The Elvish nation of Tierwald, while idyllic to outsiders, is ran by a rigid caste system. At the top, few in number, are the Grey Elves, attempting to keep the borders closed to all outsiders. They try to keep druidic numbers to their own caste. Those druids from another caste are hunted and jailed for uncontrolled meddling in the "natural order". They see how dangerous the world has become over the last centuries and firmly believe that every elf has their place in Tierwald, and it would be unnatural to upset the natural order of things. They meet in secret to govern the lands, and their word is law.

Beneath them are the Common Elves (read: High/Gold Elves). These form the "strong middle class" of Tierwald. They are the artisans, the bladesmiths, the bowyers, the land owners. They seek comfort in their ways off the labor of the Sylvan Elves. By relegating the "grunt" labor of farming, smithing, or anything else, the Common Elves can focus their talents on the best organization of the Sylvan Elves, or the actual artistry of their trade.

The lowest caste are the Sylvan Elves. They are encouraged not to read or write. Their freedom is curtailed by a word from anyone from a caste higher. They live at the fringes of society, whether scrubbing pots, sowing seeds, or carrying coal. While there are far-flung settlements of truly wild Sylvan, they are becoming ever fewer as the Grey Elves and the Common Elves find them, trap them, and "civilize" them.

The secret enclave meets regularly, though their mission is always the same, at least, domestically. Root out any Sylvan elf conclaves, maintain their hold on the Common elves, and keep nature intact. However, it is the foreign policy that is of greatest concern. Bordering Ironridge, Lon, Blenmont, and North Eastlook, the enclave is constantly weighing the current political scene in an effort to keep everyone out of Tierwald. They encourage North Eastlook's rebellion with supplies of food, so as to keep North Eastlook embroiled in a war and their attentions focused southward. They push sylvan toward the border with Lon and guard it loosely, so their avaricious appetite for slaves can be whetted, and Lon does not force the issue by pushing inland. With Ironridge, the enclave are in agreement, though not alliance: Isolation is best, and the humans should fight out their wars amongst themselves. While there are diplomatic relations with Ironridge, they are generally very benign. As for Blenmont, Tierwald maintains a wary relationship: They guard the border, and keep a diplomat in King Jared II's court, with a tacit agreement that they won't wage a war with Blenmont as long as no Blenmont mercenaries end up in Tierwald.

Lon, bordered on the north by a branch of the North Lifefont River, holds a unique position amongst the human nations. While geographically the northernmost, it is more importantly the only nation that borders both the Elvish and the Dwarven nations. With easy access to Spear Bay, Lon has found itself constantly shipping out those wild Sylvan unfortunate enough to be captured by raiding parties.

The lucrative slave trade has made Lon wealthy throughout the years. The cities are well maintained, the streets cobbled, and art flourishes. And yet, it is not the slave trade alone that has Lon in such a good fiscal position. Lon alone has earned the trust of the dwarves, so it is through Lon that all dwarven steel passes. The constant need for weaponry in the various border wars in the human nations creates a monopoly for Lon that sees even the poorest of Lon's citizens well off by most other nation's standards.

Ruled by a council of merchants guilds, Lon will do just about anything to further line its coffers.

The Merchant's Guilds – A council of guilds manages the affairs of Lon, the council accepting one representative from each guild. While in some guilds, the head of guild is the same representative, in others, the representative is voted upon or assigned by the rest of the membership. This council manages foreign policy with an eye to keeping the most gold flowing into Lon as possible, and with a domestic policy of keeping themselves in power, and the guild members generally peaceable. The council is dominated by three main guilds: The Blacksmiths, headed by John Frall, who appraise and forward along the dwarven steel, the Sailors, headed by Samuel Cad, who have long since realized their power as the exporters of Lon's goods, and the Merchants, represented by Johnathan Trumb, who actually handle the gold transactions and the accounting. Each one fights their own turf wars to maintain their power, but they are held together by their desire to keep the machinations of capitalism moving.

Blenmont finds itself as a kingdom with an amoral King. The serfs are forced to work the land in grueling conditions, while a tiny middle class seeks to eke out a living under the rule of a man who will sell his own citizens into mercenary armies to sell to various nations at war.

The nobility under Blenmont do what they can to cater to the King. He has them invited to the palace in perpetuity, and while they are allowed to go to their own holdings to tend to affairs, they are expected back in short order. While they are at the palace, the nobility's families are essentially held hostage to assure the cooperation of the nobility. Should one decide to dissent, that noble is given a commission in one of the mercenary armies, and sold part and parcel to the various nations. With their land vacated, it reverts to control of the King, who can dispense of it as he sees fit.

