Magosong

 

The word 'Magosong' is an anglicized version of a Korean mythological fortress of the goddess Mago (마고성). When studying up on Korean mythology I found a creation story that was fairly interesting. I'll paraphrase it here:

 

Humans were created by the goddess Mago. Except in those days, we weren't human. We were something greater. All that humans ate was a milky liquid that poured out from the earth in Magosong.

However, as more and more people appeared, there wasn't enough of the milk to go around and some people began to starve.

 

One individual saw a strawberry, and ate it. And at that moment humans gained the ability to taste. However, by eating a living thing, humanity became cursed. Our words became heavy, our fingers claw like, and our voices raspy.

 

Here I need to go look up the rest of the information because my memory is hazy.

 

In the end, after many years of penance, humanity became what it is today. Not divine being, not monster, but something in between.

 

I really like this story as it's about the first creation story I've heard that has a 'Fall' followed by a little bit of redemption and reclamation of our divine heritage.

 

 

Yadda, yadda, yadda, what does all of this have to do with anything?

I like world-building, and as a personal project I want to create a world based upon this Korean myth along with my own knowledge of history and mythology.

 

Neither monster, nor divine, but something in between.

 

Something about that really speaks to me, especially backed up with the knowledge that there was a period where humans really were monsters.

 

The World

 

I feel that a good world should start with a map. I also used this as an opportunity to learn about plate tectonics and weather patterns.

 

Using a map generator to create a bunch of interesting continent shapes. Photoshopping the ones I liked together.

 

Sketching out some rough ideas of terrain and climate.

 

Adjusting the biome/climate map after doing research into tectonics and weather.

 

Identifying national boundaries.

 

Photoshopping the results. Click here for a higher res version.