Thank you! I try to be as sci-fi with my fantasy as possible, wringing out as much concept from a magic ability as I can. This also helps with following the design principle of, "Can I reuse something already here instead of adding something new?"
Really glad to hear you like the map style! What I really wanted to do was a hand-drawn isometric cutaway with exaggerated feature details, but there simply wasn't enough time with my schedule, so I fell back to a digital map in a simplified style. It was an experiment for me, but I agree it evokes early 2000s Dungeon magazine and the like. I think it is a good combination of illustrative detail and readability.