Sneak Peek: Hemelin Continent Map (WIP)

Hello Secret Door Club!

Niels has been working on a "Continent Map" for Hemelin, exploring some areas of the world we haven't seen much of before. 

DISCLAIMER: This map is a first draft, so anything you see outside of Dragon Springs, the Soddenweald, the Pridelands, Spiria and the Seasong Islands is subject to constant change. 

With that out of the way, let's explore the map together, region-by-region, beginning at the south and working our way up!

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The Seasong Islands

A tropical island kingdom dedicated to Aria; the goddess of song.
Governed by the Song-Da, a divine ruler, with the aid of musical choirs.

Spiria

The gleaming city-state of Silver Spires, a marvel of magic and technology, where fey creatures live harmoniously with the population.
The Council of Spiria rules the city, as well as one of the Seasong Islands and the Middens: A trash-town that thrives on the waste produced by the big city. 

Pridelands

A sprawling kingdom ruled by dual monarchs. Adventurers are an integral part of Pridelands culture; There are official adventuring guilds, and they compete with each other in staged arena fights and for the best, most prestigious quests.

A part of the kingdom, rural Hobbin Hills, has a distinct culture of its own; huge family farms dot the landscape, each a village in its own right.

Remnants of a past demonic invasion haunt the countryside; Impwood in particular is a hot-bed of fiendish activity.

The furthest reach of the Pridelands is the tundra-town of Westhuys, known for its fishers, whalers and hardy folk.

The distant town of Ylixwood is best known for its Museum of Time, which collects knowledge and historical artefacts from all over Hemelin.

Soddenweald

The Soddenweald is a dense swamp-forest full of small independent villages united by a common faith in a turtle god.

Dryfoot Hill is a city-state ruled by a mayor, assisted by a council of ambassadors from surrounding nations. Most trade between those nations passes through the city via the river Tova.

Dragonspring

A city-state ruled by the ancient dragon Tovanaris, whose draconic people worship her like a god. The Tovanaren live by a brutal martial code, and work tirelessly to enrich their ruler's ever-growing hoard.

Feymillion Jungle

A vast and tall rainforest inhabited by fey creatures of all sorts. The canopy is dotted with small villages, each with their own unique and often bizarre culture. 

The mysterious Moonlit Palace appears at the heart of the jungle above the trees each full moon. There, queen Madrua holds court.

In the ruins of Oostport, the last paladins of Hemel await an apocalypse that has long since passed, trapped in time.

Frostulle

A frozen land where very few people choose to live. The White Woods are covered in perpetual snow, inhabited by gentle yetis, celestial moose and roaming packs of dire wolves.

Lich Mountain draws the souls of those that perish in the frozen wastes onto itself, engorging until the lich god is born.

Cloud Isles

A landscape of tranquil peaks emerging from a never-ending blizzard that rages on the mountains below. The people that live here sail the top of storm like an ocean, harvesting lightning to power their cities.

The city of Orderal was originally built by giants, but after they disappeared it has become home to a thriving, diverse community of cloud folk.

Dread Wastes

Once a green land, the Dread Wastes became a blazing desert after an army of devils invaded from the hellmouth at its center. What's left is an inhospitable desert where all that lives and grows is twisted by infernal magic.

Running through the dreadwastes is the Dread Line, a train that connects Dragonspring in the south with the northern lands of Korr and Genna. It is considered the only safe way to cross the territory.

The Ruins of Lightstad were once a vast metropolis, but are now no more than blackened towers and ghosts.

At Hemelgraff, the celestial skeleton of the god Hemel lies and rots. Due to this necrotic energy, any creature that dies here raises from the grave as an undead monster.

The Silent Citadel is built over the hellmouth from which the devils came. The monastic Silent Order guards it vigilantly so the hellmouth may never open again.

The Moving Hills are the earth come to life; giant slabs of land rise and fall on a bed of molten lava. Expeditious prospectors from Cross navigate these hills, hunting for precious metals.

Horn Crass is a vile fortress, ruled by nightmare-riding devils who plot to destroy the Silent Citadel and open the hellmouth beneath it once more.

The people from Druaria are dedicated to restoring the Dread Wastes to the green fields they once were; they fight the rot of the dread wastes, slowly pushing the Verdant Frontier westward.

Korr

To survive in the barren land of Korr, its people turned to magic. Now, the country produces the most learned Wizards in all of Hemelin.

The entire population of Korr resides in the Tower of Korr, an ever-growing vertical city that produces everything the nation needs.

Grenna

The jungles of Grenna are home to thriving hives of insectoid peoples who wage small but constant territorial wars. 

The southern city of Manaan is the only place where insectoids from different tribes tolerate each other in order to trade with the southern realms.

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It merits repeating that we currently have no plans to explore any of these new regions in our content. The world of Hemelin is ever-changing, and the landscape only "settles" once we've released an adventure in that area -- but even then we find we sometimes have to go back to change something in order for a future adventure, and the greater world lore, to work.

Thank you for checking out this post! If you like this type of post, or if it has raised any big questions, let us know! Niels may be able to post a few more of these kinds of really early lore-theory posts.

Cheers,
- Niels & Rose