Because Riot won't do it: Let's create a new map

Now, it's been nine months since the map has been declared "non-canon". That's fine. What's less fine is that no new map has been provided. So, how about we get together and make one ourselves?

First of all, we have to know the map's outline. Here, what we're doing isn't a map of Runeterra as much as a map of Valoran. Valoran itself is a continent, so we have that. We also know that there's the Shadow Isles, so we have to place a group of islands somewhere. There's also Ionia, which is supposedly a very large island. There's also the Blue Flame Islands where Bilgewater is located. Finally, we know there's at least one peninsula as we know Lokfar is no longer a completely different continent but a peninsula. The only thing which might change is this is the Blue Flame Islands: They might be removed and Bilgewater would then become a coastal port city somewhere on the main continent.

Now, what regions does Valoran contain? Well, there's the ones we already named, as in the Shadow Isles, Ionia, Blue Flame Islands and Lokfar. We also know that we have to place Demacia, Noxus, Piltover, Zaun, Freljord, Bandle City and Mount Targon on the map. Shurima and its desert also belong on there.

But what other, lesser known regions belong on the map? Let's take a look at them one at a time and consider whether they should remain or not.

Urtistan: Fallen city state where Zilean is from. This is likely to get retconned; Urtistan is likely going to become part of Shurima. Not going away completely, but it won't be a completely separate region.

Kaladoun: Swamps surrounding Demacia. I don't think they were ever mentioned in any piece of lore beyond the map so they're not crucial. If Kaladoun doesn't fit on the new map, it's likely gone.

Fyrone Flats: Some wasteland bordering Urtistan and Shurima. Likely to become part of Shurima, like Urtistan.

Kumungu and The Plague Jungles: I only gave one entry for the two because the two regions seem to have always been used interchangeably in the lore despite supposedly being different. In fact, even Riot's writers seem confused about this which leads me to believe they'll be merged into one. There will definitely be a "jungle region" on the map however. For the sake of further discussion, the new region will be named "Kumungu" because "Plague Jungles" sounds lame.

Voodoo Lands: A region south of Noxus populated by outcasts who practice dark magic. Annie is from there. It's supposed to be a nearly barren wilderness. I think this place will likely meet the same fate as Kaladoun: If it can't fit on the new map, it'll be gone. In that case, Annie's backstory will likely need an overhaul, but seeing as she's the only champion with a link to the place and that her lore is actually fairly isolated from everything else, it won't be much of an issue.

Kalamanda AKA The Crystal Scar: Not a large place by any stretch of the imagination, it's a small village which was turned into a battlefield by Demacia and Noxus. Supposedly at the foot of Mount Targon, but this may change to accommodate the new map. Still, unlike much larger places like Kaladoun, it can't be retconned out of existence. It has to fit somewhere. Still, a small village is easy enough to fit on a map.

Icathia: Icathia is fairly unique in that it's not mentioned much in the lore yet is likely very important to it. Icathia is a fallen city-state whose fate was supposedly met at the hands of the Void. Seeing as the Void is a fairly important part of the LoL story, even a retconned one, as the story's general theme seems to be the city-states' incapacity to stop using magic to fight each other despite the fact that it's hurtling the world towards doom, Icathia's continued presence on the map seems necessary. Like Urtistan and the Fyrone Flats, it's likely going to become part of Shurima. If it does however, it should be far, FAR into Shurima, isolated from everything else.

Now, there are other minor geographical locations but they're not likely to survive the transition. Even the idea that Valoran is split in two between a populated northern portion and a nearly uninhabited southern portion is not necessarily going to survive. Now that this is done, we're left with a series of regions which need to be placed on the map:

Noxus Demacia Ionia Freljord Piltover Zaun Mount Targon Bandle City Bilgewater Shadow Isles Shurima Kumungu Kalamanda Lokfar Icathia Kaladoun (maybe) Voodoo Lands (maybe)

With this in mind, we need to know how they're built and related to each other to fit them on the map.

Noxus: Noxus is by far the largest city-state due to its conquest of lesser neighbors over the centuries. Beyond knowing that it's the largest civilized region on Valoran, it's better to simply state how OTHER city-states are placed in relation to it (yes, even Demacia).

Demacia: The second largest city-state and Noxus' greatest opponent. The two regions can't be too close together. In fact, on the old map, they were on opposite sides of Valoran. Like Noxus, it's easier to simply state how other regions are situated in relation to it. The only thing we have to keep in mind is that Noxus and Demacia can't be too close.

