KOTCL Dev Diaries: Walking with Monsters, Summary

Knock, knock, travelers!

While I’ve been keeping the diaries going, we’ve covered quite a distance across the expanses of Midian—traveling not only through space, but through time as well. Today we’ll have sort of a compilation of that journey. For some reason,I feel like looking back on it.

Journey Through Time

First we ran through the chronology of Midian, starting from the creation of the world and going all the way up to the events of KOTCL. And quite a lot happened there: the First Agreement, the primeval period; the Age of Champions, which nearly led to the end of the world and was resolved by the New Agreement. Do you remember? (If you’ve forgotten, it might be time to reread previous entries.)

Then we peeked into the future and saw the sprouting of the Shoots and their rise, and made it all the way to the Ninth Era, which I refused to tell you about, because it hides the main secret and the meaning behind the creation of Midian. A mystery must remain a mystery forever (or at least until the end).

Journey Through Space

Having returned to the events of KOTCL, we walked through all the locations of Midian that are mentioned in the game and are part of the lore, but do not lie along the path of the heroes. I’m not the best of guides. I didn’t stick to a clear route, and led you through various biomes randomly, willy-nilly, and higgledy-piggledy. Well, now I’m going to try to fix that and systematise things a bit.

Let’s fly over Midian from north to south.

Thundering Mountain

In the far north, the Thundering Mountain looms above the Frontier. We sneaked inside to see the daily life of dwarves and learn more about the life of the cave trolls.

The foothills of the Thundering Mountain is coloured purple by the Heathlands. We didn’t go there because the dwarves had destroyed the local settlement and driven away its inhabitants, leaving only ashes. There’s nothing to do there, alas.

Western Coast

Setting out to the west of the Frontier, we came to the coast of the world ocean, which no one has managed to cross yet. There, along the coast, lie a bunch of islands and bays taken over by pirates.

Pirate brigs sail along the shore, attack and board trading vessels, trying at the same time to avoid the imperial frigates that try to sink all the pirate ships. To no avail, however.

We visited the local “capital”, for which I haven’t come up with a name yet, we’ll call it Tortuga for now. There you can buy a ship and hire a crew of your liking: humans, orcs, berserker dwarves, elves. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw a cave troll in one of the local taverns.

Sunny City

To the south of the Frontier, the unforgettable Sunny City is nestled deep in the woods… Wait a minute! We haven’t been there! Ha-ha, how could I have forgotten about that? See how useful systematising is? Would you like to learn more about the elven capital?

Eastern Khaganate

Walking east from the Crimson Steppes, we went deep into the endless lands of the Eastern Khaganate, where unimaginable hosts of orcs fight in an eternal battle among themselves. Let them have their fun (just make sure not to give them the Guiding Star).

We never reached the eastern borders of the Khaganate, they are too far and too dangerous (and not recorded in the lore). But there’s definitely something out there.

Monastery of the Firebrothers

On our way to the Empire, we stumbled upon a monastery of the Fire Brotherhood and got a chance to learn more about their ideology and way of life.

At the same time, we explored the monastery’s surroundings and saw what life is like for ordinary people living under the watch of uncompromising and rather foolish fanatics (whom I like very much, by the way).

Empire Without an Emperor

To reach the Empire, one has to pass through the Northern Gate and cross the Northern Ridge Pass. Along the way—let me remind you—there’s another monastery of the firebrothers, guarding the entrance to a cave inhabited by an unknown chthonic monster that suspiciously resembles the Divine Mite. But beyond that, we know nothing.

The Empire was the final destination of our journey. We wandered through it for a while, studying local customs and ways of life, and made it to its heart, New Agreement.

New Agreement

A strange name for a city, isn’t it? But that’s what I decided on. The place has been best described by Vanadis in her autobiography. I recommend giving it a read. She spent a significant part of her life there.

Borders of the Empire

There’s no need to go over this part, since the borders of the Empire were fully described in the previous diary entry.

So, that leaves only the Sunny City?

I remember you wanted us to compile the entire journey into a single text, turn it into a wiki-style guide, or even publish a book with illustrations. Since our journey through Midian is nearing its end, it’s the perfect time to think about that.

And we will think about it; don’t wander off far!