The setting: The world

Sadly, at the time of authoring this post I only have a map over two of the continents, while remaining continents lie uncharted. 

Just mentioning again that the encyclopedia is written out of the perspective of a character in the game. The "author's notes" in these posts are in fact not MY notes, but his.

Continents

Elidrophyn 

The central northern continent, and the home of a number of large city-states. This continent’s residents are in majority humans, with azur populations existing in coastal cities, most commonly around the central sea that divides this continent from the southern Halga. The continent is largely unorganized, and contains vast spans of uninhabited terrain between the cities. With villages, towns, farmsteads and forts dotting the land.

Most of the land consists of plains, forests, and tundra, and most of the central sea is on the tectonic plate of Elidrophyn.

The continent is divided up in territory between the city states, each with its own laws, political system, and organization. And while each large city state has a large tract of land that it technically governs, few actually manage to impose law in any significant way. And most towns only belong to a city state by name, and instead live beneath the rule of local nobles, for better or worse.

Significant city-states are Lianess, Erisand, Govens, Tyvia, and Jokkafar.

A significant city, under the rule of Lianess, is Altdorf.

Halga

A continent directly south of Elidrophyn, Halga is a warm continent and is the home of the massive Babylonian empire. The continent’s residents, while in majority human, are far more diverse than their northern neighbors, containing the native Ifrits inhabiting their ancestral grounds in the vast deserts and jungles of Halga. There are also significant Azur populations on Halga, similarly to Elidrophyn these populations are primarily centered in coastal and water-connected cities and towns.

The land of Halga consists primarily of plains, savannah, desers, forests and jungle.

The Babylonian empire encompasses the entirety of the southern continent, and is gathered under the leadership of a single emperor who wields absolute power over the empire and all its’ citizens. And the Babylonian empire has made a lot of technological advances that allows the word of the emperor, and through that a more ordered society, to spread to all cities, towns and villages throughout Halga.

As a consequence of this, the nobles and landowners of the empire are under the control of the emperor’s government.

Significant cities are Babylon, Eltheria, Helena, Hyata, and Kobul

A map over the continents of Elidrophyn and halga

Io

A continent to the west of Halga, Io is a greatly varied continent with several races’ that have been developing separately from the humans of the central continents for millennia. Separated by an almost impassable, enchanted sea, the continents have had next to no contact for thousands of years.

The local races’ are known as The gray, Lianese, and Kalinese, each with distinct and unique cultures that have developed over Thousands of years.

The terrain consists of jungles, plains, forests, deserts, swamps and archipelagos.

The continent is divided up into a number of different kingdoms and empires, most notably the empires of The gray and the Kalinese.

Notable cities are Uzel, ….(I'll expand this section later)

(I'll insert a map here)

Jotunheim

A continent to the west of the central continents, Jotunheim is somewhat less hospitable than the eastern continents, and is the home to a few different sentient species. Among them are the minotaurs, the centaurs, and the Giants. There are also a few ancient remains from the cities of the titans left on this realm, although most have been rendered inhospitable by the events that lead to the destruction of the titans.

The terrain consists of tundra, mountains, and plains. There are scarce forests scattered across the continent.

The continent have few notable borders.

The only notable city known is Niflheim.

(I'll insert a map here)

Notable seas

Sea of mists/sea of death

The sea to the east of the central continents, a sea filled with monsters, sirens, maelstroms and unstable weather phenomenon. To make it worse, the sea is covered by an eternal, enchanted mist that makes it almost impossible to cross safely.

This sea separates Io from Elidrophyn and Halga, and is the reason the continents have been completely cut off from one another for millennia. The mist is said to have been formed during the Titan war. (More on this in the history chapter)

 

Endless sea

The endless sea, as it is called, divides the continents of Elidrophyn and Halga from Jotunheim, and spans a great distance of nothing but sea. The lack of islands beyond the norse archipelago has earned it the title “the endless sea” as there are no reliable records of human seafarers crossing the sea.

There is a norse legend of Eric the seafarer who crossed over the sea, finding a land of giants and monsters on the other side. This is a potentially accurate source as Jotunheim is indeed filled with Giants and other races that could be perceived as monstrous.

The central sea

The sea that divides the continent of Elidrophyn from Halga, dubbed the central sea by the humans, is a relatively small and safely traversed sea with plenty of mercantile and military naval activity. It is the home of the Tyvian archipelago and serves as the northern border for the Babylonian empire.

Non-continental locations

The island of lost souls

The center of the magic that keeps the sea of mist in its’ iconic misty state is the island of lost souls. The island has no native population, and is surrounded by the floating graveyard.

The floating graveyard is an assembly of every ship ever lost to the sea of mist, gathered around the island of lost souls. The graveyard is also haunted by all the souls of the people trapped in the mists, unable to find their way to the afterlife, giving the island it surrounds its’ name. The island itself is the gateway to Erebros, the land of the dead, and is ruled by its’ sole living inhabitant, the titan known as Hades.

The mist surrounding the island is caused by ancient magics laid upon it by Hades during the Titan war in order to hide it from the Titans. The spells are still strong, many thousand years after their casting.

The island of Eden

In the sea of mists also lies the Island of Eden, where the demigods of the world gather away from the gaze of god. It is also the birthplace of humanity, and is a vibrant garden from shore to shore. The garden contains a single palace where the island’s inhabitants live.

Due to its’ nature, only the most powerful of entities manage to find their way to this island.

Norse archipelago

The tight passages and treacherous shallows that surround and run through this island group makes it a hell to try to navigate, yet the norseman tribes have made their homes here. Surrounded by fertile seas, and placed in close proximity to the north eastern edge of Elidrophyn. Renowned to have never been successfully invaded, they provide shelter to the local raiders and fishermen, yet the cold and harsh winters mean only the most hardy and resourceful people survive on the islands.

So, that was a brief overview of the world. I will get far more into the races and nations of the world in my upcoming posts.