Some huge updates coming in!
First one is small; The Devs are laying the groundwork for naval units (starting yesterday).
For now your caravans turn into ships when they need to cross water.. but later on you might need dedicated trade and battle fleets (at least if you are island-folk).
The second, and much much larger update.. coming in the next couple of weeks: A new continent called The Broken Lands.
Great news for any new or returning players, as the current Top alliances won't be able to explore the New World in force... most of the top vets already have 8-10 cities in the Old World, making a move for them to the new world infeasible unless they wish to sacrifice the power and standing they currently have in the old world (and with an ongoing war between the top alliances, their expansion to the new continent will be even slower!). This makes expansion into the new world very fair for new players and sets everyone on equal footing. (Moving and already established city from the Elgea to the new continent is possible, but would take weeks).
Except for StA... our geographical good fortune means we are not only the closest established alliance to the new continent.. be we are also capable of taking control of the major trade routes between the old world and the new world (I'm certain we'll be doing lots of trading with the NPC natives, we need to liberate their Inca gold and the need to pay the blood tax!)
In the North (Elgea), the areas we control almost exclusively in red:
In the South (The Broken Lands), the new continent coming soon, and our current expansion plans:
If you wish to join StA in Illyriad,
http://illyriad.com/?104473, we'll fill your stockpiles and help your first city grow so that you can explore the new world in force the very moment it opens (fresh players will have first picking thanks to the city teleportation spell, which your Capital city can do once.. and only once).
I will exodus one of my cities to the new continent the moment it opens.. it will take about a week to get there, but will serve as a trade hub with our Homelands and support any new StA cities that pop up near it. (Due to this city being as far South in Elgea as possible, it'll get there at least a week before anyone else from a Top alliance can.. an excellent advantage!)