Here it is.
These are taken from the SA Planning Topic. I hope they'll give you a good idea about the map.
Le moi: Via the use of my sim card and my sister's smartphone I have managed to post this. I would like to point out I like the idea of the Book of Morcia and I have some ideas on its origin as well as why they only have one page. Will you leave that to me? As for Thingguy, I would like to remind you that Sharp is wounded after Legoboy's smash. That's why Thingguy couldn't have been captured before that to tell thedude. But I had an idea to explain it and some other things. Thingguy has somehow found the map and is using it to locate other Knights. He meets some other Knight and they agree to split up to find them faster. They split the map (bot realizing they are breaking the enchantment - you have to ask the map to show you sth) and Thibgguy leaves to find Sharpie. However, he is captured and thedude arrives to question him. Thibgguy tells him legoboy has the sword to throw him off. When thedude leaves Thingguy escapes and runs to find Sharp knowing he is in danger, having the Grammer sword. Meanwhile, Menaya Kull follows him. When Brocktree is sent to get the sword hr follows Menaya and thus finds Sharp. He takes the sword and Menaya captures Thingguy. However, Sharp escapes. Thingguy is cloned. Meanwhile the other Knight finds Matthias's men and gives them the map, while he leaves in search of Thibgguy. And that's how it all happened.
James: Like the information is frozen on there from the last time's "seach results"? Â I never thought of it like that. That could make sense.
Hang on. When you ask the map for the location of something, does it track it, or just give it's location as of that moment, and freeze it? Â Because I was imagining it as ... like a mystical "hologram/ghost" of the sought for item would appear as it travelled along the map... Â I need to draw that...
Though it could also show up as flat, but moving watercolors!
Le moi: Yeah. I thought of that, too. We might use the accidental ripping. It sounds good to me.
But I had more ideas. It both explains how the map came into the hands of the KotOS and how Stirling comes into play.
Some time during the 10-11 years between To Return Home and Scattered Ashes, Stirling meets an old raggedy man, who somehow convinces him to buy a very special map from him. However, upon further inspection Stirling realises that the man has just sold him an old blank parchment. Angered by that, he searches for the man, but does not find him.
(A lot) Later, Striling, having forgotten about the parchment, which he just has somewhere in his backpack, grabs a random piece of parchment to write something. However, as soon as he's written it, he witnesses the ink disappearing. After some testing, including "Is this Tom Riddle's diary?" Stirling realises he's got a magical piece of parchment. However, the parchment id unhelpful and disobedient, not willing to reveal its secrets that easily. That's why it takes him even more to find out how it works.
At some point, though, he triggers the parchment somehow (perhaps by a phrase like 'I need to find [insert the name of a place/person here]) and ink starts appearing on the parchment drawing a map to the place Stirling needed to find. After saying "Show me Militiregnum" (and the map replying "What's the magic word?", "Please!") the parchment becomes a full map of Morcia.
However, soon Stirling finds himself in trouble somehow, so he mutters "I need help" to himself. The map, listens and a dot appears somewhere nearby on it indicated as Help. Stirling travels there and finds Thingguy. They decide to find more KotOS, then the ripping happens and they split.
I'm not sure though how much Stirling would have told Matthias about his meeting with Thingguy and if that would cause complications to the story.
Î_B: @JamesAT13: I like the moving watercolor idea! Although I wouldn't be opposed to the hologram idea either. The moving watercolor idea just seems a bit more whimsical, in my opinion.
@fffffplayer: I'd never thought of the map as having a personality. There's nothing wrong with the idea; it's just not what I had invisioned. I would prefer that a precise serieis of inputs/instructions have to be used in order to activate the map, which is why it takes Stirling time to figure it out, instead of the map simply being unhelpful. Of course, this is just my opinion. I am opposed to giving the map a personality only out of personal preference, and if the rest of your like the personality idea, than I am more than willing to concede the issue.Â
Le moi: I was always thinking of the map being drawn in black ink.
I thought of the personality due to the Book of Morcia's author's (and thus the map's creator's) personality. They are like that themselves, so their personality is echoed in what they make. They make things that hold power, but they do not intend to let people have easy access to it. I could tell you who it is, but since I haven't already, why now? If someone (or everyone) wants to, I can tell them in jammers, but I think it will be revealed soon in the narrative.
Talmid: Is there any way for us to combine the map having a personality while also appreciating precise language? And if you don't instruct it precisely, it might lead you off a cliff.
Le moi: I don't see why not.
Harold: Would it be possible... for someone within the Chenir Empire... to have the map? And then try to get it back to Morcia LOTR style?
Le moi: I had different ideas. But it could be that the map was given to Iamos. However, it can't be him who meets Thingguy with the map, because after ripping it, he could mend it (though not the enchantment) and we need it in two pieces.
