Skartaris is a land supposed to exist within the core of the Earth, and is the setting of the adventures of Warlord. It is bowl-shaped, and their sun never sets, but is always in the middle of the sky. The properties of time are slightly skewed in Skartaris, due to its unique properties. Also... there are Dinosaurs.
History
Colonization
Originally, Skartaris was colonized by the immensely advanced early Atlanteans, who constructed great architecture and technology throughout the land. However, after Atlantis suffered the Great Cataclysm, and the majority of civilization was wiped out in what was essentially a massive nuclear war. Radiation mutated many of the survivors into almost unrecognizable humanoids, such as the Lizardmen, and the Skartarians were forced to slowly rebuild things and rebuild their world on their own.
Travis Morgan, the Warlord first encountered Skartaris when his plane was forced to crash over what he believed to be Yukon territory after an unsuccessful reconnaissance mission in Russia for the United States Air Force in 1969.[1] Due to the strange rules of time in Skartaris, he first reappeared in the outside world as the Warlord in 1977, after what he believed to be only several weeks of adventuring.[2]
Although it was originally believed that Skartaris existed within the Center of the Earth, Warlord would later discover that it actually exists within a separate dimension that is sometimes accessible from the rest of the world.[3]
Points of Interest
Map of Skartaris
- Asravar
- Ba'al Forest
- The forest where Travis Morgan first crashed his SR-71 Blackbird when he accidentally came to Skartaris, Ba'al is also the first place Morgan would meet his future wife, Tara.[1] Later, he found a group of Lizardmen who had begun worshiping his plane as a deity, and was forced to fight them for his survival gear.[4] In another journey, he met the Children of Ba'al, what appeared to be an advanced race that lived in perfect harmony with each other, but he discovered were taking human sacrifices from the surrounding population of brutish human-like creatures, and planned to sacrifice him as well.[5]
- Bakwele
- A teeming port in the Sea of Grel, where Warlord, Machiste and Mariah briefly stopped on their travels. Guide books mark it as a prime example of antediluvian culture.[6]
- Bal Shazar
- A sprawling seaport city known for its slave auctions, frequent violence, and promiscuous women. Warlord was captured there early in his career, and imprisoned to work in a slave galley, where he first met Machiste.[7]
- Balgar Bay
- Bandakhar
- Banthum
- Baroth Mountains
- Bay of Tears
- Located in the Sea of Grel, contains Pirates and Slave Traders, who often come into conflict with one another. Warlord rowed a galley there when he was briefly enslaved. Bal Shazar is the primary port.[7]
- Beast Tower
- Blood Rock Mountains
- Captain Hawk's Stronghold
- Castle Deimos
- Deimos' Castle is located in the Terminator, land of perpetual darkness, where the sunlight cannot harm him.[8] The first time Warlord confronted Deimos there, he was forced to kill what he believed to be his own son in a fight to the death, although it was actually a clone.[9]
- Caves of the Cyclops
- Citadel of Timgad
- Formerly the great city of the Sorcerer Kings, the Citadel of Timgad is now hopelessly overrun by Hobgoblins, and laden with traps as well. Unfortunately, it is also one of the only Wells in the Desert of Doom, which tends to attract travelers.[10]
- City of the Dead
- Desert of Doom
- Desert of Sorrows
- Doomgate Temple
- Dragon Sea
- Drakmeer
- Forest of Ebondar
- Great Fire Mountain
- Groniko
- Haunted Mountains
- Isle of Titans
- An island that was home to the Skartarian Titans led by Queen Amarant. Warlord has his first encounter with Shakira here.
