Eastern Kingdoms

The nation known as the Eastern Kingdoms is a patchwork of small fiefdoms, almost constantly engaged in internecine conflict. Throughout their history, these kingdoms have united and divided in a bewildering array of alliances and oppositions. Only the kingdoms in the southwest, which have a history of forcing conflicts with Midian, have ever faced any outside foe. The Eastern Kingdoms really are their own worst enemy.

Though they are now hardly unified enough to be considered a single nation politically, their shared history and culture allows them to be considered as a nation. There are also many cultural similarities to Midian, suggesting a shared history in the distant unrecorded past. The last extended conflict between Midian and the southernmost Eastern Kingdoms was over sixty years ago. This conflict, like several before it, erupted from disputes over border matters such as piracy and slavery.

Slavery and indentured servitude are practiced throughout the Eastern Kingdoms. Slaves sometimes flee the kingdoms seeking safety in neighboring Midan, where slavery is outlawed, and both common law and tradition call for the protection of escaped slaves. Midian courts and baronies have historically been divided about the legal protections offered to escaped slaves or the jurisdictional issues surrounding bounty hunters, but have long been reluctant to return human beings to bondage. The Church is officially and adamantly opposed to slavery and is thought to be a strong influence on the governors (as well as the people) in these matters. (Many slaves also flee to the Territories, but bounty hunters are free to pursue in those lawless lands.)

Likewise, piracy is common within the Eastern Kingdoms. Pirates (or as they prefer to be called, privateers) operate freely and with government consent or contract, preying on rival kingdoms or even foraying into the Territories. Piracy along the Midian border was much more common in the past but remains a problem for the eastern baronies.

Government

Feudal Monarchy, mostly.

Religion

The kingdoms are variously religious, but overall may be best described as henotheistic (each kingdom may predominantly worship one god without denying the existence or importance of other gods). There is generally little or no political unity or interaction between religion and government within most of the Eastern Kingdoms, though occasionally there have been kings who declared themselves “gods.”

Language

There are two primary languages of the Kingdoms, referred to simply as Northern Kingdom and Southern Kingdom. In both cases there are some regional dialects that create a -1 or -2 in comprehension.