Harold: I was planning on having someone give the map to Iamos and then having him travel to Morcia, whilst being hunted by someone else who wants the map.
Also, we decided earlier that the group would go to Iamos and he would be unable to piece the map together, because it's magic and not alchemy. Then they'd all go and find Dewin Prentiss... or something. Am I right? I think I'm right...
Le moi: I believe Iamos would be successful in fixing the rip (though not the enchantment) of the paper itself. Am I wrong in that assumption?
Harold: Oh, the rip? Yeah, he could do that. But not the enchantment. Hence Dewin.
Le moi: If Iamos had the map and met Thingguy instead of Stirling would he fix the map after accidentally ripping, but seeing it was no longer working would they rip it again to find as many allies as possible before it was too late? If so, then we need to do a poll to decide whether it's Iamos or Stirling who gets the map.
Also, I insist on the map being given to them (preferably sold in the mentioned manner) by the old raggedy man whoever's the one who takes it.
Harold: Didn't Mattias and TheDude both have a piece of the map by SA? How would that fit in?
Le moi: Have you even read what I wrote earlier? Thingguy has one piece and someone else has another. Thingguy gets captured and thedude gets his. The other meets Matthias and gives it to him.
Harold: I kind of like the idea of Rainer (Iamos' master) basically giving Iamos a quest and being all "Iamos, give this magic map thingy to my homie Mattias so he can kick TheDude's butt."
On the way, he could meet Thingguy, and they split up the map so that if one is captured their capturer will not have the whole map (which is what happens to Thingguy) and then Iamos can successfully get the map to Mattias.
Le moi: I am okay with that, only if Rainer receives the map from an old raggedy man, though I think Rainer would recognise it as valuable anyway (spoiling the fun of the alternative).
Le Harold: I can add in a flashback when that happens, and then when it cuts back to real time I can have Rainer say "only now do I understand this object's significance..."
Le moi: Fine by me.
Le Harold: I have a hunch why you're so adamant that a raggedy old man has the map before Rainer and Iamos do.
Also, can someone give me a recap as to what the map actually does?
Le moi: This is my idea of things. If anyone disagrees, say so. If you agree, say so.
The map shows you what you ask (that a map can show). However, you need to be careful how you express yourself. It's also not necessary that the map will listen to you and might argue with you, in form of words appearing on it (if we keep the personality). The map tracks moving things, but it remains as it was once ripped. I imagined it being drawn in black ink, but I'm open to suggestions.
[People then say how they like multiple colours]
Le N_B: I heartily agree with this description of the map, and, after thinking about it, I agree with it having personality as well.Â
Some ideas I thought of just now :
What if the book of Morcia was created at the same time Morcia itself was created, and the map is magically connected to Morcia and everything in it. For example, if a powerful magician were to change the landscape on the map of Morcia, that would also change Morcia's actual landscape. This could be how Vladek used the book to corrupt King Matthias's soldiers; he changed something about them on the map, and that affected them in real life. This could also be how that one wizard cast the anti-technology spell: he made some alteration on the map of the land which prevented technology in the actual land.Â
- How about we indicate throughout SA that the map's personality is a natural part of the map, but then (perhaps in the book after SA) we reveal that the personality isn't an innate part of the map. Sometime through the third book, we would drop a major plot twist that the map's personality is actually a portion of conciousness from the Magician who cast the anti-tech spell over Morcia, and this is why his spell still remains even after his suposed death. We could give some subtle hints throughout SA, but never enough to give it away.
Jonna: The second point is good, but I feel that Dewin sustaining the enchantment (as well as he can anyway) makes more sense than it lasting because of the map, irrelevant to the personality it may have.
Also, since there has been some discussion over his perhaps overly-obvious last name, maybe we could call him Apprentice Dewin instead? I dunno, just an idea.
[Then, I reveal my idea about the Book of Morcia in comparison to N_B's ideas]
Le moi: Long long ago, when Morcia was still young, the elves taught men of magic. Some turned dark and became the Morgai! Others remained faithful to the elves and the light and opposed them. And then there was the Gray Wizard. He sided with no one; for he had allegiance only to himself and did not care much about others. At the first part of his life, he lived in Morcia and there he wrote a book. It was a book dedicated to magic, to all that he discovered. He recorded everything. Soon, he relocated to a different place he thought he liked better. It was Ankoria. He started writing a second tome, of the new magics he explored. He named the first Book of Morcia and the second Book of Ankoria. He became an infamous sorcerer, said to always be brooding something dark. However, in truth he was just gray, neither evil nor good. He just made magic. But in the end Garast I the Fearsome drove him out of the land and the Sorcerer cursed him and Ankoria. The Sorcerer returned to Morcia and made his home in Mt. Thunderclap. However, supposedly in his hurry and anger, he forgot the Book of Morcia in Ankoria -though whether these are the real reasons he did it, we don't know. He lived long there, more than any man should and he already had lived a lot anyway. Centuries passed by and he was still kept busy. He re-cursed Ankoria, made an anti-technology enchantment and did many stuff until even he got old. He had seen Morcia (and the other western lands) grow and had grown with it. And then thedude came... and smashed him (or did he?). A man named Dewin had been his apprentice in his late years and after he was gone, he took to keep the anti-technology enchantment up, using the Book of Ankoria. Meanwhile, the Book of Morcia was lost...
