Hi, This is something I wanted to do for a really long time! Put a bunch of canonical places from Nocturnal onto a map. I’ll be explaining each area in some more detail below.
Nocturnal is a fantasy world shrouded in eternal darkness, if this is the first you’ve ever heard of it. Then you can find some links to check it out in the paragraphs below this one!
Before we get to that, it’s possible that you never even heard of any locations on one half of the map or another. Well that’s fair, cause each half is located in different channels!
If you are wondering where the Iron Tide side of the map is, It’s from a short story anthology called Driftwood! Driftwood is a semi-erotic slice of life series about loneliness, following a queer innkeeper that’s adjacent to all the adventuring and heroism.
If you are wondering about the Escada side of the map, you want to check out the Nocturnal Comics. They are high fantasy adventures with dark themes, the current comic, “ROOTS” is made specifically for newcomers to the series. But if you would prefer something completed already, may I suggest “The CHAINS That Bind” story.
With that out of the way, let's get to map labeling!
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Major Features
The Iron Tide: The Iron tide is an Industrial Fantasy setting. Sprawling factories, brutalist housing, and the people who turn the cogs. Rat-people to be more specific, The Tide is primarily composed of Verlings, the rodent-like race in Nocturnal. The name comes from the empire’s most valuable resource: A blue speckled antimagic metal called “Tidal Iron,” due to its supposed connection to a distant immaterial sea.
Escada: Escada is a High Fantasy setting. Wizards in robes, skilled knights, and holy paladin. A place ripe for adventure for those fortunate enough to seek it, as well as a place of great struggle for those without the luck of high birth. Escada is a melting pot of lots of different races, with cat-like Fenlyns, wolf-like Lyscas, and Verlings making up the majority.
Barren Sea: A low and still sea, seemingly devoid of life. The polluted runoff from Escada’s Industrial heart, The Cage and The Iron Tide’s capital Noonforge, has left the sea devoid of fish. Though rumor has it that if you take a boat deep enough and cast a line, you might be able to catch something… Changed by this sea of death.
Consuming Sea: In stark contrast to the Barren Sea, the Consuming Sea is brimming with life waiting to be caught up. And according to the fisherpeople who catch that life, Monsters the size of ships. In fact the Sea got its name from the legend of a mythical creature so large it could swallow warships whole: called a “Whale”. Tidal researchers dispute this legend, saying the sea isn’t large enough for something as ridiculous as a Whale to exist.
Locations (And their canonical appearances, if any)
The Iron Tide; Driftwood Inn (Appears in nearly every Driftwood episode) The Driftwood is a roadside inn made to cater Escadain Travelers. As a result it’s a larger and more colourful building than the dreary Verling sized homes.
Ashworth (Appears in Driftwood: Heartbreak, and Never Happened) A small town that Ferro and Sterling lived in, before Ferro was kicked out. About as picturesque as a small town in The Tide can get.
Anchor (Appears in Driftwood: Fate, Finale, and Will of The Winds) The border town in which Ferro grew up, and returns too when they are looking for company. Used to be a border fort, but a long standing peace between Escada and The Iron Tide has allowed it to blossom into a bustling city.
Noonforge (Mentioned without name when Ferro says their uncle is a lawyer in the big city) The capital of The Iron Tide. Rust covered walls separate booming towers that scrape the sky, from the sprawling slums of people whose blood and labour built them.
Fort point (Yet Unmention) Once an occupied military fort scanning the coast, now abandoned from the long peace. There was a small town of the same name that propped up around the troops, but now it’s just a few businesses making money from anyone needing a rest stop. The Driftwood is one of these buildings.
Redline Railway (Yet Unmention) The first rail line in The Iron Tide, built by a wealthy but unestablished family. This gave the house a Lineage Name, something that marks a family as a member of Iron Tide high society. The control of this railway makes the Redline house one of the most powerful new money houses in the Tide.
Tarnish (Yet Unmention) Tarnish is a wealthy lakeside town known for its firework production.
Tinridge (Yet Unmention) An old mining town built around a deposit of Tidal Iron and Gold, The former of which has long since dried up. The town has been on decline ever since.
Siltcrib (Yet Unmention) This is just a paper town. No such town exists in this spot in reality, though some claim to have been to it. But that is simply baseless fuel for conspiracy theorists.
Neutral Areas; Peace Bridge (Yet Unmention) An unoccupied neutral border area between the two nations.
Escada; The Cage (Appears in A Cage Called HOME, and The CHAINS That Bind) Everyone inside and outside of this city calls it The Cage. Though officially it’s name is “The Stalk and Kage Correctional Facility,” which describes its original purpose. The Cage is a prison city, Originally prisoners were expected to tear each other apart. Instead they built a city, and adopted Iron Tide style Capitalism. The wealthy are free to leave the city whenever they want, while everyone else is stuck working to line their pockets.
The Capitol (Appears in ROOTS, and PHANTASMS) The capital of Escada, Officially the current name of the city is “Prismata Del,” But how long that will last is up in the air. The city has been conquered, reconquered, and renamed so often, that to the people who live there, it will always just be “The Capitol”.
Choir (Appears in PHANTASMS) A small, and devoutly religious town in decline. The trash that runs down from The Capitol litters it’s shores.
Longacre (Mentioned in ROOTS as the town Rhode and Azalea are from, Mentioned without name in PHANTASMS as a nearby town Luca ran from) Another small town, focused on agriculture with long picturesque fields. Otherwise unremarkable.
Arcadia (Mentioned in A Cage Called HOME, as the place Terrax lived before getting sent to The Cage) Quaint homes dug into the sides of grassy knolls. Golden fields of grain, pastures of wool and honey. An Agrarian paradise, at least at first glance.
Rest (Yet Unmentioned) A border town, and the first stop for most Tidal visitors, The Escadian equivalent of the town Anchor.
Tempo (Yet Unmentioned) A relaxed and independent seaside town, big into fishing. The Great Flame is not allowed to operate their vigilante justice in this town. It has its own guard and Tidal style court system. Though the ban on Flame justice does spark rumours that the city is infected by the Iconoclastic “Godless” cult.
Sanctuary (Yet Unmentioned) Some are unlucky enough to be born with Afflictions, a magical disease that integrates the elements into one's body. Sanctuary was made by Baron Aconit to harbour such people, and look for a cure. Though it seems to have the reputation of being more of a hospice, where an Afflicted’s last years can be made comfortable.
Canary (Yet Unmentioned) A front city for The Cage. A place where people come to trade Cage Goods or gain clearance to enter the prison. People would be made uncomfortable by the conditions at Cage factories, or the cramped filthy housing of it’s Gutter. The idea that this lovely small town made the goods is a transparent lie, but one even the more “Ethical” business owners jump at.
Mistveil Mine (Yet Unmentioned) Nobody is sure who actually dug this mine. The mist in the deeper levels make traversal nearly impossible. Some say the mist is the breath of a sleeping dragon. But such a mythical, powerful, and intelligent creature is doubted to have ever existed. Legends of great beasts seem to crop up around strange places like these, it seems that Dragons are probably just as fictional as Whales are.
