Guendalia

An isolationist nation occupying the southeastern peninsula of the mainland. Separated from the rest of the mainland by a nearly impassible mountain range and surrounded by choppy seas, Guendalia developed mostly independent of outside influences. Their way of life is strange, or perhaps confusing, to outsiders. On the surface their way is one of honor, rules, codes, and law. They have codified the way one should live life and interact with one another, complete with honorifics and excessive politeness. Underneath the surface, however, they are all about deception, subterfuge, and plotting to gain advantage in society. A philosopher once likened their life to a game, the goal of which was to see how much you could get away with without being caught. If one of your underhanded moves is caught, rules of society say you must be punished according to the law. If your moves go unnoticed, you can rise through the ranks of social classes, perhaps all the way to ruling Council.

They have a strong distrust for outsiders, whom they consider either too straightforward (and thus untrustworthy), or too impolite (and thus terrible at their game). They have opened up for trade in the last few centuries, but still have strict rules about how long outsiders can stay and where they can go.

Officially, Guendalia is neutral in the war. Of course, that would be the outward stance of the Council no matter what they did. Rich in metal suited to high quality weapons and armor, they have been subtly affecting the course of war through trade partnerships. There are also rumors of their agents taking part in subterfuge in Empire, though no one can prove it.

Artemisia
The City of Light (or City of Shadows), capital of Guendalia and seat of the Council.

Pelagia
A port city, and one of the few places foreigners are allowed to come and trade.

The Council
The ruling body of Guendalia. The only requirements to join is to be a member of a noble family and pay a buy-in, however, in practice the process is a lot more difficult. When not trying to squash hopeful from joining, they are in constant competition with one another for power.

L'agenzia
A covert intelligence operation rumored to be the best in the world at what they do. Rumored because no one can definitively prove they even exist.