 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Maps of Skure |
|
|
- Back to Main Page |
|
|
|
|
|
|
After all the description of Skure in the storyline, I (Dagolar) thought it was only fair to put together a map of the area. BMs can refer to these maps when putting together their campaigns and players can learn just where they are when travelling about. These maps are quite rough without much detail. What shows up the best is the landscape and the relative areas in Skure and The Dal'r Desert. |
|
|
|
Continent of Skure - Year 560 N.R. - Before the Destruction of Darlow |
|
|
|
This map of Skure comes during the height of the investigations of The Hunting Grounds. Lirea and Anara are prominent. Ruoze is destroyed as is its port. To give an idea of the area of Skure, here is an example by travel. If one were to send cargo from the Port of Anara to the Kingdom (Castle) of Anara, it would take someone walking approximately 6 days of travel. The distance would be about 300 km. 1 centimeter of mapping equals about 100 kilometers distance. Skure, in its entirety, is enormous.
When the Lireans fled from Ruoze to the contemporary city of Lirea in this map hundreds of years prior, they travelled the rough paththrough the Vorisian Mountain pass into Northern Skure at a distance of travel around 2400 km. It took them 90 days to reach their destination. With the road more built up, travel from Ruoze to Lirea could take as little as a month and a half at a steady pace.
Skure only represents about 1/6 of the total area of Darlow, and some important areas cannot be seen on this map. If one goes northwest through the Death Mountains, they will end up in North Kreland, which was the continent where Dainan resided. If one leaves the former port of Ruoze to go straight south, they would end up (after a very long trip) at the polar South, where Hassen resided. For this game, however, Skure is the central area and so is the only one shown here. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Continent of Skure - Year 830 N.R. - After the Destruction of Darlow |
|
|
|
(This is the present state of Skure, where the game is played) |
|
|
|
When Darlow died, the entire area of Skure was decimated. Areas like the northern plains turned brown, which can easily be seen on the map. The Vorisian Forest became a horrid place, as did most of southern Skure. The Dal'r Desert became filled with ashes and turned to barren land, making its former desert state seem like paradise. The ocean and rivers became dead and polluted. Lirea and its port were abandoned because they were too inhospitable. More on this below the map.
Once the shards of Nexus began to accumulate in the north, some areas returned to their former beauty. You can see which areas are stll green. The North Dal'r river thrived again, but no other, and Skure, for all purposes, is in a state of decay and death. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Notable Changes to Skure |
|
|
|
The Nexus Stronghold at Anara - Anara is now separated into two castles: the kingdom that it formerly was, and the sky castle where The Representatives of Nexus have made their stronghold. This area is one of the few last refuges of The Followers, although one that is thus far impenetrable, unlike some of the others. Campaigns involving The Followers would likely begin here. |
|
|
|
The Town of Inyre - Anara branched out to the middle of the desert and began building this town in the year 726 N.R. around an ancient, unexplored dungeon that is thought to have belonged to an ancient kingdom. Inyre is a pleasant town, about a fifth of the size of the grounded castle of Anara. It now acts as an outpost between the shrunken remaining beauty of the Dal'r Desert and the corrupted areas of the south. |
|
|
|
The City of Vynn - When the Lireans fled from their beloved city, they could only go northeast, for the death mountains were totally inhospitable. On their travelling, they found a lot of the shards of Nexus which slowly revived the area as they settled. Vynn is the second refuge of The Followers. It is smaller than Anara but well established. Note that Vynn and Anara are in contact with each other but are in no way able to form a combined force. The Followers would be much stronger if they were able to do this. |
|
|
|
Lirea and its Port - Both of these cities are now destroyed. There are no inhabitants other than scavengers and nomadic beasts. The Lireans left behind a lot of possessions when they fled from these places. |
|
|
|
