If the pursuit of wealth as a foremost goal has a sordid or wicked side, than this state of the four states in the Denlor Plains is the best test of this idea. The Confederacy
is based on criminal cartels which have come together to maximize their mutual profit. Everything has a price here, and everyone’s goal is either the big score, or protecting
their current turf. It is noted for significant trade links with the Hillgarth Clans, which perhaps explains why the Hillgarth Clans view most humans with such suspicion.
Given the limited central government influence, there is little military and almost no civic infrastructure. Militarily the dwarves to the east, the Drinen Federation to the south,
and the Shield Barrens to the north limit the need for standing troops, so this encourages complacency. There are several brigades of mercenary ring-clad horse, and a variety of
light troops at the gates and walls of most towns, but that's about the limit of the standing "army".
The civic infrastructure is in even worse shape. While many of the wealthiest citizens live in opulent palaces that rival those found in the Jade Freehold, mere steps from their
doors are open sewers running through rutted dirt streets. Even their Shield device is little used: it is found on the infrequent formal diplomatic letterhead, and occasionally
on the shield of a senior mercenary captain among the few standing troops. There is no civic planning to speak of, and if it were not for the rich lands which surround them, and the hard work of
many temples, there would be starvation and no shelter for many.
BACKGROUND
Its origins stem from the city of Urgrik, which was an outpost of the Archendian Empire in the 3500s. The first bureaucrats to manage the outpost were Mantaten traders who
had no great love for their Archendian Sapoy masters far away, and a greater love for the obvious wealth to be garnered by establishing trade routes through this region.
Soon a bustling enterprise of skimming, rackets, bribes and outright thievery had been established, and local Sapoy natives rapidly came on board to help. Establishing preferred
trading status with the Hillgarth Clans only enhanced the new state’s viability.
More specifically, in 3492 traders from the Archendian Empire created a walled stronghold at the eastern end of the Samarkand Sea to act as a supply depot and warehouse for the goods
they had been trading with the Hillgarth Clans for years. It grew and thrived due to its strategic location, and confluence of river, sea and overland trade. After the fall of
the Archendian Empire the power vacuum was quickly filled by the already powerful, thriving and well connected thieve's guild.
STATISTICS
CAPITAL: Urgrik (9,800)
TOTAL POP.: 205,000
POLITICAL STRUCTURE: Syndicracy
LANGUAGE(S): Common, Tahlian, Old Sapoy
HUMANS: 45% Mantaten cognate, 30% Sapoy cognate, the remainder of mixed descent
DEMI-HUMANS: Comprise about 15% of total population (largely Dwarves with some Elves)
HUMANOIDS: Some
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