The Shan, Eastern Region of Peredur
The Shan is the easternmost region within the province of Perdur. Before the Empire came to Peredur, it was a sparsely populated realm comprised mostly of Gnomish city-states. These were the city-states of Ilios, Ventos, and Nandos. Ilios lies in the northernmost part of the Shan, Ventos in the middle, and Nandos to the south, along the coast. Like all the regions of Peredur, The Shan is mostly forestland, though one will occasionally come across large open fields as one travels through it. Especially in the central areas around the city of Ventos the area opens up quite a bit and the land even starts to resemble Campolea. Though the houses are all shorter.
For The cities of The Shan were built by the rock Gnomes of The Shan, while the lesser towns and villages in the woods surrounding them were settled mostly by forest Gnomes. When the Empire invaded the area, the city-states were unable to raise significant resistance. The city-states generally did not cooperate well, and the towns of the forest folk were both vulnerable to attack, while at the same time not strongly allied enough to the cities to expect help from that quarter. It was a situation ripe for exploitation, and the Empire did not hesitate in doing so.
Ironically this worked out well for the Gnomes for unlike in Viraken or Sianna where the fighting had been harder, in The Shan the Empire left few legions to control the area, for they felt the Gnomes were unlikely to mount any rebellion. And indeed, the forest folk of The Shan appeared to prefer Imperial Rule over the endless rivalries of the larger cities. And even in the cities folk settled down quickly enough, seeing the Empire would leave them in peace if they stayed, well, peaceful. The taxes the Empire imposed on the Gnomes were not seen as burdensome as others might have found them, for the Gnomes generally simply didn't bother to pay the full amount. Like, ever. When the tax collector has a hard time even walking around in your living room, it's a lot easier to hide the family gems. And Gnomes who volunteered to work with the Imperials for massive civic building efforts, or went off and served in her armies were always lauded and rewarded at home. But Gnomes who joined the Excise Collections branch of government tended to somehow have much shorter careers due to sudden illnesses. Coming down with a bad case of stab wounds can really hurt the immune system.
The only city of Elves and Men in The Shan is the city of Paravenor, which was colonised during the height of the Empire, and is still where most of the Elves and Men of The Shan dwell. All folk, even Dwarves are welcome in Ilios, Ventos and Nandos, but most visitors find the architecture lovely, while at the same time a bit more cramped than comfortable. There's only so many times you can knock your head against the rafters before you decide it might be better to follow the signs labelled Bigfolkenstead to the "visitor areas" within the old cities of The Shan.
Nandos, being along the coast is fortified as all large towns are against raiders from the Free Islands of the Free. Other towns close to Nandos gain some benefit from regular patrols issued from the city, but the further away you get, the more dangerous the coast becomes.
The Shan was only lightly touched by the Dwarven Wars. Citizens of the cities marched West and North to take part in many battles, but the cities of the Shan were far enough away from the Zakhadnost to not suffer any of the longer sieges, and none of the cities of The Shan were wrecked as a result. Ilios in the North was pressed hard, twice, in the later wars by Dwarven armies coming down from the North. Each time, however, the Dwarves were turned back by fierce resistance in the forests by woodland Gnomes, and by the long supply trains the Dwarves were obligated to maintain above ground to get to Ilios.
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