King Jared II, long may he reign, is married to his wife Queen Francisca, with a generally acknowledged servant / mistress by the name of Jane Gray, who happens to be the widow of Baron Krakhau, who did rather disappoint his King when he decided to pay no taxes some three years ago, on account of no services being provided. The King marched an army onto the Baron's land, and was ultimately successful in waging his siege. The Baron was drawn and quartered as a traitor while Jane Gray looked on, but not before Jared II named her his new mistress, and consummated the relationship in front of Krakhau. Such displays have gone far in keeping the rest of the nobility in Blenmont in line with Jared II and his decisions.

North Eastlook was once a part of the larger "Eastlook" nation, but split apart after a noble rose to prominence to claim the throne. While South Eastlook declines to recognize North Eastlook as anything less than a breakaway part of their nation, they have yet to come to a truly conclusive battle. When one nation has the other effectively "on the ropes", a new mercenary army will be bought from Blenmont to tip the scales once again. It is a war that has so far lasted two years, and seems to have no end in sight.

North Eastlook is currently ran by a military government, until such a time as the war should end and the North Eastlook's sovereignty is recognized, at which point their highest of Generals, Martin the First, shall be appointed ruler. South Eastlook is ruled as a kingdom that is trying to retain its holdings, as a valuable farmland was lost with a branch of the North Lifefont River that is currently in North Eastlook. The subjects of South Eastlook are consistently conscripted to fight ever larger battles for ever longer periods of time. There are rumors of a coup in South Eastlook that lead to people being hanged as traitors daily.

A nation recognized by all others save South Eastlook, on account of their current state of rebellion. The weakening of Eastlook has made all other nations respectively stronger, leaving Governor-General Martin I with much acumen, both foreign and domestic. Advised by his closest Lieutenants, his domestic policy is largely devolves to allowing the land-holders free reign, so long as they supply him with arms, equipment, men, and money, so he can continue waging his war. This leads to some areas of North Eastlook with fairly benign local leaders, and others with much more harsh ones. However, there is a dearth of men of fighting age, as they are almost constantly sent to the front, save for those with money of skills valuable enough to keep them from the war.

King Lorfien III is in the position least favored by monarchs everywhere. Not only is his nation in the midst of a civil war, it is one that he seems unable to win. With the farmlands of the north in enemy hands, his people are struggling to feed themselves. The constant draft has disillusioned his subjects, and there are rumors of a coup. He would consider himself paranoid, if only the rumors weren't so plausible. The first whiff of dissent causes his loyal army, the Blacks, to rouse out individuals and hang them on the spot. Lorfien III does not question his core of support, as he needs them to remain in power. This lends itself to abuses, as even the slightest disagreement with the Blacks can be turned into high treason against the King. King Lorfien III and Queen Isabel live in their own palace, moving armies on sand-tables, while the generals under them wage their wars in their own fashion, filtering or entirely fabricating what information the King and Queen receive to tailor their own purposes.

Freemarch is a loose collection of warlords that have no end of weapons in sight. This is because their strategic location at the mouth of the Spear Bay allows them to rapidly send out Xebecs to raid Lon's and Blenmont's shipping. The constant influx of weapons from piracy allows them to maintain a loose sort of borders, and a semi-legitimate trade to its bordering nations. In Freemarch, the rich-poor divide is large, but those not involved in trading or farming are typically crews of the various pirate ships, attempting to strike it rich in their illicit trade.

Of strategic importance to Freemarch is their border with the Lifefont. The Lifefont has been known as such for centuries, as it is the font of all life in the lands. It is a freshwater lake that is constantly fed fresh water, and the rivers throughout the land are entirely supplied by the Lifefont. It is the threatening of the Lifefont that keeps nations from pressing Freemarch too hard in their piratic ways.

Might makes right. These are the words the people inhabiting the lands called Freemarch live by. While some do scrape a living from the land as farmers, the majority of the people are trying to “strike it rich” in a haul of treasure from some merchant ship or caravan. Bandits and pirates are the order of the day for men and women of all ages. The only reason farmers can survive at all is by the implicit acknowledgment and acceptance that the bandits and pirates have enough strength to keep Freemarch from being conquered, and they merely give freely of their harvests to those that would otherwise kill them. The only way to gain wealth in Freemarch is to steal it from another nation. Still, it is also accepted by the bandits and pirates that they need farmers as well, so they tend not to take so much from the farmers that the farmers themselves would starve.

The Free States are the only landlocked nation. They are a highly militarized society, where every man serves at least two years in the army. After completion of their training, every man must maintain at least a musket and thirty rounds of ammunition for it. It is this ready army that diverts invasion from the Free States, regardless of their strategic position at the mouth of the South Lifefont River.

Governed as a Republic, the male land owners in the Free States each have one vote for their regional representatives, who then go on to decide the course of the nation in the House of the Elected.

