The Holy Lands
On paper, it looks like the Holy Lands should be in a strong, if not dominant position in the Realm. They're friends with all the right people. They have a good-sized population. Not the largest, it's true, but easily the most productive. And they control the only known Gold Mines in the Basin, and have made a fortune for more than two centuries off of the lucrative, but not very glamorous wool trade.
In addition to that, the reigning Prelate, Erich Castillar is a capable administrator and highly charismatic.
Despite all of those advantages, however, the Church's position remains tenuous.
The fault for at least part of that lies with Castillar himself. He made the conscious decision to focus all his manpower on the southern portion of his Realm, spending extravagantly to fortify and most of the stops along the Old South Road in order to maximize security in and around the Holy City. That, plus keeping the Gold Fields of Sarsgardia out of the hands of the Bandit Kings is all he's got the troops for. Everything else is left to companies of Free Swords, and the cities in the northern parts of the Holy Lands are left largely to fend for themselves.
This has caused the food producing northern cities from Dol'Doras to the Silver River to give serious consideration to throwing their lot in with Fraine.
In addition to that, the Holy Lands are being pressed on all sides. Fraine is, of course, an ever-present threats, but so are the Bandit Kings to the southwest, the powerful humanoid tribes to the southeast and northwest, additional threats from the Haaradis, and threats from The Tangles, which make even parts of the Old South Road unsafe for travel. In fact, here, the farming communities that used to exist closer to the Tangles have been abandoned since the fall of the Eye of Kaylaar, and are now little more than camps that wagon trains use when stopping for the night.
In short, the Holy Lands are a study in contrasts. The areas that are under control are firmly in hand indeed. Safer and more secure even than the heart of Council Lands. Unfortunately, the rest of the Holy Lands have gone almost completely to seed. They are wild, dangerous places.
In recent years, on two separate occasions the Prelate has lost control of the gold fields, seeing them briefly captured by the Bandit Kings to the south. These ruffians occupy the former province of Luria, which was often derisively called "Hen," because of a long ago act of cowardice by one of the ruling Dukes of Luria. None of the bandit leaders in this land are especially strong - it's a maze of competing interests, but - they tend to unite and rally against any outside threat, and the Holy Church certainly counts as one of those.
All of this to say that the Holy Lands are pressed from every side, and the Prelate has his hands full just maintaining the status quo. In fact, he was forced to cede land to the Furies after building a fort to help control the Ford across the Silver River, and then proving unable to adequately staff it. His manpower problems are acute indeed.
Type
Geopolitical, State
Capital
Leader
Government System
Theocracy
Power Structure
Feudal state
Judicial Body
The Justicaari
Deities
Neighboring Nations
Towns of Note
Villages & Hamlets
Landmarks of Interest
Lakes & Rivers
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