Ionia: On the old map, Ionia was a large island. In the lore, it's sometimes called a continent. What is important is that Ionia must remained isolated from Valoran in some way; this is why Ionia's culture is so foreign to the rest of Valoran's. While most of Valoran seems to be based around western culture, Ionia is definitely based on eastern culture. Ionia also has to be closer to Noxus than to Demacia; this is crucial for Noxus to be an actual threat to it. Whether Ionia remains a large island or becomes a full fledged continent is up for debate.

Freljord: Freljord is a cold region situated in northern Valoran and is supposedly fairly difficult to access. It's a cold, inhospitable region. It's remained independent thanks to its isolation and the hostility of its environment and its inhabitants.

Piltover and Zaun: These two. Back on the old map, the two cities were on the opposing sides of a bay. Both of them were actually fairly close to Noxus, with Zaun being the closest one. It's never clearly explained why Noxus simply allied with Zaun instead of conquering it, but that might simply be because it would have been more trouble than it's worth: Zaun and Noxus were separated by a mountain range and though Noxus was definitely the stronger of the two, Zaun could still seriously mess it up and leave it vulnerable. On the new map, Zaun and Piltover should definitely remain fairly close to each other, but separated by something. Considering Zaun's strong ties to Noxus, it has to be fairly close to Noxus too. However, both cities, Piltover in particular, have to be hard enough to access that invading them would be very problematic for Noxus.

Mount Targon: The tallest mountain on Valoran and the place where the Rakkor (and their exalted caste, the Solari) live. On the old map, Mount Targon was at the center of Valoran and overlooked the only pass into the southern portion of Valoran (the Mogron Pass). Mount Targon's location can be completely changed however. In fact, due to the extreme martial abilities of its dwellers, it could be right next to Noxus. The only important thing about its location is that it shouldn't be too isolated. It should be in a relatively well populated region.

Bandle City: The city of yordles. On the old map, it was the only populated region south of the "Great Barrier", which was the mountain range which separated northern and southern Valoran. It was itself separated from the rest of southern Valoran by another mountain range, the Sablestone Mountains. The lands surrounding it were apparently jungles. I think Bandle City can be a bit less isolated than it was and in fact should be situated within Kumungu. It still shouldn't be too close to the lands populated by humans, to put emphasis on how alien yordles are to the rest of Valoran's population. Considering its close ties with Piltover, maybe it should be moved closer to it.

Bilgewater: On the old map, this often forgotten city-state was actually situated on a series of islands, namely the Blue Flame Islands. There are two choices here: Either it remains an island, in which case it should be off the coast somewhere, or it's turned into a coastal port town. If the latter happens, it needs to be somewhat isolated from both Demacia and Noxus, otherwise Noxus would have invaded it or Demacia would have moved in to install the rule of law.

Shadow Isles: These have to remain islands, disconnected from the rest of Valoran. However, on the old map, they were extremely remote, maybe a bit too much. Moving them a bit closer to Valoran might be a good idea, but they have to remain that one isolated placed on the horizon which people look at with worried eyes. They're supposedly southeast of Bilgewater.

Shurima: A large desert containing a bunch of fallen civilizations. To me, there are two ways it could be placed: The first option is to make it into a remote region of the world, fairly isolated from everything else. In this case, it would be a mysterious, unexplored region and it would be acceptable to place Icathia at its far end. The second option is to put it in-between Noxus and Demacia, making it act as a natural barrier between the two. In this case, it would be fairly well explored and would even be lightly populated, but Icathia would definitely not be part of Shurima. I think the first option is the better one, but the second one has its merits.

Kumungu: A large jungle. As said, I think Bandle City should be within it. If we move Bandle City closer to Piltover, then Kumungu should move with it. Having a jungle close to Zaun would also explain where they get all their alchemical reagents.

Kalamanda: It should be situated between Demacia and Noxus, since that's the reason they fought over it in the first place.

Lokfar: A peninsula north of Valoran. I think it should be part of Freljord, maybe be its northern tip? The important part is that we know that there is a peninsula in northern Valoran tied to the Freljord.

Icathia: No matter whether it becomes part of the Shurima desert or not, Icathia has to be extremely isolated, not to say almost impossible to reach. It should not be close to any populated land, that much is for certain.

Kaladoun: If Kaladoun remains, then it's around Demacia.

Voodoo Lands: If the Voodoo Lands remain, then they're very close to Noxus.

Now that we know which parts of the world must remain and how they relate to each other, we can finally draw a map. I'm no artist though, so I'm leaving it up to you guys to come up with a map which follows these guidelines.

Just for fun, I decided to open MS Paint and try my hand at it:

http://imgur.com/c5wMuka