Anaru

Anaru, home of many races, yet ruled by only one. The humans of Anaru have welcomed many into their midst including, but not limited to; elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, tieflings, dragonborn, and the rareky seen aasimar.
Anaru is a collection of 10 city states, ruled by one monarch, usually the king, though not all of the state rulers agree with this monarchy.
Each city state is ruled over by a Great House of Anaru, who traces their lines back hundreds of years, some even thousands. Each city state controls and provides for the land around their home, though some takes greater pride in this duty than others.
While there used to be more, only 9 Great Houses still exist and are still living in their ancestral homes. Only House Fellslade have control over 2 major cities: their ancestral home of Sunpath and the capitol of Anaru Jewel of Pelor

Structure

The King of Anaru is the prime ruler of the whole country. He rules from the great city of  Jewel of Pelor.
Directly beneath the King sits the Council, consisting of: Members from the Great Houses, the General of Anarus army, the court wizard, and the Treasury Advisor.
Each of the 10 Great Houses each controls their respective City and its holdings. Some controls other towns, even citites, while others keep mostly to their ancestral home and its surroundings.
Some of the Great Houses are reinforced by their Vassal Houses: usually an offshoot of the original family, though some Vassal Houses traces their history back almost as long as the Great Houses.

Culture

Anaru is known for their trading routes and access to materials, both raw and produced.  Each region of Anaru produces something they have become known for, far and wide. 
Anaru is also highly religious, following (for the most part) the faith of Pelor, thoiugh other deities are worshipped, either at special occasions, in specific parts of the country, or as a substitute, though these are rare and far between.

History

Anarus history goes back thousands of years, to a time were humans wandered down the cold mountains in the north, to find respite from the more beastly races. Here, they found a hospitable land, filled with ressources and ripe for the taking.
The first settlers lived in small tribes, constantly fearing eachother and the wildlife that sorrounded them. Over time this generated strife and conflict, leading to the tribes fighting over the land. Those that won the conflicts, stayed were they had settled their tribe and grew over time. Those that lost the earliest conflicts of men ventured further south, to find their own home. A few tribes ventured west and, eventually, inter-bred with a race of abnormally large humans, found in the western mountains.

Divine Origins

The story goes, that an old man once entered the city of Sunpath, while it was still in its youth. Trough speachcraft and guile, he gained an audience with the leaders of House Fellslade and told them of the light that underlines this world.
As the night grew to morning, the House of Fellslade had become the first Great House to bend their knees to the light of Pelor, the Light of the World. Soon, all of Sunpath and its neighbouring towns were under the light of the Allfather.
From there , the religion grew quickly, spreading throughout the region as a wildfire. No one knows exactly how the faith spread, though most present-day priests agree on a simple fact: the truth takes root were it lays its seed.
At the conclusion of the The War of Light the main religion in Anaru had become The Way of White . In the name of Pelor and the much needed unification of Anaru, the head of the Great House Fellslade declared himself King of Anaru and began his crusade, later known as The Unification War

Cosmological Views

The Gods of the Faerunian Pantheon gathered at the dawn of time, to unify their vision for the universe. Each God had created their own domain and found satisfaction in this, yet they all agreed that the planes seemed rather empty.
With Pelor at their front guiding their efforts, they weaved the magic and power of the cosmos into the Material Plane. Each God gave some of their essence to this new plane of existence, yet none gave as much as the Allfather himself. When it was done, they saw that it was good, though rather lifeless. Pelor gave each God permission to go about the material plane and seed it with life, in their own image. Some of the Gods created plants of all color and size, some weaved animals into existance large, small, prey and predator.
Pelor himself decided on a monumental task: he would create the dominant species, that would roam the plane and discover all that was made, subjucate all that was living. This species became the Humans.

Tenets of Faith

Pelor, the Allfather, the Light of This World, is the primary God and must be praised.  His tenets are as follows:
1: You shall walk in the Light, for all of your existence. Those that stray to the Dark, are banished from my sight for all time. 
2: You shall honor your forefathers, for they are blessed by my Light and have laid the foundations of this world.
3: You shall forever fight against the Dark, else it will consume all you hold dear.
4: You shall heed the words of my priests, my prophets: they are speakers of my word and know my will.
5: You shall honor the Gods, as you honor Me. They are my loyal friends and compatriots, yet none of them are as great as I.

Priesthood

In The Way of White there exists a number of ranks, some of them seen all over Anaru, some of them are localized ranks of responsibility.
A general structure of the Ranks, in descending order of importance:

Arch Priest/Priestess

High Priest/Priestess

Provost (local leader of a sect)

Priest

Cleric/Friar

Sects

Each of the major cities have their own sects and all settlements of Anaru, have som form of presence from the Priesthood of Pelor. Some of these sects are fairly similar, while others differ greatly from eachother.
Some examples of different sects:

Bastion of Light: The sect of the Bastion have been under the control and led by the Great House Whitemantle, for houndreds of years. Usually it is the Head of the House that also guides the Bastion, in its worship.

Jewel of Pelor: The Capitol of Anaru and seat of both King and the Arch Priestess. Here, the faithful are given their directives and primary schooling, though other places exist all over Anaru. The Arch Priest/Priestess are the sovereign ruler of the faith in Anaru and a close advisor to the Monarch.

Thorlund: Home of The Yellow Dragons the city of Thorlund is highly religious and have banners depiction the Allfathers faith on almost all surfaces. This sect is not controlled by a priest, but by the Dragons themselves, given their close relation with the faith.

Pike: The ancestral home of the Great House Liérs, have always rejected the faith of Pelor, instead prefering the ways of their ancestors and the old Powers. Although a small sect of Light has a tenous foothold in Pike, they are seen as outsider and dissidents.

For the Light of Men!

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom