Nogar

Nogar was once a much larger and more prosperous realm, with cities with golden temples far to the west. This was until the rise of the Gnoll hordes. When the first western cities fell, their defences proving no resistance to the ferocious beasts priest-king Keantanatan took a difficult decision. All lands to the east of the Kwogan coast were to be evacuated eastwards.
After the arduous journey the Nogari venerated stone-singers began began their greatest project. Once used for building mighty temples to honor the gods, now they set upon building a wall. The Bastion of Eternal Harmony would be risen from the ground, many stone singers even sealed themself inside to fortify the structure with their powerful blood. At the end a mighty wall, with great forts stood, ready to last an eternity. Ready to even repel back the promised gnoll invasion... an invasion that never came.
Now, long after the great exodus and Keantanatan's death, the people of Nogar are if two minds. Some are still in fear that the gnolls will return their attention eastwards, and await the day when the nation's strength will be tested. Others however, are growing impatient. The invasion never came. Why not go forth and reclaim their ancient home? The third faction has a different view. While the time for isolation is over, Old Nogar is a forlorn land, best left in the past. Instead, these think the time is ripe to build ships and establish colonies to the south, along the Peacock Coast. This, they argue, will both lead to needed expansion, as well as being even farther from the Gnoll menace.
== History ==
The nation of Nogar is one of the oldest in the Eastern coast of Giantstep, though most of its history is tied to its neighbor, the Khenomeric Empire. In ancient times, the Kingdom of Nogar was formed around the year 2.000 BBE. However, the at the time elective monarchy was in a constant state of upheaval, and so by the time the Khenomeric Empire began growing in influence and power, the nogarese nobility could do little to stop the growing power westwards. The Khenomeri easily gained power and influence over the elected nogarese monarchs, and eventually managed to absorb the entire kingdom without violence. The province of Nogar greatly benefited from contact with the empire, receiving modern technologies, the khenomeric alphabet, modern administration and magic, and thus Nogar became one of the more loyal provinces during the first centuries of the empire. The mines of copper and iron present in the nogarese territories managed to fuel a prosperous economy for the region, with the local nobility controlling both the farmland and the underground resources. Even during the slowing of the conquest, Nogar was still regarded as one of the more prosperous provinces of the empire.
Cracks between Nogar and the Khenomeric Empire began with the rise of the Magoclergy. The magoclergy’s reforms were not only tied to the magic workings of the nation, but they also tried to reinforce the central government’s power over the provinces. That not only meant less political liberties for the nogarese nobility, but also more taxes. However, the militaristic nature of the Magoclergy meant that any action in protest would mean severe suppression from the magical forces of the Magoclergy. Distrust and disquietude began growing in the minds and hearts of the nogarese, both noble and peasant alike. During the revolt of Kleo II against the Magoclergy, the nogarese nobility supported the royal family, being promised the return of political liberties and other privileges. These were granted after Kleo II’s victory, which made the province very loyal to the now reinforced royal family. However, the long decay of the Khenomeric Empire saw those privileges and liberties slowly eroded, with the increasing taxes going to the maintenance of the empire rather than the defense of Nogar from pirates, bandits, disease and the eventual spread of the gnolls. It would be this last thing that would be used by the House of Doroseck to start a rebellion to demand the lost privileges. However, a surprising string of victories not only managed to get all the support of the nogarese nobility, but to actually make the entire Province of Nogar independent, with Feriun Doroseck becoming the first king of the newly independent Kingdom of Nogar.
However, with this new independence also came problems, since the nobility saw an opportunity to quickly expand their own power. Arguing for the return to the elective mornarchy, they began scheming against House Doroseck. Their solution was an alliance between the clergy, increasing the priesthood’s privileges in exchange for help to maintain House Doroseck as the only royal family in the kingdom. Thus, the kings became both political and spiritual rulers of the land. During the rule of the first nogarese kings, they focused their resources to push back the gnolls back to the borders. They also conquered the lands north of Nogar, to try and curve the banditry and pirate bases established in the Izar Peninsula and the Chickenbone Gulf. However, keeping this strip of land turned out to be prohibitively expensive, as the lands were simply too poor to maintain and defend, especially when having to deal with gnoll activity in the borders with the Khenomeric Empire. As such, in 2.111 ABE they allowed the land to become a vassal kingdom, the Kingdom of Drunigzar, which would have to defend the land by itself and the scant help Nogar could provide from time to time. Nogar would prosper in those days, and that would allow the kingdom to develop a very rich architecture, with cities with beautiful palaces and temples.
