Revised Map:
The Sword Lands - North and South!
Ok, I've been working hard on fleshing out the region of Harqual known as the
Ragik Peninsula. This included revising the
Sword Lands (east) map (1st post on 1st page), the
Lake Ragik Region (to be posted after this), my
Kingdom of Ahamudia maps (page 2), minor changes to the
Iron Lands map (see above), as well as creating a map to detail the
Ragik Interior (also, to be posted after this).
However, this post is to re-visit the rest of the
SWORD LANDS. The northern and southern parts of that region. The two maps below are finally what I had hoped would come from years of taking the idea of an old, decadent empire and breaking it into pieces. The
Empire of Swords once ruled over the entire Ragik Peninsula (and beyond) with a iron fist.
The
Sword Imperium, as it was also called, held sway over many of the lands south of the Ragik Peninsula, even as far away as the
Eastern Shores, on the other side of the continent. Now, it is a shadow of its former dark glory. For the
Sword Imperium had been the seat of power for the followers of the
Sword Gods, a dark pantheon of deities that threatened the
Lands of Harqual (and still do).
Now with the
Lord of Darkness, Hiisi, trapped in
Carceri, his
Dark Children sent to the
Plane of Twilight, and the rest of the
Pantheon of Swords at each others' throats, the land that once held sway in the power of the
Sword Gods, has crumbled throughout the centuries since the end of the
Divinity War.
Its people suffered under the whims of vile warlords and power hungry emperors, most who rules for very short peroids of time before being overthrown in bloody coup after bloody coup. This lasted until the current campaign year.
Then the mists of the event known as
The Transformation engulfed all of Harqual. After they were gone, the Ragik Peninsula was forever altered (like many other regions). Most shocking was the appearance of a range of mountains where once many old
Old Sword Imperium cities and its citizens lived. The land that would become the Kingdom of Ahamudia came to Harqual, while hundreds of thousands of Sword Imperium citizens and their homes and possessions simply vanished from the world without a trace or were buried under the mountains.
War between the Imperium and Ahamudia was the result, but it would be a short war, as old bitter enemies of the
Sword Imperium came to Ahamudia's aid. An army marched into the Sword Lands, a citizen of Ahamudia at its head. With him he brought food, water, healing, and the concepts of freedom to the oppressed
Sword Imperium citizens.
The citizens welcomed him and his army, but the loyalists of the
Sword Emperor did not. The end result was a battle throughout the streets of the
Imperial City. Mortals vs. mortals, demons vs. angels, and the
Avatar of Cronn strode through the city to help bring down the evil of the
Empire of Swords, as the general slayed the Sword Emperor.
Now, the region known as the
Sword Protectorate, is a land controlled by outside forces, giving freedom to the people, and tearing down the monuments to evil. Yet, not all of the
Old Sword Imperium lands are free.
The Sword South and
The Sword East are much as they were before the war. And the alliance holding the Sword Protectorate is tentative, at best.
The sniping rulers of the cities of the
Ara-Ragik City Alliance, still control the lands surrounding
Lake Ragik in their iron grip, while new dictators and warlords rise to claim now rudderless provinces and territories. The worse being the ruler of the
Järir Autarchic, a man who sees himself as the next Sword Emperor.
Other lands such as the
Eulayan Territory and the
Märii Divide look to profit from the arrival of the Kingdom of Ahamudia and to sway rights to mine the new mountain range and its surrounding hills. And they aren't willing to take no for an answer.
And just north of Ahamudia are the reminents of the civilization that once stood where the
Rilous Mountains now stand —
Toraa Bagul and
The Soreney Domain. The citizens of these lands are both anti-Imperium and anti-Ahamudian. Long oppressed by the stronger lands to the north, they were just coming into their own when The Transformation destroyed the southern reaches of the provinces. This has left them bitter, and they feel cursed by the
Sword Gods. (Toraa Bagul has more bad luck then you would ever wish on your enemies.)
Anyway, I'm going on and on, while I really should be posting the maps.
Cheers!
KF72
