It occurred to me, when I was creating an odd Sword Coast/Bas Lag/Eberron mashup world called Uelok (still holds a special place in my heart, especially the necromancer pirate city of Aelt) that if I was really being honest with myself, truly honest, it really did not matter what the hell I used as inspiration for a world. Fantasy worlds are quite literally a dime a dozen, so going through all the hard work of making names and inventing a history is pointless, just selectively steal, and if you have a flash of inspiration, add it to the world. Most important of all, was to consistently work at it.
So that's what I did, and wrote up an implied setting of several pages which I could use as a good base to build my world. I blatantly stole the names for my nations from John Harper's World of Dungeons, the name of the world self is a wonky reading of the Welsh word for Realms, and then added my own spice. There are several other influences; a Sumerian type Hill Dwarf culture, Industrial drow, implied low fantasy, my own system of planes (because why should they make any sense), a Roman/Carthaginian empire analog, Dragonborn glass architecture from Matt Colville's Collabris etcetc.
Anyway here is the prose map:
Tiroeth is divided in two. To the east lies Meluha, ancient lands filled with inscrutable secrets, jungles and enormous ruins. Between them lies the Isles - here pirate nations and floating villages comprised of many folk do battle, trade, bicker, while the sea elves of Shajze build their coral cities and fight off sahuagin.The western landmass is the largest continent: in the north are the Northlands, bitter cold tundras where the Amazons live. Further south is a dark forest - the Stain left by ignorant magical experimentation. There magical beasts tear up the ground and any unprepared soul who dares enter it.Further south...You find the Regency - a collection of seven kingdoms with a history of infighting until 70 years ago - effectively one state ruled by the Council of Regents. Mostly human, but the southern regency included the goblinoid Militancy of Trosk and the orkish Vale of Ar’tukhon. Sadly they are no more.The Akarjan Imperium dominates the southern part of the western continent. 50 years ago they came and conquered the eastern Bayou of the Syfriz and the western Naüdroi elven woods, stripping them bare and driving out the local inhabitants. They fought the southern regency until the first (of many) peace treaties. These past 50 years the border has moved ever farther north, skirmish after peace treaty after battle. Another kingdom was taken a year ago.
Finally they’ve reached the border of Uru - the Desert Dwarves. The Akarjan Imperium are preparing for a complete take over of fertile lands.To the west of their conquered lands lies the great desert - tales tell of Dragon-men molding cities and roads of glass.To the northwest of this continent lies the Jaw of the world locking of the south east of the Sweet Sea. It touches on the Great Desert south, the Stain west. In its drier, south and eastern portion the Emish - desert hill dwarves - reside, building ziggurats to their placid and calm heroes. In its northern portion are the honourable bearded Kventir dwarves.Across the Freshwater sea lies Cythonis. Here the gnomes toil away in smog ridden cities to their subterranean Drow masters, in an endless cold war with Ankhyra - the land of the Gnomish clocks and cuisine, the human tribes and the true rulers of that land; the skyscraping amalgamated woods populated with aristocratic elves, walking across the horizon.