However, this prosperity made the nogarese to lower their guard. At that point, the nogarese authorities were busy reinforcing their economy to nullify the nascent power of the Kingdom of Drunigzar, and that kept authorities focused on the events of the north rather than those on the west. Thus, the explosion of gnoll population and the wars between the gnolls and their neighbors were hoped to be just a fluke, and once the gnolls began tearing into each other, Nogar would come forward and expand into the broken lands. However, that was not the case, as a massive army of gnolls marched against Nogar in 2.719 ABE. Unprepared for war after decades of peace, and with the gnoll forces funneled into Nogar (the Cowmen Grasslands offered great resistance to the gnoll, whereas the Tenzin People were protected by the harshness of the Great End Peaks), the nogarese forces were slaughtered again and again. The near relentless advance of the gnolls, only slowed down by the pillaging and burning of the rich cities of the west, the nation seemed to be on an inevitable course to destruction. After years of continuous defeats and the slaughter of tens of thousands, Priest-King Keantanatan Doroseck ordered the construction of the Bastion of Eternal Harmony, a great wall connecting from the Kwogan coast and the Sirena Cape. He then ordered a mass exodus to take place behind the walls, forcing the population west of the wall to abandon all of their possessions and run for their lives, as the gnoll’s forces were barely slowed down by the nogarese. However, it would not be the efforts of the nogarese, but the war between the gnolls and the Ra what would eventually save the kingdom. Needing more and more forces to push back against the crabmen, the gnolls finally abandoned the campaign against Nogar ten years after the initial invasion, leaving the lands of “Old Nogar” abandoned, their cities pillaged and burned and inhabited only by feral gnolls and human bandits.
The Kingdom of Nogar has not recovered from the war. Their commercial position in eastern Giantstep taken by the Kingdom of Drunigzar (which managed to avoid any war with the gnolls through their geographical position) and having to spend decades of unrest readjusting to their new situation, Nogar is still a wounded nation. Many decades have passed from the gnoll invasion, and the lands of “Old Nogar” are claimed, but not real efforts of reclaiming them have been made. Even after Nogar became a much more militaristic nation to prepare to fight the gnolls, their influence in the region is still a pale shadow of what it used to be, especially after the loss of most of the mineral wealth in Old Nogar. The fights between the “regenerationists”, people who want to reclaim the lands of Old Nogar, the “realists”, people who want to wait build Nogar’s strength for another gnoll invasion, and the newly risen “expansionists”, people who want to colonize faraway lands in the example of Drunigzar, makes political unity in the kingdom a very difficult proposition.
== Society and Culture ==
Modern Nogar is still reeling after the invasion of the gnoll. Tens of thousands of people had to abandon their homes, overbearing the nogarese cities east of the Bastion of Eternal Harmony. During the first decades, starvation and disease threatened to reap a human count higher than the deaths by the invasion, but eventually the situation became more stable. Many more fled elsewhere in the world, with those fleeing to Drunigzar being the most notable. The loss of some of the most powerful heads of the economy to Drunigzar nearly crippled Nogar, and it finally gave Drunigzar the human resources needed to dominate the trade of the southeast of Giantstep to this day. Because of this, the economy of Nogar has degraded to a more archaic state, increasing their dependence on agriculture and husbandry. Trade with the outside still persists, but their loss of their competitive edge against Drunigzar has let them in a very poor position in the region.