Okay, I think that's enough. Let's recap.
-There was the Gray Wizard, he wrote the Book of Morcia about the magic he studied in Morcia. One of its pages is the map. The map was left in Ankoria for unknown reasons when the Sorcerer was forced out of it.
-Vladek finds the Book of Morcia when travelling to Ankoria and uses it to obtain magical powers. Matthias also gets his hands on it (ask N_B for how; he's the one who knows the KK story so well) and uses the very same map. However, at some point the Book is lost.
-Later, the map page reappears, but not the rest of the Book. Some old raggedy man gives it to Rainer. Rainer takes it, but it's only a blank piece of parchment. Whether Rainer has made the map show its true nature by the end of the Easy Life or not, it's up to you, though the current version of the Easy Life suggests the former is true.
-Iamos begins his journey having the map in his possession. According to the latest SA chapter, Matthias received the map (or was it the piece?) 10 years before SA. Does that mean we're not using the Thingguy-Iamos explanation I have suggested?
-The map has the power to show you anything on Militiregnum (in the form of a map, though). When asking the map to show you something, you have to phrase yourself very carefully to be sure you've gotten the right results (or any results at all). It is also possible the map will be as grumpy and unhelpful as it can, when you try to use it. The map can track moving things, but if the enchantment is broken (e.g. when ripped) the map freezes in the state it had at the time of the enchantment's breaking. One may wipe what's drawn on the map out if they wish. The map uses several colours of inks and uses bold letters to be dramatic.
How did questions end up inside my recap? Multiwriters are so hard!!! :P
Speaking of which, where exactly does our multiwriter fall within Knights Kingdom events (if anywhere at all). There were three Knight's Kingdom story arcs; The first one, the one with the Vladmask, and the one where Jayko is king (these are not the official names of the story arcs, FYI :P). Clearly the first Knight's Kingdom story arc would have to occur at the same time as Rise of the Traitor (because Vladek couldn't have betrayed Matthias twice, right?) and we know that SA has to occur before the story arc in which Jayko is king because in SA Matthias is still king. So the question remains whether SA and PD occur before or after the Vladmask story arc. Before would make sense, because at the end of the Vladmask story arc Matthias makes Jayko king, which clearly hasn't happed yet in SA. However, we could always make all of the Vladmask events except the crowning of Jayko occur before the KotOS events, and then have the crowning of Jayko occur after the multirwriter series. Basically we would be inserting the KotOS storyline between the comic page in which Vladek is defeated and the page on which Jayko is crowned. While the first option (Vladmask comes after KotOS) would be a lot smoother as it doesn't involve the comic splicing shenanagins, I do personally prefer the second option as it seems to make more sens (in my own head, at least). Tell me what your thoughts are.
Î do agree on having the Vladmask plot before PD. When I wrote Rise of the Traitor, I hinted the events of the first story arc, considering Matthias gets captured by the end of it. I actually considered that the events of both the first two story arcs occurred between RoT and PD. However, I've got to admit I'm skeptical about Jayko's crowning. It doesn't seem to fit with everything else.
Another related matter is that, I have hinted the existence of the four Knights about fifteen years before PD, (and having the events of KK Cycles 1 and 2 happen after RoT accepts that), which means 30 years before SA. That causes a problem. The four Knights also exist 30 years later, exactly the same as 30 years ago!
There are some options from which we can choose:
1. They are in fact Jayko, Santis, Rascus and Danju Junior, and for some reason they seem to have the same abilities and characters with their fathers.
2. Something happened to them along the way that made them fall to unaging slumber. During thedude's reign they were awakened.
3. CLONES! again!
4. Even though 30 years have passed, Jayko continues to consider himself a rookie (or a cookie).
5. IMMORTALITY!!! or EVERLASTING YOUTH!!! (4. applies)
6. What? You got any better ideas?
I honestly didn't mean to betray the wikia community! It wasn't my fault! They abducted me into their ranks! I tried my best to fight them, but they threatened my family! Please, have mercy, I never wanted to fight for the Fandom, but they gave me no choice!!!
Well when you put it that way... :P PC Forever! :P