I'll probably end up using this fantasy map for an online role-playing game or something.
The Continent of Mundia
Norlund: This vast region of temperate forests and prairies in Mundia's north is the home of the Norvolk, a race of white-skinned, nomadic hunter-gatherers. The Norvolk are divided into numerous squabbling tribes that each have a democratic governmental structure in which chieftains are popularly elected. Despite their general technological backwardness, the Norvolk do have ferrous metallurgy and are formidably ferocious warriors, making them popular as mercenaries for more advanced nations.
Shangchi: A powerful and technologically advanced empire once stretched across this archipelago off the continent's northeastern coastline, but it has since splintered into numerous feudal kingdoms in a chronic state of war with each other. Nonetheless, the yellow-complexioned Shangchinese have maintained their imperial ancestors' tradition of technological development; they are the only race in the world to have gunpowder and their warships can be famously gigantic.
Tizotl: Inhabiting a temperate to semitropical river valley, the Tizotli are distantly related both physically and genetically to the Shangchinese, and like their eastern neighbors, they suffer from constant internecine warfare. They are famous for their terraced, earthen pyramid-temples and sophisticated calendar, although in general they have inferior technology to the Shangchinese (e.g. they lack gunpowder).
Al'Tarid: The olive-skinned people inhabiting this desert region used to live as mutually hostile nomads, but ever since the prophet and warlord Yaghoub brought them together under one polytheistic religion, they have enjoyed peace as a tribal confederation governed by a council of priests. The Taridim's civilization has prospered as a consequence of farming alongside oases and commerce.
Kembwe: The black-skinned Kembweans have Mundia's most ancient civilization, which is famous for its monumental stone architecture, advanced mathematics and medicine, and beautiful sculptures. The kingdom is governed by a hereditary monarch who can be either male or female but is always believed to be descended from the sun goddess Khamunra.
Mbutwa: Although the Mbutwans are distantly related to the Kembweans, they are slightly lighter-skinned and much shorter in stature. These crafty pygmy people stick to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle that has served them well in the lush rainforests southwest of Kembwe. They are famous for their poison-tipped arrows which are capable of killing elephants and other large animals.
Zinju: The Zinjuans are a black people closely related to the Kembweans and sharing their northern neighbors' affinity for stone architecture. However, they are much more cosmopolitan and commercial than the conservative Kembweans and have established trade links with the Taridim, Tizotli, and Shangchinese. The Zinjuans have also colonized the island of Malaki off Mundia's southeastern coastline; it provides them with most of the gold they are famous for.
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