I also wrote some totally bs background story stuff to the base to give it somewhat of a proper place in the world. (even though medieval architecture probably isn't their thing):
Shatterstone Keep, more commonly known as the Gate of Allisand, lies in the Forgotten Plains between the fertile highlands of the southwest and the desert city of the Eroded Plateau. The large rock formations the keep resides within used to be the modest home of a red fur dog clan, however the region soon became the site of bloody conflict as the cat emperor Kal Tas sought to secure the borders of his desert kingdom. The Emperor made many territorial claims at the height of his power, leading him into conflict with numerous neighboring lords. The plains themselves, while not particularly rich with any mineral or resource, became used by Kal Tas to smuggle weapons and supplies past his enemy's lines. When his convoys through the region soon came under attack from raiders, he dispatched one of his more formidable commanders, Colonel Allisand, to secure the region and establish a fort from which to better patrol and defend the convoys.
Upon arrival, Allisand secured a mutual alliance between her forces and the red fur clan of Shatterstone Hill who had also suffered from the raider's incursion. After establishing a minor fortification beside the dog's village Allisand used the knowledge of her canine allies to line the region with traps and quickly routed the enemy forces.
While Allisand's campaign in the south fared quite well, Kal Tas was not so fortunate. He was assassinated in route from an eastern city and his empire soon divided between the various clans he had warred against. Allisand, not wishing to receive the same fate as her former leader, maintained her forces around the keep and renounced any loyalties to the fallen ruler. The red fur dog clan did not share her sympathies and wished for her removal from the region as the military presence was no longer required. Considering her options, Allisand did the one thing that would assure her continued security - she had the clan killed.
Because the region had proved considerably economical (now that free trade had resumed after the war) she liked the idea of keeping it as her home and soon turned the dog's former village into the larger keep we see today. Shatterstone Keep acted as a conveniently placed trading post and outlier city between multiple clan territories and was the first large (and relatively safe) stop on the road through the stone desert.
Although her fortress came under siege a few times in the years following Kal Tas's demise, the advantageous location of the fortification as well as the easily trappable terrain made any attempts to take the fort far more costly than any of the weakened warlords could afford. As the keep's popularity grew because of the large amount of traders that passed through the region, so did Allisand's wealth. Effectively controlling the easiest trade route to the rocky desert allowed her to gain profit from both travelers and traders who stopped to sell their wares under her supervision. The traders got the benefit of safe passage through the plains and Allisand got the benefit of their purses.
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(more a question really... I tried renaming it to something other than PlainsHills_IGF.xml but when I loaded the version with the modified name it couldn't load the sky texture and the entire game was greenish when it opened. Is there something extra I'm supposed to do when I make and save a map? I just wanted it to look like the regular forgotten plains.)
This is the version that works for me, it has the same name as plainshills_igf.xml (default forgotten plains), so you might need to replace yours with it to see the map with textures properly. Sorry about the ghetto upload, when I learn to do it right I'll fix it!! gomen ne! T_T Thanks to all the great map makers before me, you've done wonders for the community so I wanted to give back. Hope you enjoy!
