Fantasy Book – Continents of the World

I am currently designing some of the aspects of the continents in the world. The information in my head does not include geography such as specific forests, mountain ranges, rivers, or the locations of cities/organizations. Instead, my mind is simply focused on the generalizations of each continent and how they all correlate to each other. Here is some of the information that is floating around inside my head.

The first part of my story is going to take place on the water continent of Lacus, so I have that area developed more in my head. This blog post is dedicated to the bare basics of the locations and nothing more. Future blog posts will contain more information regarding the geographical details.

Lacus

The continent of Lacus (lassus) lies in the western most part of the world, mostly inhabited by oceans and waterways. A majority of Lacus’ lands are found on small islands off the main coast, however, the capital city of Anoria lies completely underwater in the middle of the ocean. Along the coast of the mainland resides numerous villages, small cities, and towns with varying degrees of complexity and organizational nuances. Part of the continent branches off into forests and small prairie lands before coming up on the chasm that separates the west from the eastern part of the world.

Most of the inhabitants of Lacus are Eltari (humans) with the occasional other races mixed in (I have ideas for the different types of races that will inhabit the world of Nativus, but I will save that for another blog post).

Most of Lacus is run off of a democratic government with a council of members running the capital, Anoria. The outlying villages and towns all have their own version of government, but they all answer to Anoria and its governing laws.

Terrena

To the east of Lacus and the chasm lies Terrena. Terrena is the largest of all the continents, but it is the least populated in terms of habitation. Most of Terrena is comprised of farmlands, prairies, grasslands, and forests. A majority of farming goods is exported from Terrena to the other continents.

There is no overarching government in Terrena, thus no capital city exists. Larger towns do exist that serve as central points of contact between the villages, but no government oversees everything. A majority of the population is comprised of a myriad of races.

Ardenes

Ardenes actually lies in the center of Terrena. Somewhere deep in Terrena territory sits a land filled with volatile volcanoes that erupt more often than the ones we know of in real life. Because of those erupting volcanoes, the land of Ardenes is near impossible to inhabit. The inhabitable environment is often covered in magma and volcanic rock. Due to that, most of the inhabitants of Ardenes’ overland are creatures, mutated and mentally destroyed.

Due to the volcanic eruptions, any inhabitants of the land have moved underground. A large city called Malicity has formed in the underbelly of Ardenes, its structures fueled by the very fires produced by the volcanoes. Most of the city is run by organized crime and mercenary groups. It’s an unholy place filled with races from every corner of Nativus.

Caelum

Caelum is the mountainous ranges to the north of Terrena. It only covers the area on the northwestern side of Terrena. The northeastern part of the world is still under Terrena territory although it still has mountainous terrain. Little is known about Caelum as they have closed themselves off from the world, refusing trade, commerce, or alliance with any of the other nations.

Caelum is mainly nomads, no real capital or city landscape existing throughout the region. The nomads all gather at a large temple, choosing this as their place of residence and faith. The nomads all worship Amdis rather than a single God, which is ironic given that their natural abilities and faith stem from Thudonna. They have no real government, but they operate on a system of faith and individual responsibility.

Large walls, much like the wall that the Night’s Watch guards in Game of Thrones, separates Caelum from the rest of the world. This wall has no memory of being erected, and no person, godly or otherwise, has been known to cross into that land.

The Great Rift Chasm

The Great Rift Chasm is the result of the battle between Semalf and the Supreme Four. The amount of elemental energy exerted during the battle caused the land to split. The chasm itself stretches about ten miles wide, goes from the northern coast to the southern coast of the world, and is deep enough that nobody can see the bottom.

One large bridge has been erected over one section of the chasm, linking Lacus and Terrena together for travel. The bridge is wide enough that several carriages can travel across the bridge while riding next to each other. There are checkpoints along the bridge that offer supplies and other “rest stop” options.

Shadow Realm/Underworld

Before the Great Rift, there were certain demon lords at work in the underworld, a shadow realm of sorts. The Underworld is filled with the darkest and most potent of the demons, including the King of the Demons. Like the Supreme Four, he held immense powers that stem from the manipulation of blood and shadows (more will be discussed on this topic in a later blog post).

The Underworld doesn’t really coincide with the people of Nativus very often. Instead, they operate on a different level, a level of hierarchy that is unique to the Underworld.

However, when the chasm of the Great Rift opened up, it somehow weakened the barriers between the two worlds. Demons found they could slip up through that barrier and enter the world of Nativus. None of the demons have figured out how to scale the walls of the chasm yet, but the opening exists.