The World Map of Aternum represents the main interface apart from the actual battle. You progress on the World Map reflects your personal progression in the game. Unlock new areas to get access to new features in the game. You will come across unique characters, various enemies, and other points of interest.
As soon as you start your adventure in the Warlords of Aternum, you will be able to liberate the first Shires by winning a battle in it. Soon you will have liberated an entire Province. After that, you will be able to scout a neighboring Province. Once the time is up, you can discover it.
In each Province you will find more occupied Shires that require a variable number of victories to liberate (usually from 1 to 5). Your progression in each Shire will be displayed directly on the map and also in the battle briefing window of respective Shire.
Once a Shire is liberated, it will not get occupied again. This rule doesn't apply in three cases: