First Map (click on map to enlarge)

First Map
(The 81 Provinces of the Zekresh Empire)





On the first map:

On the first map, each province is identified with a big red square. Black lines mark province borders. Some province borders are not marked with black lines because an obvious natural obstacle forms the border such as a coastline, mountain range or river. Sometimes both sides of a river are part of the same province and in other cases, each side of the river is a separate province. The placement of the big red squares on the first map makes clear which rivers are province boundaries. If there is only one red square inside a set of borders, it is one province, regardless of whether a river runs through it. If there is a red square on each side of the river, it is two provinces. The red squares do not represent any feature on the land, they merely help clarify where all the provinces are. The Imperial City of Zekran is not marked on that map, but it is not considered a province or part of any province.

Small red dots are active volcanoes. They are often surrounded or partly surrounded with grey squares indicating mountainous terrain.



On all maps:

Dark grey masses indicate mountain ranges.

Light blue indicates water and can be lakes, rivers or seas depending on size and shape.

On some maps that have not yet been revealed, dark blue indicates deeper ocean waters.

Light grey marks lands that are part of the Zekresh Empire.

Black lines mark the borders of provinces and nations.

Green indicates lands that are not under imperial control.

Green dots in the sea are islands that are not under imperial control. If they are near a coast controlled by the Empire, the islands are claimed by the Empire, but not under actual Imperial control.

Some mountain valleys are also green or partly green even though they are in the middle of the Empire. This is not a mistake. The green lands are not under imperial control. In the case of mountain valleys, this is generally because they are relatively inaccessible. After there is a player for every province, new players may take the part of leaders of independent enclaves in the green mountain valleys or islands or as the leaders of barbarian tribes beyond the imperial borders.