Most of the population are preparing for another confrontation with the gnoll in one way or another. However, the reasons for that actually vary a lot. The “realist” faction defends that another gnoll invasion is inevitable, and as such, Nogar needs to build its defenses to counter their forces. The realists also defend that, with the help of the defenses of the Bastion of Eternal Harmony, they could erode the gnoll’s forces enough for a counterattack that would allow them to eventually take their lands back. The “regenerationists” believe that waiting for another invasion is not only inviting disaster, but also unnecessary, since after the rise of “The Nameless” to the gnoll throne, his stance in politics for the empire has been more and more diplomatic. As such, the regenerationists believe that there is a chance Nogar could retake the abandoned lands of Old Nogar without creating a conflict with the Gnoll Empire, since they don’t even currently occupy the land. Realists accuse the regenerationists of wishful thinking caused by blind optimism, since they believe that reoccupation of the territories without weakening the Gnoll Empire first would make Nogar vulnerable to their invasion. Regenerationists believe the realists are defeatists and cowards that would prefer waiting for all eternity behind their walls rather than recover the lands that are rightfully theirs.
Another faction growing in recent years are the “expansionists”, who instead of wanting to recover the lands of Old Nogar, the kingdom should imitate the steps of the Kingdom of Drunigzar and expand southwards, creating colonies that would allow the nation to build up its strength. While this expansion is growing more and more in recent years, the strained economy of Nogar and the lack of major naval resources has stopped them from competing with Drunigzar in their colonial projects. That, and many drunig merchant houses have interests in Nogar, and keeping Nogar in an inferior position economically fits their interests greatly. As such, the drunig merchants push a lot of resources to slow down the growth of influence of the expansionists. While the monarchy is still in control of the country, the shattering defeat against the gnolls have caused a lot of political unrest, with many factions scheming to dethrone the monarch so that they can enact their policies. The royal house knows this, and actively plays the different factions against each other, but with less and less succss each time.
Before the gnoll invasion, Nogar had developed a rich culture, with many of their buildings becoming examples to follow for many architects overseas, and nogarese art was highly appreciated by collectors everywhere. After the invasion of the gnoll, most of those original pieces were lost, either destroyed at the hands of the advancing gnoll or lying abandoned in the ruins of Old Nogar. Nogar often finances raids and exploration campaigns to Old Nogar, to try and recover treasures and riches left abandoned in the ruins. However, this is not as easy as it sounds, since Old Nogar is inhabited nowadays by hundreds of bandit groups. These groups resent Nogar for abandoning them and their lands, and will fight tooth and nail to defend their small feuds. Because of that, the expeditions tend to be ambushed as soon as they are detected. And this is without taking into consideration the many packs of feral gnolls, those who grew up after the gnoll retreat and have had no connection to the rest of the Gnoll Empire, becoming wild and savage.
== Geography ==
=== Current Provinces of the Kingdom of Nogar ===
* Serantar. The city of Serantar is the capital of the Kingdom of Nogar, and one of the oldest. It has served as the capital since the independence of Nogar, as it was the birthplace of Feriun Doroseck, and his center of operations during the war of independence. Serantar is one of the most beautiful cities in the east, with great wide streets, lush gardens, and many great marvels of architecture focusing on design rather than height. After the war with the gnoll, however, Serantar received a massive influx of refugees, increasing its population considerably, which led to a great deal of crime and poverty. The pearly white city was surrounded by ghettoes and criminal neighbors, all while some of the most powerful and wealthy families abandoned their properties, exiling themselves in the Kingdom of Drunigzar. Serantar is a ghost of its former self nowadays, and while the city still keeps the charm and beauty that characterized it, the financial crisis of the kingdom and the tensions due to the war has scarred the city. Many areas are in disrepair, and some of the great monuments lay in wait for maintenance, and the once wide and comfortable streets now tent to accumulate great amounts of rubbish, causing seasonal diseases. 
* Dorofer. The province of Dorofer has a very rural economy centered around agriculture and many small fishing towns. It has never been too populated despite its proximity to the capital, with most of the land owned by rural aristocrats owning great estates. The fishing towns are often poor, with many families owning small vessels to fish in the nearby waters. Many of these towns still harbor the scars of piratic activity, with many watchtowers and bell towers spread across the coast to warn about bandits. During the war with the gnoll, the province was quite devastated by the great amount of refugees trying to escape, overloading the land’s capacity to house and feed so many people. Many of the most desperate families ended up staying in the land, working as serfs for those local aristocrats and nobles who decided to stay. This has generated a great deal of tension all around, as the newer families resent their fortune and the aristocrats who took advantage of their fortune. 
