[ER] Using a map modding tool to test my theory of where the Realm of Shadow used to be in the Lands Between
Many people more competent with these tools than me have suggested ideas, but none that I've seen have done it the way that I think it should be, so I did it myself with Smithbox. So, the principles I worked on:
* The scale of the game maps is not accurate. The general form of the lands and the relative positions of landmarks is accurate, but the Lands Between are obviously *meant* to be bigger than a couple dozen castles that you can run between in less than an hour
* The Suppressing Pillar's inscription, *"The very centre of the Lands Between*", is accurate
* The centre that the Suppressing Pillar refers to is the centre of the hexagon inscribed by the Lands Between's six Divine Towers
* The Erdtree and the Scadutree were once a single thing, the Scadutree being the "shadow of the Erdtree". As such, they should be in the same place.
So the plan, then, was to rotate and re-scale the Realm of Shadow until it fits the other principles. That gives us [this map](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/62c70813adf1.jpg), which I have annotated [here](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/09e9fc636926.jpg)
In Smithbox, that looks like [this.](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/ac252845d6fe.jpg) The Lands Between are reduced to 75% of their normal height, and the Realm of Shadow is reduced to 75% of its height and 55% in the other dimensions
To check that the Suppressing Pillar is where it is supposed to be, here it is lined up with [the Limgrave and East Altus towers](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/71a90a7dbb8e.jpg) and then the [Caelid and West Altus towers](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/d77501997d32.jpg)
With this positioning, [Jagged Peak meets the Dragonbarrow](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/059dc6064c8c.jpg) and matches well to Gurranq's Sanctum. I presume that this is where Farum Azula used to be due to a) all of the dragons, and b) the Farum Greatbridge.
Here are [the two trees rising from the same point.](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/c3a87ea435cf.jpg) This also means that Shadow Keep is at the foot of Leyndell, an ideal place for the Crusade to begin.
There is [a bit of a gap between the Divine Tower of West Altus and Rauh,](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/2ec834e19c5c.jpg) but the surroundings of the tower suggest to me that the land that was there has substantially collapsed. If that is the case, it would have connected to Rauh. This is relevant because it is a reasonable location for the broken Divine Bridge running from Leyndell, which currently goes nowhere, [to head towards Rauh.](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/14a6853ece0d.jpg). Rauh is, of course, where we access Enir-Ilim and therefore the Divine Gate. It would make sense for Marika to set up infrastructure to access this gate without having to cross the entire Realm of Shadow and go through Belurat.
And one final thing that's just kind of a fun coincidence, there is [a very narrow strait between Caelid Colosseum and the Fissure.](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/851f056f9f7b.jpg) That means that there is close proximity between the Fissure, which is just packed with death, and the area with the colossal jar full of corpses and all of the giant skeletons embedded in the cliffs. It also means that St Trina was abandoned very close to Mohg's palace.
I now leave it to cleverer people than me to tell me why I'm probably wrong
* The scale of the game maps is not accurate. The general form of the lands and the relative positions of landmarks is accurate, but the Lands Between are obviously *meant* to be bigger than a couple dozen castles that you can run between in less than an hour
* The Suppressing Pillar's inscription, *"The very centre of the Lands Between*", is accurate
* The centre that the Suppressing Pillar refers to is the centre of the hexagon inscribed by the Lands Between's six Divine Towers
* The Erdtree and the Scadutree were once a single thing, the Scadutree being the "shadow of the Erdtree". As such, they should be in the same place.
So the plan, then, was to rotate and re-scale the Realm of Shadow until it fits the other principles. That gives us [this map](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/62c70813adf1.jpg), which I have annotated [here](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/09e9fc636926.jpg)
In Smithbox, that looks like [this.](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/ac252845d6fe.jpg) The Lands Between are reduced to 75% of their normal height, and the Realm of Shadow is reduced to 75% of its height and 55% in the other dimensions
To check that the Suppressing Pillar is where it is supposed to be, here it is lined up with [the Limgrave and East Altus towers](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/71a90a7dbb8e.jpg) and then the [Caelid and West Altus towers](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/d77501997d32.jpg)
With this positioning, [Jagged Peak meets the Dragonbarrow](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/059dc6064c8c.jpg) and matches well to Gurranq's Sanctum. I presume that this is where Farum Azula used to be due to a) all of the dragons, and b) the Farum Greatbridge.
Here are [the two trees rising from the same point.](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/c3a87ea435cf.jpg) This also means that Shadow Keep is at the foot of Leyndell, an ideal place for the Crusade to begin.
There is [a bit of a gap between the Divine Tower of West Altus and Rauh,](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/2ec834e19c5c.jpg) but the surroundings of the tower suggest to me that the land that was there has substantially collapsed. If that is the case, it would have connected to Rauh. This is relevant because it is a reasonable location for the broken Divine Bridge running from Leyndell, which currently goes nowhere, [to head towards Rauh.](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/14a6853ece0d.jpg). Rauh is, of course, where we access Enir-Ilim and therefore the Divine Gate. It would make sense for Marika to set up infrastructure to access this gate without having to cross the entire Realm of Shadow and go through Belurat.
And one final thing that's just kind of a fun coincidence, there is [a very narrow strait between Caelid Colosseum and the Fissure.](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/851f056f9f7b.jpg) That means that there is close proximity between the Fissure, which is just packed with death, and the area with the colossal jar full of corpses and all of the giant skeletons embedded in the cliffs. It also means that St Trina was abandoned very close to Mohg's palace.
I now leave it to cleverer people than me to tell me why I'm probably wrong