Bouncing off these threads:
Plague Theory,
The Behemoth Is The Labyrinth
It's time for one of my favourite pastimes - applying more realistic science to fantasy settings than anyone cares to listen to!
Time for some theories about the geology of Dragonhome.
- The huge rifts visible on the map are what's known as an aulacogen.
This is a phenomenon that happens when a continental plate starts to split apart, but the process never goes all the way, for whatever reason.
- Dragonhome is physically the oldest elemental region of Sornieth. This tracks with Earthshaker being the oldest of the deities. In real life, these areas are known as cratons. For instance, a large part of Canada is made up of granite dating back 1-2 billion years.
- As the northernmost part of Sornieth, it was entirely covered by glaciers at least once in the past. Looking at the world map, it seems to have pretty sparce vegetation, which is seen in places like Iceland that had a full covering of glacial ice until around 10,000 years ago. The fact that the river drainage appears to be completely out to lunch also fits this theory.
- The whole region is slowly increasing in elevation.
This ties in with the glacier theory above, since areas that have undergone being covered by ice actually get pushed down, then bounce back up! The sheer weight of large-scale glaciers makes continents that have them sink down into the mantle a bit, so it's like taking weight off a boat when they melt.
There's probably aso a tectonic component- the world map mentions that the region has a lot of earthquakes.
Bouncing off these threads:
Plague Theory,
The Behemoth Is The Labyrinth
It's time for one of my favourite pastimes - applying more realistic science to fantasy settings than anyone cares to listen to!
Time for some theories about the geology of Dragonhome.
- The huge rifts visible on the map are what's known as an aulacogen.
This is a phenomenon that happens when a continental plate starts to split apart, but the process never goes all the way, for whatever reason.
- Dragonhome is physically the oldest elemental region of Sornieth. This tracks with Earthshaker being the oldest of the deities. In real life, these areas are known as cratons. For instance, a large part of Canada is made up of granite dating back 1-2 billion years.
- As the northernmost part of Sornieth, it was entirely covered by glaciers at least once in the past. Looking at the world map, it seems to have pretty sparce vegetation, which is seen in places like Iceland that had a full covering of glacial ice until around 10,000 years ago. The fact that the river drainage appears to be completely out to lunch also fits this theory.
- The whole region is slowly increasing in elevation.
This ties in with the glacier theory above, since areas that have undergone being covered by ice actually get pushed down, then bounce back up! The sheer weight of large-scale glaciers makes continents that have them sink down into the mantle a bit, so it's like taking weight off a boat when they melt.
There's probably aso a tectonic component- the world map mentions that the region has a lot of earthquakes.
i literally just learned about this in my physical geology course! i definitely agree with all of the points you made :) i completely forgot about glacial rebounding, which also would explain the sparse vegetation. i love science in fantasy worlds :)))
i literally just learned about this in my physical geology course! i definitely agree with all of the points you made :) i completely forgot about glacial rebounding, which also would explain the sparse vegetation. i love science in fantasy worlds :)))
ooh yeah these are some good theories. the glacier theory is probably my favorite because it does still seem pretty plausible, and also, ice.
ooh yeah these are some good theories. the glacier theory is probably my favorite because it does still seem pretty plausible, and also, ice.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@dearagony || it/its || +3 fr
This makes me think, is the continent going to eventually split apart? Assuming Sornieth works the same as Earth (not the element), then eventually the land masses will become their own continents. If you look at the Wind-Fire border, Leviathan Trench, Dwiftwood Drag and the river that leads into it, and the Shadow-Nature-Earth border, it's pretty clear that the continent is split in two.
I don't know much about the tectonic plates, but my theory is that Wind, Plague, Arcane, and the western half of Shadow will become the western continent, Fire, Lightning, Light, and the eastern half of Shadow will become the eastern continent, Earth will become a NW island, Nature will become a NE island, and Ice will drift down to the southern pole.
This makes me think, is the continent going to eventually split apart? Assuming Sornieth works the same as Earth (not the element), then eventually the land masses will become their own continents. If you look at the Wind-Fire border, Leviathan Trench, Dwiftwood Drag and the river that leads into it, and the Shadow-Nature-Earth border, it's pretty clear that the continent is split in two.
I don't know much about the tectonic plates, but my theory is that Wind, Plague, Arcane, and the western half of Shadow will become the western continent, Fire, Lightning, Light, and the eastern half of Shadow will become the eastern continent, Earth will become a NW island, Nature will become a NE island, and Ice will drift down to the southern pole.
I love when realism ties into fantasy, and this makes me love Earth even more. The glacial theory is especially interesting! I think it could turn into some fun lore :D
I love when realism ties into fantasy, and this makes me love Earth even more. The glacial theory is especially interesting! I think it could turn into some fun lore :D
Hmm... I always thought that the continent we see on the World Map was entirely within the Southern Hemisphere of Sornieth, which would explain the Southern Icefield and the existence of tropical Nature flight in the northerly part of the landmass. The Viridian Labyrinth and Dragonhome are thus closest to Sornieth's equator, not the north pole.
That doesn't mean that Dragonhome was never near the pole or covered in ice, just that it must have had a lot of continental drift since then.
Hmm... I always thought that the continent we see on the World Map was entirely within the Southern Hemisphere of Sornieth, which would explain the Southern Icefield and the existence of tropical Nature flight in the northerly part of the landmass. The Viridian Labyrinth and Dragonhome are thus closest to Sornieth's equator, not the north pole.
That doesn't mean that Dragonhome was never near the pole or covered in ice, just that it must have had a lot of continental drift since then.
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i was JUST hoping someone would make a thread about earth similar to the behemoth/labyrinth thread
someone please make art of canyonwalks and terraclae lairs
i was JUST hoping someone would make a thread about earth similar to the behemoth/labyrinth thread
someone please make art of canyonwalks and terraclae lairs
the continent: [starts separating]
Earthshaker: no dont leave me
the continent: oh dang ok
the continent: [starts separating]
Earthshaker: no dont leave me
the continent: oh dang ok
also like, how big do you think the pillar is
it's obviously the tallest structure on sornieth, only second to the behemoth, but like how big
also like, how big do you think the pillar is
it's obviously the tallest structure on sornieth, only second to the behemoth, but like how big