The Elemental Empire - part 2 - a rough map

    My last attempts at making some random maps created some interesting things, but getting a layout I like would mean creating dozens of maps to finally get one that spoke to me.  So I decided on a new track.  I got a blank map of the world, then loaded that image in the GIMP, where I did a hand-tracing of the continents.  Drawing with the map is not an easy thing, but I think I got something workable.  By re-arranging and scaling things I ended up with a map that while it was based on the real world, doesn't look like the real world.  And having an image to look at gave me the inspiration I expected it would to start filling in the larger world.  So here's the map, rough and subject to change as it is...

    There is that big stretch of ocean at the top-right, which I think I'm going to fill in with something later.  But for now, the central-north continent is the home of the Elemental Empire.  The western half of the Empire is fighting the "barbarians," which are going to be animal races like Centaurs and Gryphons - those come from (or are somehow related to) the top-left continent (which is totally not Australia ;).  The right-most continent is home to two major powers, one a religious empire of sorts and the other a "pagan" civilization - the wars between the two are what sparked the demon invasion of the Empire.  South-central lies the Five Kingdoms, whom I have no idea about at all.  And south-west is a lost continent, uninhabited by any major civilizations, that was the home of a race from antiquity, it's full of ruins and the aftermath of a magickal disaster.

Thematic Elements
    So the world was meant to have some elements for story-building:

• The Elemental Empire - martial society, mixed races living together, major power on the brink of either collapse or change, enemies all around
• The Wildlands -tribalism, nomads, rich races and societies but no central authority, misunderstood and outcast
• The Oligarchy -faith and religion, mingling of different faiths
• The Mystics -individualism, spirituality, anarchy, passion
• The Broken Lands -lost/ forgotten history, disaster
• The Five Kingdoms -politics, intrigue, shifting alliances and betrayals

So the world is slowly but surely taking shape.  A short update this week since crafting the map took up a fair amount of time.  More details next week.