Shandath

From Snowblossom

The Holy State of Shandath is a theocratic nation found at the very edge of civilization on the Northern Shard, between the Eastern Wastes and the kingdom of Nezrahim.

History

Shandath was once a part of the kingdom of Nezrahim. The Shandathi were devout followers of a religious movement called the Church of the Bright Soul who split off from Nezrahim when the nation was corrupted by the Bale.

The first sign of the corruption was massive surge of undead. The Church of the Bright Soul oppose the undead as a basic tenet, so they saw the rest of Nezrahim as unclean and unholy. They fought hard against the undead that besieged their nation and managed to hold their own against the undead and the Bale, fighting off two hundred years of attacks from the King of Sorrows and the Nezrahi undead.

When the White Crown destroyed the King of Sorrows and remade Nezrahim, the Shandathi were not overjoyed by it. Although the invasion stopped, it was no less upsetting to have another nation ruled by the undead along its western border. Even a hundred years later, the Shandathi refuse any relations with the Nezrahi. They go so far as to refuse overland trade through Nezrahim, which means all trade must be conducted in ports along the southern coast of Shandath.

People

Most outsiders find the Shandathi to be superstitious and insular, but the Shandathi are used to hardship and they are incredibly cohesive as a society. A vast portion of the population is dedicated to the Bright Soul, although people of other religions are tolerated, so long as they are not openly fiendish or necrotic in nature.

Tieflings are not welcome in Shandath. Naturally, any undead are attacked on sight.

Government and Economy

The High Priest of the Bright Soul, Lucien Illisan, is the leader of the Church of the Bright Soul and the nation of Shandath. The Bright Soul Knights are the military and police force of the Holy State, and they train militias throughout the nation to protect against attacks.