#runeterra map

WIP map of Runeterra which will be used in Becoming the Herald comic.

BtHc is based on the old lore where Valoran is a supercontinent! Its comparison to Earth:

There is a large unconquered space between the three nations. 

This area seems to be a large wilderness, no cities nor villages (YET!). I’m intrigued!

The areas so far, from Demacia to Noxus:

The Silent Forest

The Gates of Mourning (thanks! @on-cerulean-wings!)

Nockmirch, north of the Argent Mountains (thanks @on-cerulean-wings!)

The Argent Mountains

The Dalmor Plains

Darius seems to be the commander of the Delverhold overseeing the Freljord Maybe he was sent there as the last military settlement in the hostile frontier.

The parameters setout may make this info meaningless to most people, but if I understand this correctly AND further assume that a march day consist of 8 hour marching.

Powder: “🎵Dear friend, across the river…🎵”

My pedantic ass: “actually, I’m pretty sure that’s a strait.”

Okay, all jokes aside, it really does look (to me at least) as if the cities are built on two peninsulas with a strait in between them; the upper city/Piltover on the northeast peninsula and the Undercity/Zaun on the southwest peninsula. (Tbf, “dear friend across the strait” doesn’t sound as good lmao.) Which would fit with the Runeterra map as shown here:

Vander even says in episode 1: “the north side’s off limits,” and sure enough, Piltover is supposed to be situated to the north of Zaun.

It’s hard to be sure because we can’t actually see the isthmus/two peninsulas between Valoran and Shurima in the Runeterra map, so it’s impossible to compare the two maps and see how well they line up.

It doesn’t help that the two maps are oriented completely differently; the Runeterra map clearly shows one landmass to the north and one to the south, with oceans to the east and west between them. Whereas the Piltover map appears to be the other way around, with ocean to the north and south but landmasses to the east and west. Which is it? 🤷🏼‍♀️.

So if I’m right and it is a strait instead of a river, that has a few word building implications. For starters it would mean the Undercity/Zaun is literally on another continent, which is all the more reason why it should be independent. It also implies that the Council’s wealth comes from the fact that their city is in control of the one passage between two continents and anyone who wants to sail through can get taxed.

// So, on the awesome new trade map for Piltover, particularly for Clan Medarda, we see that several of the locations listed have colors atop them.  Looking at Piltover, we see that it has four colors, those being Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow.  We also see older areas of the map being more faded, along with the text, showing age.  But, when I asked Bioluminescence if she could explain what the city colors were in more detail, she said she couldn’t, which suggests they have a meaning and a purpose.

So, I started thinking what those colors could signify.  They are obviously placed there deliberately, and therefore have to have a purpose.  The only theory that I’ve come up with is that those colors correspond to a particularly powerful Piltovian Clan of some kind, each one represented by a particular color.

So, which clans are which?

Well, we only really know of two that are listed with colors tied to them.  Firstly, in “The Weakest Heart” Camille and Steven’s eyes are mentioned as being “The Ferros Blue”.  Camille herself also has a blue motif, although also a strong gray motif, which could account for her being known as the “Gray Lady” as well.

Clan Medarda, however, is linked very strongly with the color red, particularly crimson.  This is seen several times in “Progress Day”.  Clan Medarda is also suggested to have a lot of influence, and indeed, if Medarda is red, and this theory holds water, red is by far the most common color on the map.

There are also at least 4 clans listed so far.  We have Ferros, Medarda, Torek, and Cadwaller called out in “Progress Day” as well.  So, while there may possibly be more than 4 primary clans in Piltover, these are likely the biggest, and the most likely to compete for trade.

So, Medarda is red, and Ferros is blue, can we prove there’s a possible link?

Considering that the Odyn Valley still exists, and was originally near Kalamanda, and Kalamanda is in Shurima, and denoted by blue, and Clan Ferros is linked to the color blue, and Clan Ferros is ALSO the clan that first discovered Brakern Crystals, and the Brakern were from the Odyn Valley, and Camille was said to accompany her father on digs there, we have more evidence to support this theory too.

// The new map is JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG!!

There’s SO MUCH THERE.  Ionia is in the upper right, Demacia and the Freljord are listed off to the west.  Remember this is a SHIPPING AND TRADE MAP, so it’s likely that for them to reach those two places they have to go west and then head north along the coast!

Oh my god there are SO MANY PLACES IN THE EMPIRE!

This is like a dream come true.