The Ranook Mausoleum - The Ranook Graveyard was originally a graveyard built for all of the heroes and warriors that fought and died for the civilizations of the present and past. Now that it is within the decayed area of Skure, undead have awoken and now prowl about. Some stay, some leave. Those who stay have managed to convert the graveyard into a more "habitable" mausoleum. In time, they could very well form their own "undead kingdom", although this is a highly speculative prospect. In the mean time, their disorganization keeps the place haunted and little more. Things may change... |
|
|
|
Ruoze - Once destroyed, Ruoze is now covered in forest and partly buried underground. It was abandoned even in the days of The Hunting Grounds. Now, it is a lot more difficult to find. The Minions have not spread out far enough to corrupt Ruoze, and so whatever inhabitants it may hold are mostly neutral. The structures provide a lot of darkness, making good refuge for a lot of animals. |
|
|
|
The North Dal'r River - All animals of good nature that have snatched up the shards of Nexus have agglomerated into this area, turning into a true place of beauty, even more so than before Darlow's fall. Those sentient have travelled north to Anara. The remainder thrive in peace and natural wealth. It is a symbol of what The Followers hope to bring back to the rest of the planet. |
|
|
|
The Voleron Stronghold at Chalda - This city is horrid, half of it being underground going down 6 levels, covered in black rock and blood, lava and ashes. Even Darlow in its decay does not appear this bad without the direct influence of The Minions. Chalda is about as large as Anara but in no way similar. All of the people and beasts that became consumed by the shards of Voleron built Chalda to become an outpost for The Minions. At the bottom floor of Chalda deep underground is a portal to The Pits of Pain - this area will not be included in the world of Skure. |
|
|
|
The Port of Ruoze - The long abandoned port was claimed by The Minions and rebuilt to accomodate humanoids, as Chalda cannot be withstood by mere humans for very long. It seems like a fairly normal town except that its inhabitants are evil and the town is organized in an odd fashion. It is about a quarter of the surface size of Chalda. Even though it is a port, no boats ever dare travel the chaotic waters of Darlow's nightmare of an ocean. |
|
|
|
Portal to The Pits of Pain in the Mountains - This is a portal that The Minions once used that was destroyed by a force of wild, organized neutral creatures. It is buried deep within a cave (this happens to be the same cave when Zathar first found the black crystal of Voleron). The Minions have so far been unable to reactivate it. |
|
|
|
 |
|
Prehistorical Map of Darlow |
|
|
|
|
|
For anyone who has not played the original game on byond, here is the full map of the planet Darlow in a flattened projection.
This map dates back to just before the civilizations emerged. There are no roads or cities, only continents and waterbodies and everything in between.
The distance of travelling here is huge. Travelling across the shortest distance from southwest Southern Skure to southeast of South Kreland would be in the neighbourhood of 1000 kilometers. It is a planet with an area about twice that of Earth.
Taking the distances into consideration, it is no mystery that the tribes spent literally thousands of years migrating to areas they felt more settling and why wars lasted so long; the distance between The Four Kingdoms was enormous. |
|
|
|
|
|
Historical Map of Darlow & The Civilizations |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
This map shows the influence of The Four Kingdoms throughout the centuries. This map is a timeless map, in that it shows all kingdoms and all cities at once.
Prior to the Warring Age (Before 150 N.R. or so), Dainan, Lirea, the castle of Anara, and Hassen, and all their respective ports would not have existed. Only Dainaria, Ruoze, and Junuli were around at that point in time. North Kreland, North Skure, and The Roc Mountains were completely uninhabited.
In contrast, once The Hunting Grounds were firmly in place (about 400 N.R.), Dainaria, Ruoze, and Junuli were destroyed and Lirea had established itself. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Hunting Grounds & |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Why they were so Devastating |
|
|
|
|
|
Here are the boundaries of The Five Hunting Grounds. As any observer can see, they cover enormous areas of Darlow and by comparing this map to the one above, one can also see how much devastation was caused in the human realm.
All plants and animals in these areas became increasingly violent to the point that the humans that lived within The Hunting Grounds either left them or died. Many ended up doing both.
One mystery is why the human societies did not break out in violence like the monsters did. This is a question that has remained unanswered even into The Age of Death. |
|
|
|