Originally posted on mappingworlds.wordpress.com

This is a map of the City of Lost Souls. The map is done in City designer 3 (CD3) from Profantasy combining the included styles A and B with the latest annual city style by Jon Roberts. The end result from CD3 has then been quite heavily edited in Photoshop, where the labeling also has been done.

In the next post I will go through the process of creating the city. Until then you can have a guess on which two real world cities that inspired me while making the City.

As always when I make maps I try to add a story to it, this makes it easier to picture what I want and what to put into the map. As for the City of the Lost the story goes something like this:

There are places in the world where the souls of the dead and lost still roam. Those places are rare to find and if you find one the chances are that you never leave. This is the City of Lost Souls situated in a river delta between the countries Truscia and krug in the Etrakien world. The town is surrounded by ancient ruins from a since long forgotten past. Mostly there aren’t more left of the ruins then the foundation on which they once stood. But some larger buildings are rather well preserved and beneath the ground there are vast catacombs and even areas where whole blocks of the old city have been covered with earth. These parts are now excavated during the days to uncover artifacts hidden by the soil.

But among the ruins the souls of the dead still walk and guard their hidden treasures, or at least that is what people say. But strange things do happen, it is as if the world isn’t as solid everywhere in the old city as it should be. As if alternative realities shine through the fabric of this world, and if you don’t watch your step you might find it very hard to get back to from where you started.

To find your way through the labyrinth that the river delta form you have to follow one of the guiding boats. It is said that only the one that knows the true name of the city can find its way here. And the secret is well protected by the selected few who knows it.

The city itself prospers from the diversity of old artifacts that are found in the ruins that surrounds it. It also harbors some of the world’s most famous pirates that pay well for the protection that the city gives. More than once enemy fleets have tried to find its way up through the delta, still none have succeeded.