Naarod (Nation)
The Northernmost province of the Khazigiri Empire, Naarod is a pine-forested state straight out of a Grims fairy tale, filled with dark forests, high mountains of sharp granite, and a culture that embraces the comforts of a warm fire, full larder, and well-appointed bar. Zareslich Cheeses and Ferecit wines both come from the Duchy of Lower Coldhorn in Naarod, while the best pork, salt fish and lamb come from Zauzet and Adevarul. The isolated agricultural opulence of the verdant Valley also produces a significant percentage of all the Empire's grains and legumes including wheat, barley, spelt, snow peas and dry beans.
Culturally it's somewhere between Bavaria and Transylvania, and indeed both of those regions aren't far apart on a map; the idea being that it has the braggadocio and national pride of Bavaria, but some of the stereotypical superstition of the Carpathian mountains, wrapped up in a very distinctive onion-dome and reinforced-corners sort of architecture that on earth, migrated up from Byzantine and Russian influences but here, is due to proximity with Khazig.
Kings and wars it has had its share of, but recent times have been typically peaceful. it has a been a member of the Gilded Empire since the days of the old King Oecon, practically at the founding of the Empire, a cultural hero; in more recent millennia, king Leith Leiden has steered the national character as warriors who prefer the hearth to the battlefield, leading retributory armies against incursions of the dangerous and mysterious Inimsuji elves. As a result, numerous towns and cities bear his name in some configuration, and indeed other cities, notably Leiden in Elinia, aren't even inside Naarod, but honor him nevertheless.
Naarod, Cekic and Elinia are of similar character to Naarod, but their geography and history, and the fact that they are outside the Gilded Empire but Naarod is a linchpin of the state, has led to distinctions in culture between the three as well.
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