* Athusar. The province of Athusar was the stage of many battles during Nogar’s war of independence, and as such, many castles and fortifications were built around it, protecting the route to Segaltar. While Feriun Doroseck’s campaign eventually managed to drive the war to the west, the region of Athusar was still considered critically important to the war effort. Even after Nogar’s independence, these fortresses were built and expanded upon, creating a strong line of defense. Athusar’s population and nobility have a great martial tradition, being present in the ranks of both the Guardians and the Keepers of Harmony in great numbers. During the war against the gnolls, the dense fortification grid of Athusar was considered as one of the areas in which to build the Bastion of Eternal Harmony, though that plan eventually went away due to the loss of land being unsustainable. 
* Chussa. The city of Chussa used to be one of the most important military shipyards within the Kingdom of Nogar, serving as the main training hub for the nogarese army. Chussa’s inhabitants had a reputation for courage and loyalty in the name of duty, after long years of fighting pirates across the shores of Nogar and Drunigzar. However, the war against the gnoll became a massive blow to the city. Not only the navy could not do anything to help slow down the monstrous hordes coming from the west, but many ships were being used to move people away from the gnolls’ advance. The sight of so many refugees, both destitute and rich, trying to escape to safer lands, resulted in the “Revolt of Chussa”, in which a group of admirals took over the city in a coup, to force the evacuees, seen as cowards and turncoats, to accomplish their duty and go back and fight the gnoll. The threat of a coup spreading around the country was so severe that the king ordered the detention of all involved. While they could not be executed for fear of sparking a major revolt within the navy, the imprisonment and demotion of the affected caused severe resentment within the population of the city. Nowadays, the inhabitants of Chussa see themselves as betrayed by their own rulers, who prioritized running away from their enemies by sea and by building a wall rather than fighting them in honorable battle. Many of the elites in Chuusa are regenerationists, claiming vociferously to recover the lands of Old Nogar as soon as possible rather than wait for another conflict with the gnoll. 
* Sherefer. The province of Sherefer controls the isthmus to the Sirena Cape. Back in the day, the shores of Sherefer were home to many exiled mermaids from the Merfolk Empire who had managed to avoid the Curse of Uun by serving overseas. Lost and without a home to return to, many of these mermaids began creating colonies in the area, dedicated to seaweed and oyster farming, as well as helping the local human fishermen. These colonies were independent from the Khenomeric Empire, and that independence continued when Nogar freed itself from the empire’s grasp. The human populations of Sherefer live mostly due to agriculture and fishing, being a considerably poor area, organized in hundreds of family farms. 
* Doroot. The province of Doroot is on the southernmost point of the Kingdom of Nogar, and in charge of protecting one of the five great fortresses of the Bastion of Eternal Harmony, the Great fortress of Doroot. This area was well known for its great abundance in rabbits and hares, which caused frequent damages to the crops. As such, the people from Doroot became adept at hunting down these pests, developing great skills with the bow, as well as following the rabbits’ tracks to their nests. This custom led them to becoming some of the best hunters in the kingdom, skill which has led many of them to enlist in the Expeditionaries. The Doroot have a considerable distrust of the drunig in the colony of Novo Porto, not only seeing them as profiting from the misery, but also enjoying the protection and watchful eye of the nogarese from the threats from Old Nogar. However, these complaints are often ignored by the drunig, confident in their own defenses and their own navy’s protection to fear any bandit from the lost lands of Nogar. 
* Mechelis. The province of Mechelis covers most of the Sirena Cape. It is covered by dense pine and oak forests, which make for most of the wood needed for Nogar’s navy. The local populations live of the exploitation of the forests’ resources, being mostly herders. The provincial capital of Mechelis is surrounded by forest, built in an area believed to blessed by the spirits. Mechelis did have a very prosperous economy, with many banks and craftsmen working to provide for the shipbuilding done in the docks to the north, but nowadays, the stagnation of the nogarese economy and the limited growth of the navy has left them very damaged. As a result, Mechelis has lost a great deal of population, with many preferring more rural areas rather than a city surrounded by forests with limited agriculture. 
