Eviara

Eviara is the most recent region to become part of the New Merittan Empire, though even that was some hundred and forty years passed. Before joining the empire there was a lot of strife between those north of the desert and those who lived south of it. War broke out between the two not long after the complete disappearance of magic. Their struggle ended with a secretive coup that left the emperor beheaded by his general and an agreement for the southlands to join the empire. Since then, the empire has made use of its unique resources while trying to support the people with middling success. In general, the land is populated by the descendants of those who have always lived there. The mountain range that protects the region from the crystal waste has made it only really accessible by ship. Most of Eviara is covered by family groups who hold large tracts of land, however, especially near the coast, traditional cities have been forming. Slowly, Eviara becomes more and more part of the empire, but much of it still clings to the old ways.

Before the empire, the lands of Eviara still knew strife. Family groups would war with one another over access to the animals and plants that grow well beyond the size of the ones back on the main parts of the empire. As such, family life is important to the people of Eviara, even as they have set aside some of their larger grievances to join together as a region. Families live together on their parcels of land, sometimes building several homes as part of the same estate, near in proximity, but with some privacy as well. There is a strong oral tradition passed along by the people of Eviara, and all families have at least one story teller to carry the history of the family through the generations. With the changes in government, these structures have solidified more than anything. Heads of houses became barons of their own family holdings. That said, the emperors have always installed viscounts for Eviara from people they trusted.

Prudence Stoutheart has always had a great deal of loyalty to the emperor. Before they were named viscount, Prudence did a lot of the empire’s logistics and they are uniquely familiar with the value Eviara brings to the empire. In addition to the very large creatures, mining operations have unveiled unique stones that were able to generate some magical effect even during the dark times. Even today, most who wield magic do so because they have trained with spellstone early in their magic careers. It is a valuable commodity not only for spellcasters but for smiths as well who seek to craft magical weapons and armor from the arcanically dense material. This has made Prudence’s logistical experience very valuable to the empire and they’ve been able to enrich their region (and themself) along the way.

Of the families in Eviara, the Diomhair family is closest with the empire. They gave their family holdings, Tionól, to the crown, and have served the emperor directly within those walls since. It has become a defacto seat of power in the region, and Stoutheart has made their headquarters in the ancestral home. A small branch of the family did split off and has caused some trouble from time to time, but the Lost Family as they call themselves have yet to make any real problems for the empire and are largely ignored.