Atlas Elyden #131 - the Barrier Lands

Here's the latest map of the Atlas Elyden, showing off the Barrier Lands, an arid region populated by dozens of city states and small states, which exist on the fringes of 'civilised' society, to the south of which is a vast mountainous wasteland populated by barbaric lizard folk.

You can find an updated key to the map here.

This is the low-res version available to everyone.  Become a Patron at the Acolyte tier for access to my back catalogue of High-res, PSD and textless maps.

This is available to use as per the CC licence on the image itself

You'll note that there is no PDF for Encyclopaedia entries as the Encyclopaedia Elyden is now available to all patrons to view - the post is stickied on my Patreon, and patrons at any tier (even as little as $1 month) have access to it. The PDF is a living document and will be updated monthly as I add content to it. You can find it here.

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the Barrier Lands

A sparsely-populated region in the north west of Northern Sammaea, along the Tropic of Rah, south of the sea of Eschata. Its climate is dry and it receives little rainfall, though its lands are watered by various rivers that flow from more humid lands in the south.

Named after the harsh terrain and the many mountains that border its territories, the Barrier Lands is not a unified state, but rather a collection of nomads, independent cities, and small states that collectively call themselves the Yaghukli peoples. They claim direct ancestry from the servant caste of the ancient Fifth Age kingdom of Chiwenool, which collapsed in around 500 RM, though have since mingled with various other people who emerged after this time, including 15th century Korachani colonists, merchants and traders from the Ehrenisian coast and the Surrach, and, most recently, exiles and itinerants from the deep south in Hoggotha Isz.

With little resource and a climate that was detrimental to the coalescing of disparate cities into a unified nation, the people of the barrier lands remained divided, united by their common ancestry, their language, and the diverse family of deities, known as the Yaghukli pantheon, at the centre of which are three central deities – Ahit, Hasharan, and Shertal – though most states and cities have their own favoured deities.

In c. 1100 RM the charismatic leader known as Mmkoro rose to power in the city of Hatyé, and managed to bring a series of cities in the north east of the extant barrier lands under his control. This growing influence led to the formation of the empire of Hatyé, which lasted into the reign of Mmkoro’s son, who bore the same name. He saw the disparate pantheons of his inherited empire and saw in them the root of friction and discord in his people. In 1164 rm he made moves to unify the pantheon, so that all regions, including those outside of the influence of his empire, would come to revere the same deities. This left many people feeling disenfranchised as the gods they had prayed to for generations were suddenly gone, their names stricken from holy texts, their idols toppled, their temples destroyed. Public sentiment soured over the ensuing years until in 1169 rm he was apprehended by a force of religious zealots, and executed by quartering. Parts of his body were sent across the territories of Hatyé and the old deities were brought back to the fore.

This return to the old ways saw the empire fracture after just over 100 years. Though short-lied, Hatyé was pivotal in cementing the cultural heritage of the region, which remains strong to this day despite the myriad differences between the various city states.