* Djan. The province of Djan is one of the most important within the Kingdom of Nogar. Back in the day, most of Nogar occupied the Nogarese Plateau, a massive flat area perfect for agriculture. However, after the loss of most of that land during the war with the gnolls, Djan was left as the breadbasket of the kingdom. As such, its importance within nogarese economy is paramount, and it is especially defended in case of attack, having two of the five great fortresses guarding the province. The Great Fortresses of Fijan and Deyjun keep watch over the land, making sure the fields are safe. However, the province of Djan did not come unscathed during the war, as it had to sacrifice its provincial capital, the city of Djan itself, one of the last cities to fall to the gnoll during the conflict. Despite this, many nobles in the area actually prefer this state of affairs, as they do not have to compete with the rest of the agricultural produce of the western provinces, despite the severe ruralization of the local economy, with many of their number being part of the “realist” faction.
* Adaramsos. The province of Adaramsos harbors the biggest civilian ports and shipyards in the region. Many of these cities were founded during Khenomeric rule, especially at the time when they needed to connect with the Northern Khenomeric Empire through sea. As such, these docks are of considerable size, much bigger than the current volume of trade necessitates. Adaramsos’ economy is also helped by the many vineyards spread across the area, generating a greenish wine greatly appreciated within the rest of the kingdom. The competition with drunig traders has made made many of the local traders to push for more protectionist policies against foreign merchants, but the dominance of drunig traders in most markets makes this quite unviable.
* Ames. The province of Ames is well known in the kingdom for its rolling plains that, while not particularly suited for agriculture due to soil composition, they are nevertheless excellent for transhumant husbandry. It is also used to breed many of the pureblood horses used by the nogarese armies, said to be of great resilience and nobility. The province of Ames also has one of the great fortresses protecting the Bastion of Eternal Harmony, the Great Fortress of Siv. Ames has gained a great deal of population after the war with the gnoll, with many of the refugee families becoming shepherds.
* Eremthross. The province of Eremthross was a key cornerstone back when Nogar had to deal with the pirates to the north, as it was able to control the pass to the Chickenbone Gulf. However, the independence of the Kingdom of Drunigzar made it lose the control it had, though nevertheless the nobility of the region maintained good relations with their northern neighbors, as their presence was greatly appreciated to deal with the banditry there. The growth of Drunigzar and the fall of Nogar’s position in the area caused a reversal of roles, with now the drunig fleet keeping watch over the waters of the gulf. Many of the nobles and aristocrats of Eremthross went to Drunigzar during the war, and many families still keep strong ties between the two. Indeed, rumors of the eremthrossian nobility pushing for straight up drunig annexation are slim, but are persistent enough that the authorities are greatly worried.
=== Old Nogar/Abandoned Territories ===
* Ax. The province of Ax used to be the border between the Kingdom of Nogar and the Kingdom of Drunigzar, and as such, it was covered in fortresses and military posts to protect the rest of Nogar from the banditry of the north back in the day. This was rendered obsolete by the conquest of the lands of Izar and the eventual formation of the Kingdom of Drunigzar. During the invasion of the gnoll, the creation of the Bastion of Eternal Harmony was established to start at the borders between Ax and Eremthross, which meant abandoning the fortresses without a fight. Despite the protests of the generals in charge of the defenses, the position of these fortifications gave no military advantage to Nogar, and the order to abandon was given. Many of the old fortresses and fortifications were occupied by the gnoll, and after their retreat from Old Nogar, were overtaken by bandits and the scant survivors, who gathered their strength in the empty strongholds. After some time, part of Ax was retaken by the Kingdom of Drunigzar, arguing that the risk of banditry from the south was too great. While Nogar accepts this situation reticently, they have stated multiple times that advancing beyond the current border would be considered an act of war, as Nogar still considers the abandoned lands as its sovereign territory. 
* Rigraf. The province of Rigraf was one of the richest provinces back in the day, with a dynamic economy due to its fertile soil and its iron mines. The cities in Rigraf were rich and full of craftsmen, particularly adept in ironworks. The region saw some of the bloodiest battles of the war against the gnoll, as the armies of Nogar had to contain the hordes while the Bastion of Eternal Harmony was being built with due haste. This meant that the ruins of Rigraff still bear the scars of the horrific battles, and in many areas it is easy to dig up the rest of armored knights, so many fell here. Many bandits and gnoll packs still roam the region, often in bloody fight with each other for the scant remnants of infrastructure still standing.
