Alex's Blog

Week 2: Brainstorming

I spent several train journeys and evenings sketching notes, flags, maps and ideas for the world that would be explored in my Journal project. I started by researching real world ancient cultures that I found interesting, plotting their location of a world map, noting the latitude and biome, connecting biomes and cultures, and then corresponding them onto a slowly forming world map. I researched the food, lifestyle, architecture, clothing, religious beliefs and language of these cultures and used them as a base-line for fictional inspired cultures. I eventually developed 4 consistent continents: Mäudin, Easter Islands, Hallow and the Feyglades. Mäudin was the largest continent as was comprised of several smaller regions known as Hakavia (Hak’Ei, Mṃadu, Xchotl, Uruvia), Rēn (Sibralisk, Zianda, Tsangdala, Nipoga, Đai Nậmdo, Vatir, Ilysia, Kublain) and the Archipelago (Kiravulu, Anananas, Tiwika, Sa’Weii), while the Easter Islands was comprised of a semi-united group of kingdoms known as Shireland, Alba, Skådi, Newshire, Crownland, Jupita, Helvenia, Athen, Goldfield and Zaran. I had other regions I hoped to develop inspired by Babylon, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Nubia, Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa, but changed direction in this project before I was able to come up with ideas.

I imagined that the Native population of the planet had been forced into the western hemisphere after a long-distance spaceship crashed into the eastern continent, creating a giant crater that flooded and turned the continent into a series of islands. I imagine that this would irradiate the surrounding land making it uninhabitable for centuries, before the colonists eventually woke up to build settlements on what they believed was an uninhabited planet. Their desperation to find land to settle on would clash with the native population who are fighting to protect their way of life. The remnants of the crashed ship would be known as Zaran, a ship-city inhabited by scholars and scientists who are trying to retain their cultures knowledge before their technology is lost to the generations.

Maps and biome planning:

Flag and Sigil planning:

Hak’Ei’s flag has an earthy brown backdrop (representing dirt and ground) with a wood brown eagle totem (totems are used as waypoints and have religious significance, Hak’Ei citizens use the eagle as their Sigil animal). On this totem are three stripes, red with a rectangular pattern (to represent the red sandstone mesas and buttes), green stripes (to represent the large open plains) and blue spikes (to represent the mountains).

Mṃadu’s flag has a dark blue backdrop to represent the cold arctic waters of their land, with their Walrus God as the main sigil. The Walrus is the patron God of Mṃadu and thought to bring fortune and long life. A halo of light surrounds the Walrus to show his spiritual status, and below him is a bone tool, to show mortal ingenuity.

Xchotl’s flag has a turquoise backdrop with a smiling golden sun to represent their bright, warm skies, and a stripe of red and gold above to represent the blood of their mortal people and the wealth of their nation.

Uruvia’s flag has a brown backdrop to represent their famous wool exports, with a rainbow stripe to showcase their proficiency in dying. The geometric, golden textile pattern represents their weaving.

Anananas’s flag is a red sky, black rocks and a golden sun, Tiwika’s flag is a abstraction of a turtle, representative of their island structure, Kiravulu’s flag is a fish-hook and Sa’Weii’s flag is an abstraction of a verdant volcano.

Kublain’s flag is a horse running on an open plain, Sibralisk’s flag is an abstraction of a leopards teeth, Đai Nậmdo’s flag is two open hands, holding an undecided symbol, Nipoga’s flag is a Sakura bloom, Vatir’s flag is an open palm with a gemstone eye set in the middle, Ilysia’s flag is a 9-petalled lotus, symbolising the 9 islands and Tsangdala’s flag is a tower of 3 black rocks with a golden sun and a blue and red sky.

Shireland’s flag is a druidic symbol comprised of blue swirls, Alba’s flag is an abstraction of a thistle, Skådi’s flag is a runic symbol, Newshire’s flag is an upside-down sword, Crownland’s flag is a golden crown on a red backdrop, Jupita’s flag is a star-symbol pattern, Helvenia’s flag is a mountain or an Edelweiss flower, Athen’s flag is a bow and arrow, Goldfield’s flag is an abstraction of wheat and Zaran’s flag is a purple eye or a purple crystal.

Societal Structure planning:

I also chose to research the ancient governments and political structures of the nations I was taking inspiration from and then adapted them into a format that would work with their surrounding nations.