Thursday, August 10, 2017

Solana : Worldbuilding

I have finally crafted a map of the world of Solana. Granted, the base for the map is Pangea Ultima, a future vision of our very own Earth. I am not sure whether I will be able to keep the design as I have no idea if the concept of Pangea Ultima is copyrighted. I'll cross that bridge when I reach it. 😅

Anyways, here is the map with some explanations. 🙌


The large names are the names of the countries/regions. I will split some of the regions in smaller sub-regions and maybe add more capital cities. So far the biggest dots are capital cities of the regions, the smaller dots are points of interest that are essential to the story or are otherwise noteworthy.

Nord - The North lands, based on Scandinavia (in this map the oddly phallic shape is actually real-life Scandinavia). Sauoa is the capital city of the Northern lands. Crystalhaven is a popular winter home city (some of the characters of the Walpurgisnacht have their winter houses there, so they can visit the local ski resorts). Used to be invaders and pillagers - have a long history with Elnmidde and Kazek, however now they are inventors and offer goods and services for other lands in return for food and other goods that cannot be grown in the long winters of the North Lands. Their traditional food involves fish and meat (especially deer and boar). They love their milk and cheese, made from the milk of furred cows, goats and sheep.

Kazek - The Mountain lands, based loosely on Russia (at least the inhabitants are slavs). Kazek and Elnmidde are separated with a stretch of mountains so historically the Kazek traded and interacted with the people of Kaesano and Nord. Kazek in general is a very mountainous region, which affects the culture and people. Goranska is the capital city. I literally took the Russian word for "mountain" (gora) and formed it the way a lot of Russian cities are named (with the end -nsk). I don't know what sort of frankenword it creates but I just feel like revealing my thought process from the get-go.
The Kazek are known to be resilient people and their mythology and culture revolves around mountain life and birds. Similarly like slavs, they love their booze. They were mostly hunters so it was important to trade with the Kaesano and learn to farm in the Low Lands.

Kaesano - The Eastern lands. Based on Asia. Tokje is the capital city. Historically connected to the Kazek but has connections to Elnmidde, the Kaesano people often worked as mediators between the Kazek and Elnmidde. A lot of Kaesano and Kazek people have mixed ancestry since the people have a long history together, especially with the Kazek living in the Low Lands. Some of the Kazek, especially those with more Kaesano ancestry, see themselves more as Kaesano despite living in Kazek.

Elnmidde - the Middle lands. The largest region - generally inspired by the United States, a mixed society with white(?) people as the majority population. Bluewyvern, the capital, and cities near the borders are known for high mixed-ethnicity populations. The Middle Landers are known to be very welcoming but they often assimilate other cultures in their own. Elnmidde is generally a melting pot type of land, where multiple cultural lineages live together - so Middle Landers are not necessarily an ethnic group but simply citizens of Elnmidde. There are certain regions which are more ethnically homogeneous . I guess I'll have to add places based on English, German, French people or something. Some of the regions used to have monarchies, notably the Von Brandt lineage.

The Citadel is the capital for the Hilren, a group of people devoted to the Pantheon. It's like the Vatican but cut off from all other civilization. They compose many ethnic groups and are united by their devotion. They accept anyone from the outside but don't let you leave without a special ritual.

Marbleshore is a popular summer house resort and beach city complex.

Ostfort is the biggest port city of South Elnmidde.

Aelhollow is the place where the events of the Walpurgisnacht story takes place. It's a medium sized city with a mostly rich population but certain shady areas.

Sa'gga - The Desert lands. Thriving cities along the shores, hwoever vast stretches of desert making the country generally a poor place to live. Obviously based on the Middle East. A very reserved people, unlike the Middle Landers - very hostile to outsiders and don't travel much. The people care about passing down their lineage but do not wish to mix with others. Have a strained relationship with Mala, historically both countries influenced each other but after two bloody wars both have decided to let the desert be their separator. Despite living in barren lands, the Sa'gga people found their niche - they excel in hydroponics or no-soil agriculture and are the main exporters of food to Elnmidde. Ba'nidah is the capital city and is said to be the first city of the Sa'gga people.

Mala - The Middle South. Based on Africa. Mostly known for their colorful cultural robes, sometimes mistaken for Sa'gga people (Mala will hate you for that assumption). Hate the Sa'gga with a burning passion. Good relations with Sur, often intermixing and trading.

Sur - The South Lands. Based on Latin America. Work as mediators between Sa'gga and Mala. Has better relations with Mala since they are more open to foreigners, supplies food to them since it's easier and Sa'gga prefers to depend on their own food sources. Spread the Southern island with Elnmidde to use it as a trading hotspot. If Elnmidde's South Land is for resorts and leisure, Sur's Southern Lands are for trading and banking.


That's the outline for now. I will update map with geographical landmarks like mountains and deserts and with a more detailed drawing of regions and more cities. 😗😗

Ps. I discovered emojis, finally I can add some emotion to my posts.

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