* Mogas. The province of Mogas was one of the least inhabited of Nogar. Due to the old khenomeric borders, this piece of land was claimed by both Nogar and the Mataandura Haishü. Due to this, the nogarese sought to avoid tensions with the cowmen, limiting as much as possible their presence in the area, with the land being occupied by small farms. During the invasion of the gnoll, the area was witness to many battles between the gnoll and the nogarese and cowmen forces, but in the end the area was deemed as too difficult to defend properly, and thus quickly abandoned. After the retreat of the gnoll, the cowmen simply took over the land, as they argued that the nogarese fleeing while they stayed gave them the right to the land, words that still wound many of the nogarese nobles. 
* Paemulisan. Paemulisan was one of the cultural and artistic centers of the kingdom, famous for their great monuments of white marble. Many nobles invested great sums competing in building the biggest and most elegant summer residence in the green fields of Paemulisan, developing a great deal of villas full of art paid by the patronage of the aristocracy. The city of Paemulisan itself was full of artists and artisans, attracted by the booming economy, with many academies of art and philosophy. All of this was destroyed by the war with the gnoll, as the region was never as militarized as other areas. The brutal sacking of Paemulisan was a deep blow to the nogarese morale, with the elegant streets and monuments running red and black with blood and soot. Nowadays, the city is a ghost, fought over by multiple gnoll clans for the control of the ruins. Many other groups have fortified the now abandoned villas, creating small fiefdoms ruled by fear and violence.
* Vareass. Vareass was one of the westernmost areas of the Kingdom of Nogar. After their independence from the Khenomeric Empire, the area was heavily fortified to avoid any possible conflict with the quickly dissolving states that gave way to the Khenomeric Empire. However, Nogar’s stability and power compared to their western neighbors made it so the physical defenses were seen as unnecessary, and as such, many of these fortresses were understaffed and poorly maintained. This would come back to haunt the nogarese, as the massive armies of gnolls simply strolled through with little resistance. The great numbers of gnolls allowed them to both siege the fortifications and keep going into enemy territory at the same time, quickly dividing and isolating any nogarese resistance. Nowadays, a good portion of Vareass is under direct control of the Gnoll Empire, while the rest is a wild wasteland, reclaimed by nature and increasingly populated by wild gnoll. 
* Popetilias. Popetilias was the center of the Church of Nogar, as it was the location of the Great Temple of Spirits, a place of pilgrimage for all nogarese. The city of Popetilias was covered in flowers as part of the ritual of bringing flowers to the spirits as a way to celebrate life. The city was fiercely defended by the nogarese army, one of the few places where they managed to get consecutive victories against the gnolls. However, the sheer level of death around the city caused a brutal plague that wiped out many of the defenders, which allowed the gnoll to raze the city to the ground. As a deliberate insult, the Great Temple of Spirits was covered in the bodies of the remaining surviving priests, impaled across the walls while the maggotgnolls ate them. 
* Vanimutio. The province of Vanimutio lived off its many mines of copper in the area. During the war with the gnoll, the area between Vanimutio and the Bastion of Eternal Harmony was defended by the nogarese in a rushed effort to keep the gnoll crossing through the last unfinished portion of the walls. This also meant that thousands of refugees tried to cross the walls through Vanimutio. Even after its completion, many survivors tried to escape Old Nogar through Vanimutio, and even to this day it’s one of the most civilized areas of Old Nogar, with organized rural towns protecting themselves from bandits and gnolls by militia. 
* Miest. The province of Miest was an area greatly covered in forests and prairies, as well as mines of marble in the southernmost areas close to the mountains. It was home to many fiefdoms, given to the nobility as rewards for their help to their aid during the war of independence. As such, the land is covered by small castles and watchtowers that served to defend the land. Many of these fortifications are still used by bandits and gnoll clans to defend themselves. Some expeditions in Nogar have tried to assist the most civilized of these groups to set the stage to a possible reconquest, but so far the ever-shifting balance of powers has not allowed any advance.
