Seeking feedback for map for epic fantasy prequel
Map creator
SJamesBysouthDescription
Hi All, seeking your feedback and critique on my map.
This is the first fantasy map I've ever made. It's a zoomed-in map of a much larger regional map, and is intended to accompany a prequel short story I'm soon releasing in the lead-up to the mid-year release of my debut epic fantasy novel Palace of Deception. So this map will be included in the short story ebook.
I'm keen for feedback from map aficionados and fantasy fans - pretty much any feedback you have would be super appreciated, everything helps. Even if you flat out hate it - I want to hear it! Generally I'm keen to know if this would satisfy expectations of a map to be found in a short story - and where it does not satisfy, I'd love your insights on what needs to change.
Things that feel off to me: I think the frame is too thick; I need to increase contrast as there's not enough variation between land and sea; unsure if its obvious the grey areas are forests; unsure if the glacier looks glacier-ish enough. Also I'm missing a scale, so for reference: the distance between Saracairn and Tera is \~200km (125miles).
Thank you in advance!
Also some tidbits of lore to go with it:
* 7 years before the events of Palace of Deception... a time of war that scored a line of devastation on the land.
* King Darkstan sought a new wife. But the Lord of Tera refused. The King took insult, marched on Tera and found there resistance far beyond what he expected. Thus began The Great Tug of War
* At first, Lord Tera’s forces resisted, pushing Darkstan back almost all the way back to the capital. Then moral rot set in and the war turned nasty, the no-man’s land between their battle moved across villages and forests, and rent a scar never to be forgotten...
* The great rend extends a length of more than a hundred miles; a three mile wide path of mud slop where the no-mans land passed over as Darkstan and Tera fought for years to gain ground. The Prophetess remained silent in the heart of the Cult, refusing to take sides in the war.
* Young men fled the capital to avoid conscription to Darkstan’s army. Among them are urchins Praitor Baelok and Stiel Hors who made their way across the world as ships boys.
* 500 years ago, the ice cap on the top of the world accelerated its melt, and the land bridge, between what is now called Norther and the main continent, began to sink. What land once existed there is now known as the Drowning Sea. A sea of ghosts and deformed creatures. But the great glacier of Norther remains mysteriously frozen, though cracks have begun to form.
This is the first fantasy map I've ever made. It's a zoomed-in map of a much larger regional map, and is intended to accompany a prequel short story I'm soon releasing in the lead-up to the mid-year release of my debut epic fantasy novel Palace of Deception. So this map will be included in the short story ebook.
I'm keen for feedback from map aficionados and fantasy fans - pretty much any feedback you have would be super appreciated, everything helps. Even if you flat out hate it - I want to hear it! Generally I'm keen to know if this would satisfy expectations of a map to be found in a short story - and where it does not satisfy, I'd love your insights on what needs to change.
Things that feel off to me: I think the frame is too thick; I need to increase contrast as there's not enough variation between land and sea; unsure if its obvious the grey areas are forests; unsure if the glacier looks glacier-ish enough. Also I'm missing a scale, so for reference: the distance between Saracairn and Tera is \~200km (125miles).
Thank you in advance!
Also some tidbits of lore to go with it:
* 7 years before the events of Palace of Deception... a time of war that scored a line of devastation on the land.
* King Darkstan sought a new wife. But the Lord of Tera refused. The King took insult, marched on Tera and found there resistance far beyond what he expected. Thus began The Great Tug of War
* At first, Lord Tera’s forces resisted, pushing Darkstan back almost all the way back to the capital. Then moral rot set in and the war turned nasty, the no-man’s land between their battle moved across villages and forests, and rent a scar never to be forgotten...
* The great rend extends a length of more than a hundred miles; a three mile wide path of mud slop where the no-mans land passed over as Darkstan and Tera fought for years to gain ground. The Prophetess remained silent in the heart of the Cult, refusing to take sides in the war.
* Young men fled the capital to avoid conscription to Darkstan’s army. Among them are urchins Praitor Baelok and Stiel Hors who made their way across the world as ships boys.
* 500 years ago, the ice cap on the top of the world accelerated its melt, and the land bridge, between what is now called Norther and the main continent, began to sink. What land once existed there is now known as the Drowning Sea. A sea of ghosts and deformed creatures. But the great glacier of Norther remains mysteriously frozen, though cracks have begun to form.