The countries I'm going to be talking about are A, a group of countries protected by mountains B, a large country split between 6 kings C, a largely industrial country that is not known about by many. E, a large, magic using country that is unknown by Country A So, countries B and C can't be by each other. A and E can't be by each other. A is on a peninsula behind mountains, and right now it's getting touched by B and C with a large gap between them. Country E can't touch A. That sounds like a train wreck. That's how it has to be. But I'm left with a large gap in the middle, with nothing in it. No country is there, nothing. Something needs to go there, but I can't think of what. If you could help that would be great. Thanks!
I know this is a bit wild, but think about it like this map of Austrailia, and how it is divided by county lines, I think, along with it's islands. And it has mountains too. Just as a real world model to riff off, without being too enormous in terms of the amount of land you would need to create your fictional map of things.
How is it that an industrial nation is not known by many? Surely trade and exportation and knowledge would be their major source of commerce to wheel out to all of the other countries. A lake or ocean would work, especially where one nation might not be particularly very seafaring, they could exist within close proximity without knowing much about each other. Also, long-standing superstitions, myths, and overly exaggerated tales could also be used to explain lack of contact; there doesn't necessarily have to be geographically separated. This could be to do with cultural or ideological differences. E.g., Britannia was well-known about by the Romans, yet for generations, they didn't want anything to do with them. Their druid-crazed, pelt-wearing, woad-dyed barbarism was the stuff of nightmares to them, because their idea of civilisation was much different, and yet they were only separated by a small channel of water.
The largest issue here, and one highlight by Dracon, is that industry is not something that goes unnoticed. Not because of all the smoke, but because the switch from traditional labour to machines created a massive desire for resources to maintain and increase output. And then someone works out that there's actually a much cheaper way of getting these resources and then you get colonialism. There's really no way of getting around it unless there's a massively oppressed lower class locally that can be used instead.
I guess I didn't explain myself enough. So the industrialized country. it's the only industrialized country on the continent. They have a large territory and are trading with the desert cats and everyone in the mountains to the north west. They try and keep themselves hidden from the other less industrialized countries than the ones they choose to trade with.
Everything we've said still applies. There's no reason for them to try and keep to themselves as their technology and need for resources means venturing outwards to take or to sell the surplus. Beyond that, it was in a countries best interest not only to know their neighbours but to know as many groups as possible to have them be as diplomatically accurate and flexible as possible. We have evidence of contact between the Roman Empire and China, with Persia trying to limit it as much as possible.
But why do they want to hide themselves? On the more general question, is it necessary for all of these countries to share a continent? Could they be separate continents and/or islands?
I would like to thank everyone here. @ChickenFreak I didn't even think of that. If the industrialized country is off on an island, on one side of the continent, that would be the reason that they don't have contact with the other countries. I can expand the mountain range, which makes more room for the countries that are mountainous and makes more sense geographically and plot wise. Theres another race that I'm implementing, hyena like culture on a humanoid race. They would be a more civilized race. They fit nicely in the empty hole in the continent
