{Note: the name "Eeria" technically refers to a single province/territory in the world, but I haven't yet formulated a wider name to encompass the whole land. Other names may also be refined in the course of world-building.}

Also note that a map is forthcoming, but hasn't been drawn quite yet.

I'll begin with a rough outline, and the specifics are outlined (literally outlined) below.

Eeria is bordered by the Great Sea on the east, the Waste on the north, the unnamed plateau of Ice on the north-west, and the Greater and Lesser Alken ranges in the south. Due west, the Greater Alken bends around and provides an impassible barrier. In the center is the Plain, home to most human life and agriculture. Between the Plain and the Waste in the North is a long mountain range called the Divide, which stretches from the Sea to the Ice-plateau. On the southern slopes of the Divide is the Great Forest.

The humans who inhabit Eeria are divided into three races: Aramin, F'Aramin, and N'Aramin. The other major sentient force is the Istarel, elemental spirits.

I. Mountain ranges & Mountains
A. The Divide
a. separates the Waste in the North from the inhabited lands in the South
b. three passes and a Door to cross over (Door guarded by Rangers; central/main pass guarded by N’Aramin military; westernmost pass unknown save to a few dark creatures; eastern pass blocked by landslide)

B. Mt. Narzeem (volcanic)
a. located on the western edge of the Divide, before the Plains of Ice
b. second tallest mountain in the Divide
c. rumored to be inhabited by the enslaved fire-Istarel

C. Mt. Lestoral
a. located in the center of the Divide, beside the Central Pass
b. cleft peaks always covered in snow
c. tallest peak in the divide
d. rumored home of the air-Istarel at the pinnacle

D. Greater Alken
a. located in the very southern end of the Great Bowl, on the western side, south of the Eeria
b. deemed impassible & uninhabitable due to lack of vegetation
c. appearance: rocky, grey, a few dense brown bushes and small grasses

E. Lesser Alken
a. located in the very southern end of the Great Bowl, on the eastern side, stemming from the Sea
b. too barren for N’Aramin agriculture; inhabited by a few F’Aramin hill-dwellers; one Ranger outpost
c. appearance: “piecrust” yellow grasses and crumbling earth, rolling ground


II. Forests
A. Great Forest
a. on the southern slopes of the Divide, stretching to the river Wathe
b. contains many Aramin villages, in addition to Ranger outposts; a few F’Aramin outcasts


III. Caverns
A. The Shanns
a. a series of caverns stretching from the eastern edge of the Divide, near the sea, to the mid-east of the Waste
b. whereabouts known only to a few Rangers; inhabited by dark creatures; thought to be the massing place and communication tunnel for the enslaved Istarel of earth
c. rumored earth-Istarel tunnel expansion project to join the fire-Istarel under the whole Divide


IV. Deserts
A. The Waste
a. an arid desert in the North, beyond the Divide (no mortal has ever crossed to the other side of the Waste)
b. rumored home to the fortress of the Shadow and his mortal minions


V. Oceans
A. a single ocean on the eastern coast (Moon Bay visible from the Divide)


VI. Lakes
A. Lake Reel, off the Youdine
a. N’Aramin capital built on the Western side of the lake
b. huge; takes two days to cross; used to water the surrounding agricultural land

B. Lake Chard, off the Wathe
a. very deep (apparently bottomless); thought to be inhabited by evil creatures; floods every year; considered dangerous and avoided


VII. Rivers
A. major river the Youdine (on which is Lake Reel)
a. central on the continent
b. used for transport and shipping; communication between N’Aramin cities
c. the Eeria built on the spring at the western end of the Youdine
d. surrounded by agricultural land

B. second major river Wathe
a. about fifty miles south of the Divide, at the edge of the Great Forest
b. used for communication and trade by a few N’Aramin; F’Aramin; Aramin
c. Aramin main council met at the seacoast at the end of the Wathe

C. tributary of the Wathe, the Lisp
a. flows Northeast from the Wathe


VIII. Grasslands
A. The Plain
a. in the central valley, about fifty miles on either side of the Youdine
b. used agriculturally by the N’Aramin


IX. Glaciers
A. The Icy-Plain
a. rumored northwest of the Divide, west of the Waste, directly north of Mt. Narzeem
b. uninhabited and desolate

I can't wait to see a map!

Thanks, Elly! Do you have any idea if there are any online tools for map-making, or do you do all your drawing by hand?

El Goog reveals this one:

http://www.imapbuilder.com/interactive-map-online/

I've never used it but it's worth a shot, right?

eru

I've been looking for mapping software for years (and even wrote a couple of blog posts describing what my ideal "fictional cartographer" program would look like); while I hadn't seen this "iMapBuilder" program before, a quick cursory look at that page shows that it's used to create maps of data (population density, crime rates, traffic, fire hazard, or anything else you can think of) on top of either the built-in maps of real-world places or any image that you upload. Something like it might well be useful for me eventually, since I want to have maps of my own imagined worlds that include resource distributions, population density, and the like ... but first I need to create the maps that this tool would draw on top of. The trouble is that programs like this are relatively easy to create (I can easily think of how I'd go about starting to design and write one myself) and thus a dime-a-dozen, while for actually drawing the maps in the first place I know of only two or three marginally useful programs:

• Campaign Cartographer, which looks mildly promising except for the price tag of about $50.
• AutoREALM, a free alternative that I recommend for many use-cases but that doesn't quite meet my needs.

There's at least one more that I've used and found useful, but I can't find it right now.

I normally ask Dalet to do my maps, Estar. He does excellent ones.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! I often enjoy drawing my own maps (I sometimes trace bits of coastlines or rivers from existing maps that fit with what I envision for the world), but it would be great to try out an online alternative. And Jon, thanks for that full-of-information reply! I can tell you're a real expert

Wow, Evenstar! It's looking good! I can't wait for a map!

Thankya, Milly! I just realized, though, that I forgot to put any swamps/marshlands in

Oh, uh oh! *Waits to hear about swamps and marshlands*

X. Swamps
A. Marshlands
a. located in the southeastern end of the Waste, and inhabited by the typical rabble of nasty Waste-dwellers
b. fed by the Sea; thus, a saltwater marsh
c. a live swamp--still active, muddy, even "bottomless" in some spots

B. The Fire-Waters
a. located on the far western edge of the Divide, along a small inland lake stemming off the Wathe
b. known for occasional explosions of the methane gas in the air above the swamp
c. fluctuates regularly in size, depth, vegetation, etc.

Wow, this is sounding neat! Great job!

Thanks, Milly!! I don't suppose you can think of anything else I left out?

No, I can't think of anything else. You've been pretty thorough.