to the Wild Kelpie, their fresh-water cousins. When mating, the female Aquestrian will lose large amounts of nutrients, such as protein, when producing eggs. Once the eggs have reached a certain point of maturity, she will pass off their eggs to their male mates, and venture inland to seek out Wild Kelpie lakes, using her keen sense of smell to search for freshly-spilled blood.
Aquestrians are no exception to the territorial Wild Kelpies, and will be eaten if found. As such, Aquestrians use their light, speedy build to dash across the surface of the lake, snatching floating livers off the surface before the Kelpies can attack. Rare sightings of Aquestrians in the deep woods have resulted in the nickname 'Skippets', due to their 'skipping' motion across the water. Once she's gotten enough liver, the female Aquestrian will hurry back home to retrieve her eggs. Some of the liver they eat is stored, so that when the eggs hatch, she can give her newborns some much needed protein.
If an Aquestrian is unlucky and has been eaten by a Kelpie, it usually results in the death of the Aquestrian eggs as well, since Aquestrian males are helpless while carrying. If in danger or starving, they will release the eggs into open water and run away, leaving the defenseless eggs to be devoured by various fish and other creatures.")
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Ohh that sounds so cool! I love leafy seadragons omg Jewel Sea, Nisalvini and the Whistling Reef sound great for it to me too (though of course the region mods get final say, don’t forget to note them/the group with the concept when you’re ready for it to be checked!). As for the lore, I love details like this! If it’s alright, I’ll shuffle our discussion to notes for ease ;>
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Also, does the Jewel Sea actually have jewels in it?
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Hahaha no, it doesn't X'D Except for maybe stolen ones dropped by pirates, and the pearls found around Nisalvini. It's etymology is more aesthetic than literal.
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This is an extraordinary map! It gives me that mystical feeling similar to the maps from The Hobbit, but it definitely has it's own mysterious attraction~ Arcem Alva is an intriguing world, I am amazed with the story depth and it's fantasy beauty. I can't wait to see it all fleshed out! I'm not much of a map maker, so this would be an excellent reference to look back to!
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Ahhh haha thank you! I'm glad it manages to carry some of that classic fantasy look hehe and eeee thanks for watching the group! We're still getting things together but I hope you enjoy it! ♥
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This makes me nostalgic for my abandoned world-building.
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Ehehe awww. It doesn't have to be abandoned! I guess I just never grew out of my childhood fantasy map-making ahaha :'D
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oh wow, this is awesome. How did you figure out the placement for the terrain? Or if someone else did it, do you know how they did? I'm trying some world building right now but I don't want to simply plaster things down.
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Eeee thank you~! ♥ And ahh um, well, I had a starting guideline of what cities and features needed to be on the map for the sake of the story, and then I just assembled them according to some basic knowledge of geography/geology. :'D For example, Valsk is meant to be bitterly cold so it goes furthest north, towards the pole, while Estraude is subtropical and nearing the equator. Iadlain and Tusa had to be relatively close to each other, but the former also had to be densely forested and the latter in a desert, so I put high mountains between them for a rain shadow effect.
Having some fundamental idea of how mountains and volcanoes are formed, tectonic plate movements and biomes is definitely helpful! So I'd say maybe do some research depending on what's relevant to you, keep in mind the position of the equator and poles and the curves/altitude of the land (seas are where the land is low, and rivers should not defy gravity! Water flows from high to low), and look at examples of how the real world works. :'D I hope that helps! I'm just winging things as well, really hahaa
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That helps a bunch actually, thanks
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Awesome, I'm glad it did! ♥ Hehehe I hope you have fun with your map-making and story-writing, I love world building too!
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OHHH
DAMN YOU ARE GOOD AS HELL AT MAKING MAPS FRIEND A+
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HGFKLHAHA OMG THANK YOUUU //lies gratefully on ground :'D ♥
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Hahaha ahhh thank you! :'D ♥ //had way too much fun making it OTL
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It's an awesome talent. Maps are hard. I once tried to make a map of Arenarum (The world of Loan) and it...it really sucked. It needs so much work.
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Ahaha really? :'D I've loved making maps for so long, I think I've lost a little perspective on whether they're actually hard/easy/good/bad, it's just so fun haha but if you ever want help with map-making I am more than happy to!
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Well they look great and I find them hard so clearly you've just got mad skills.
Ooh, definitely going to consider taking you up on that offer
I'd upload the shockingly bad map I did of it so you could see how bad I am but I think I lost it/never scanned it.
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Pfffhaha well I'm glad you like them! ♥
And yessss, give me more maps to work on hahaha you could always give it another go as well, it might not be as bad as you think! X'D
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Gonna have to sometime. Basically have to design it for a game I'm making anyway.
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Ooooh, a game? 8D What kiiind and what kind of map haha
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Game based on the story or world of Loan.
Mapwise...probably a countrywide one used for navigation, between the different towns and locales ala mikesrpgcenter.com/bgate/sword…
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Oooohh! Ahaha cuuute look at all the little landmark symbols! And ahaa an interactive map for navigation would be hell cool 8D
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