- Kaambuka
- Kalibas
- Kallistan
- Kasamaga Island
- Kiro
- The city where Machiste is King, has a significantly diverse population, and there's an excellent Thieves' Market. Warlord's Sword, and Mariah's first costume were both fashioned there.[11]
- Lake of Dreams
- Mountains of the Sun
- North Sea
- Sea of Grel
- Bordering Skartaris to the West is the Sea of Grel, which contains ports such as Bal Shazar, Kiro, Bakwele and Kallistan. It also contains the Bay of Tears, Balgar Bay, and Captain Hawk's Stronghold. Warlord met the beautiful Ligia there, a woman of the sea who loved him so much she used up the last of her magical abilities to save his life when he accidentally took a spear while defending her.[12]
- Shaban D'aba
- Shadow Forest
- Shamballah
- A great golden city filled with advanced Atlantean technology, Shamballah is the home of the Warlord's wife, Tara. Their son, Joshua is the rightful King. When Warlord first visited Shamballah, the ancient computers had gone crazy with boredom and attempted to kill all of the people in the surrounding area.[13]
- Shebal Gladiator Arena
- An arena where men are trained to fight each other, located next to the Bay of Tears. Warlord was given combat training and forced to fight to the death against his friend Machiste, but rather than kill an ally, he led a revolt and murdered Shebal himself, then organized the Gladiators into his own army.[7]
- Skyra
- An airborne city, which floated in the sky and was maintained by a cyborg named Tragg. Warlord, Machiste and Mariah were brought there by Pterodactyls, and were forced to kill the caretaker when they found he had an appetite for human flesh. Without anything keeping it together, the city crumbled, fell to the Earth and was destroyed.[14]
- Swamplands
- Skartaris' Swamplands are rife with poisonous snakes and vicious semi-aquatic dinosaurs. Warlord was hunted there for his own life by a man named Stryker who had sworn revenge upon him and sworn laid numerous deathtraps. Needless to say, Warlord killed him the second he got his gun back.[15]
- Temple Grimfang
- Temple of the Sun
- Terminator
- On the edge of where Skartaris meets the rest of the world lies the Terminator, a land of perpetual darkness. Deimos was forced to make his castle there when the Mask of Life made him vulnerable to sunlight.[8]
- Thera
- The first Skartarian city Warlord came into contact with, where he met Deimos, the High Priest. He left when a group of assassins were sent by Deimos to kill him and Tara.[1] Although Thera was clearly civilized, they were looked down upon by other cultures for their frequent human sacrifices. The city was later sacked by Warlord's army of freed slaves, and the oppressive rule of Deimos was put to an end.[16]
- Tower of Fear
- A gigantic fearsome spire, filled with demon-like creatures who appear and disappear seemingly at random to kill whoever enters the Tower. Warlord and Machiste were forced to brave the tower to retrieve the fabled Mask of Life, which they did not know was going to be used to resurrect Deimos.[17]
- Umber
- Valley of the Lion
- Valley of the Snowbeast
- One of the few areas in Skartaris with foul weather, as heavy clouds block out the constant sunlight, it is constantly covered in snow. Warlord met a kindly Yeti-like creature, who was actually a beautiful winged creature trapped in an ugly body, freed only when Machiste mistakenly killed it.[18]
Residents
Trivia
- According to creator Mike Grell, Skartaris' name "comes from the mountain peak "Scartaris" that points the way to the passage to the Earth's core in Journey to the Center of the Earth."[19] Grell also stated that he has never drawn a map of Skartaris. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, he said, "Anything that can happen in fantasy happens in the lore and it's one of the reasons I always refused to draw a map of Skartaris. Year after year after year went by, and I was always hounded by the editors, 'When are you going to have a map?' The reason I refused was because once you draw a map, you establish boundaries. And why would you want to put boundaries on your imagination?"[20]
- The world of Skartaris is filled with magical energy so all forms of superpowers wouldn't function there, except magic-based powers.[21]
See Also
Links and References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1st Issue Special #8
- ↑ Warlord #6
- ↑ Aquaman (Volume 5) #71
- ↑ Warlord #3
- ↑ Warlord #23
- ↑ Warlord #12
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Warlord #2
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Warlord #20
- ↑ Warlord #21
- ↑ Warlord #17
- ↑ Warlord #7
- ↑ Warlord #24
- ↑ Warlord #15
- ↑ Warlord #8
- ↑ Warlord #13
- ↑ Warlord #4
- ↑ Warlord #10
- ↑ Warlord #9
- ↑ Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #54
- ↑ "Mike Grell Returns to The Warlord" Comic Book Resources. 2009-01-29
- ↑ Trinity (Volume 2) #17
| Warlord | |
|---|---|
| Supporting | Tara Morgan • Machiste • Mariah Romanova • Shakira • Jennifer Morgan • Aram Al Ashir • Tinder • Aton • Mikola Rostov • Deimos |
| Volumes | 1st Issue Special • Warlord (Volume 1) • Warlord (Volume 2) • Warlord (Volume 3) • Warlord (Volume 4) |
| Miscellaneous | Skartaris • Shamballah • Kiro • Thera • Warlord's Sword • Warlord's Plane • Wizard World • Dinosaurs • Mike Grell • Dan Jurgens • Professor Lakely • Green Arrow |