* Okuisa. Okuisa was one of the westernmost areas of the Kingdom of Nogar. Like Vareass, after their independence from the Khenomeric Empire, it was heavily fortified with castles and watchtowers, but unlike Vareass, the presence of the Great Peaks allowed for an easier defense. During the invasion of the gnoll, the nogarese posts in the mountains were able to resist for a long time while isolated, though in the end many of these had to take their chances and run away across the mountains if they wanted to survive. Running as fast as possible to get to the safety of the Great End Peaks, they lost more than two thirds of their number before reaching the mountains. In the end, these troops never arrived to Nogar, as the gnolls’ advance was much faster than anticipated and had cut all possible return routes. Many of these soldiers participated in the tenzineses’ efforts to defend the peaks, ultimately going native and becoming part of the tenzinese tribes. 
* Taranianoss. The province of Taranianoss was the most mountainous of the kingdom, enjoying a great amount of mineral wealth, though the nogarese needed to be cautious about not crossing the borders with the tenzinese, as well as the treacherous mountain passes. Many of the people living in these areas managed to establish a strong resistance against the gnoll even with the nogarese army fleeing back to the Bastion of the Eternal Harmony. The strongholds in the mountains are still used by pockets of population, which often move through the mountains of Taranianoss to the lands of the Tenzin tribes for supplies, weapons and general aid. 
* Low Mountain. The Province of Low Mountain was one of the poorest areas of the kingdom back during its peak. Having little mineral wealth and forests that had been cut down back during the days of the Khenomeric Empire, the land had become a dry prairie, with the only noteworthy economy there being sheepherding. During the war with the gnoll, the people of Low Mountain quickly moved back into the eastern provinces, and the area saw little fighting in general. However, the region became quite an important place after the Kingdom of Drunigzar established the colony of Novo Porto in a strip of unclaimed land. Many human survivors saw the drunig city as a possible out to the wasteland that Old Nogar had become, and since its foundation, Novo Porto has received many refugees that manage to cross all the way into the city, either going to Drunigzar or back to Nogar. The city has also attacked by bandits, warbands and gnoll clans, but the strong local defenses, as well as the aid of the drunig navy, keeps any threat to a minimum. 
== Religion ==
Historically, religion has been a major part of the identity of Nogar. Its beliefs and cults date from the days before the Khenomeric annexation, and it was the push against the magoclergy’s theological imposition what initially coalesced the first elements of nogarese identity aside from the empire. It was also the union between the monarchy and the nogarese church that avoided a civil conflict to begin after the independence. Nowadays, however, the Nogarese Church has fallen considerably in its prestige and power. The humiliation of the monarchy after the war with the gnoll affected the Nogarese Church as well, and ever since then the growing cities are freeing themselves from ecclesiastical influence. That is not to say nogarese society is any less religious, though. They are still very loyal to their ancient beliefs and gods, but more and more the population are pushing for a breakup with the religious authorities, with revolutionary acts such as organizing rituals without any anointed priest or questioning the nature of certain dogmas. 
They worship the Great Spirit Animals of Nogar: the White Wolf, the Grey Pelican, the Blue Turtle and the Green Snake. The Church of Nogar claim these godlike spirits have protected the lands of Nogar from ancient times, and they represent different aspects of nogarese society and culture. The nogarese cult is a highly localized worship, and while Nogar has tried to proselytize other lands in the past (particularly Drunigzar back when it was part of Nogar), it has never stuck, and quickly disappeared after nogarese efforts went away. After the gnoll invasion, the priests of Nogar say that the Four Great Spirits will take form and help destroy the gnoll menace from Giantstep, but this cries for a religious crusade are seemingly drowned in the context of civil discussion about the future of the country.
== The Military of Nogar ==
The Nogarese military is divided up in three main forces: The Guardians, the Keepers of Harmony and the Expeditionaries. 
The Guardians of the west are responsible for keeping watch on the Bastion of Eternal Harmony. These men are armed with crossbows and long spears, patrolling the levels of the great wall and its many forts. The guardians are also in charge of the large number of catapults on the wall. In addition, they are accompanied by a large number of the famous Nogari stone singers, keeping the bastion intact. Always ready for an invasion from the Gnoll hordes, the men of the guardians were plucked from the elite of Nogari warriors. In later years however, they have become corrupt and lazy, seeing little action.