Constant militarization is a reality in this republic. The House of the Elected decides the course of the nation, but it must always focus its efforts toward maintaining its ready army, and maintaining its hold on the Lifefont. The representatives in the House of the Elected fall into three distinct groups: Those who favor active military campaigns on the borders to keep the Free States from being invaded, those who favor a conquest of Freemarch to increase their hold on the Lifefont, and those who seek superiority over the southern nations by controlling the South Lifefont River. These factions are led by Jakob Friedmann, Wolf Mark, and Conrad Dale, respectively.

Drokvia is a nation where only magic users can be involved in the running of a country. It is seen that only they have had the time to gain the wisdom to rule effectively. The training that is done to make a magic user is both time consuming and expensive, and only the wealthiest have an opportunity to study it. These academies are not simply training centers though, they also do their own research. No art of magic is forbidden to research here, and it is unremarked how the poor, homeless, and orphans seem to simply disappear from the streets of Drokvia.

Those not involved in the ruling of Drokvia function like any other nation. There are those wealthy, and those poor, some that farm, some that sell goods, and some that craft. It is just that every bureaucrat runs their own town, and has their own lab where they continue to research and study in the way they learned to at the academies.

The pinnacle of research and intellect is Drokvia's rulership. Grand Teacher Varquar, the oldest mage in the nation, and world, rules, with those younger and less experienced than he underneath him. Age, experience, and studies directly reflect one's station in Drokvia, and the longer one has learned the ways of magic, the further up in rulership one goes. Still, these ivory towers are just that: As long as their research and power goes unquestioned, the wizards of the realm are willing to keep themselves aloof from the day-to-day handling of affairs. The fastest, simplest, and most scientifically interesting ways to resolve disputes between subjects are often those first pursued, so it is not uncommon for a local bureaucrat to decide a case between who can survive the experiments of the court longest. This has led to much adjudication being handled informally and between the disputing parties, a situation the mages are only too happy to encourage.

Surgere is led by the leader of the Church, the Prince on Earth. A strict Theocracy, this state has kept itself separate by those unwilling to invoke the higher vengeance of the Father. Various sects of the Church run monasteries and convents, and each has their own parish that they rule over. Some are more benevolent, some are more militant, but they each answer to Prince Adelbert the Righteous, Father Bless his Rule.

Those of a non-religious sort are hunted as heretics. They are brought into confession, and then their souls are typically purged by fire. Their souls, now clean, are expedited into heaven to prevent their remission, due to the benevolence of the Church. This makes believing in something other than the Church Temporal and the Church Spiritual a very daring sin.

Prince Adelbert the Righteous, Father Bless his Rule, reigns over Surgere with his government entirely ran by the clergy. That which cannot be governed closely, such as further outliers of Ur, are ruled by convents and monasteries. It is something of an oddity within the realms, as their security is not a high priority. None wish to anger the Father, neither general nor king, and so, Ur is deemed fairly safe. While one would expect this to lead to prosperity within Ur, it is stymied by heavy tithes and taxes upon death. All lands within Surgere are owned by the Church, and are only issued out to those loyal followers they see fit. Currying favor with the clergy, and often ostentatious professions of faith, in an effort to out-do one another, are common amongst those who would wish to advance within the structure of Surgere. Those who favor a more militant bent often export themselves to another nation, as do those who wish for their prosperity to be passed onto their heirs.

Southland is in a fortunate position. While bordered by three states, they each tend to focus inward rather than outward. With two branches of the South Lifefont River going through Southland, there is much fertile land to be farmed.

The combination of relative security and internal stability have led Southland to be one of the more pleasant places to live. Ruled by King Theodore I, he attempts to project his nations power through Southland's navy. The ships made by Southland are the most advanced around. They sail the fastest, have the most longevity, and leak the least. Combined with cannon from Lon made by dwarven steel, the Southland Navy is a force to be reckoned with. To keep this navy in the finest fighting fit possible, Theodore I will often loan out his ships to warring nations so they have reason to fight. This further adds bargaining tokens to Theodore's diplomatic table.

However, the manning of such a fleet can be tricky. It is not a navy that can be entirely staffed by volunteers, as the ships can be at sea for years at a time, and conditions are typically less pleasant than that of home. This means that to fill the manning gap, there are often tactics employed at seaside towns to create fresh sailors for the ever needful ships. Subjects will often be simply abducted after having one too many drinks, to simply not see their families for years, if they can even be trusted with shore leave at that point.

King Theordore I, married to Queen Joan, reign over perhaps the most stable human nation. The nobility in Southland reads like a list of past Lords of the Admiralty: Each one is made Grand Duke when granted the office, and then their heirs are each Dukes in their own rights, to split their parcel of land as they see fit. The high rank is no accident: It is the Southland navy that keeps King Theodore I in charge of a strong nation, and he, as have the kings before him, give very serious consideration to the needs and advice of the Lord of the Admiralty, whomever it may be at that point. Currently, it is Lord Admiral Edward Jackson, with Captain Charles Hall in line to succeed him.