Why the Hell Maps Don’t Point NORTH
spreadward Distance in Amestris
Listen, I’m glad you did because I have a HUGE interest in the geography of the FMA world so I eat this shit up okay?)
Haha, well let me hit you with more then.
What I find really odd now that I’m looking at the map again is that it doesn’t point towards the true NORTH? It’s at a tilt, which seems really odd for someone used to seeing maps pointing true north all the time.
From looking at THIS map as well, it’s fair to assume that ALL (or a good portion) of maps are configured this way. What I had at first assume was a LAKE could be the north pole (although why there’s a random strip of DESERT is beyond me at the moment. I would assume there’s a mountain range on one or both of the borders, honestly.)
One thing I can think of off the top of my head to explain that is the STARS. Since this IS a fictional world, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to believe that the constellations are different and thus the guiding star (ours being Polaris, the North star) would have vastly different positions. Perhaps there is no north star in the FMA world and they use different stars to guide them at night.
It’s also fair to assume that their magnetic north is different from geographic north to such a degree that it would require maps that are configured differently.
Of course this could all just be a stylistic choice, but maps were made to be USED and an ACCURATE and easily followed map is far more useful than a stylistic one.