The Keepers of Harmony are mostly acting as an internal policing force, dealing with bandits, rebels or general unrest within the Nogarese lands. They are also expected to deal with any enemy force that manage to threaten the nation, either by sea or by bypassing the bastion. In addition to the spear and crossbowmen of the other forces they also employ a large amount of cavalry, lending itself to mobility. As the Keepers were originally created from the remnants of the Nogari armies after their defeat by the Gnolls they have a tradition of extreme revanchism. There is scarcely an officer not speaking openly about reclamation of Old Nogar, and there is an empty spot above the grand altar at the keepers headquarters, reserved for the head of the gnoll emperor.
The Expeditionaries were once known as the Rangers, consisting of lightly armored crossbowmen and archers being used to scout the lands of Old Nogar and protect merchants at land and sea. After seeing the success of the Drunig army however, reforms were taken to be able to compete, and to project power outwards. The Expeditionaries is the force seeing the most action, being the ones sent on foreign military campaigns or as in the older days, scouting missions over the wall into Old Nogar. While still consisting of mostly spearman, this army employs the most experimental and new technology, some regiments carrying blunderbusses and fielding simple mortars.
The Nogarese navy is much smaller than the Drunig counterpart. Consisting mostly of galleys, it patrols the coast hunting pirates and keeping watch for enemies. The only exception is a small number of light sailships, protecting trading vessels and being responsible for transporting the Expeditionaries should the need be present. Notable engagements have been eradicating a pirate gang basing at lotus island in cooperation with Drunig soldiers, and sending soldiers to Anchovia as a show of force during the five day war, a trade dispute that saw a series of skirmishes between the nations before being settled by Drunig diplomats.
== Foreign Relations ==
Nogar was one of the most important nations in the southeast of Giantstep for centuries, but after their defeat by the gnoll, their influence has been reduced drastically. As such, Nogar has tried to establish ties to any nation that has any kind of grudge against the gnoll, trying to lead some sort of confederacy in case that the gnoll began invading again. However, after the rise of “The Nameless” as Gnoll Emperor, Nogar’s policies to isolate the gnoll are less and less effective each year, seeing as the gnolls’ own policies to open themselves up are very slowly getting to the neighboring nations. The anti-gnoll coalition still stands, though, with the Ra and the Setlovian werewolves being the main allies, but since the treaties between Drunigzar and the Gnoll Empire became public, more nations have been less willing to cooperate against the gnolls. This is especially true for the great powers of the northeast, since simple distance keeps them away from the gnolls, and their piratical raids are not particularly hard to defend against by professional navies, gnolls being notoriously bad sailors.
Suffice to say, Nogarese relations with the Gnoll Empire are non-existent. Since the war was never declared over by any of the parties, it is technically still going, though no battle has taken place since the gnoll’s withdrawal to the lands of the crabmen. They are extraordinarily violent against any kind of gnoll, capturing many during their raids to Old Nogar or against the piratic gnoll incursions. They are then executed publicly and in a most violent way.
The relations between Nogar and Drunigzar are complicated, to say the least. On the one hand, Drunigzar has greatly benefited from the fall of Nogar. Many nogarese moved north to protect themselves from the invasion, and many of them made fortunes during Drunigzar’s economic expansion, while the rest of Nogar suffered in the war. Drunigzar’s colonial expansion is also a point of contention, since nogarese authorities fear that Drunigzar will one day end up absorbing the lands of Old Nogar before them, and have stated in no certain terms that any attempts to do so will end up in war. However, Nogar’s biggest point of contention with Drunigzar is that the drunig are one of the few allies the Gnoll Empire has. While Drunigzar stopped selling (publicly) ships to the gnoll, that hasn’t stopped them from other kinds of trade, and the addition of gnolls to the drunig military is seen as an incredibly insulting and insane move. On the other hand, Drunigzar is also the main trading partner Nogar has, and since the fall of the nogarese economy, they cannot afford cutting ties with their northern neighbor. The historical ties between Nogar and Drunigzar are also important, both nations sharing the same language, but more and more their cultures are becoming more different. At this moment, the nogarese army is still considered stronger than the drunig’s armies, but war is kept at bay by the Drunig Navy’s massive superiority in ships, speed, weapons and tonnage, but also by the chance the Gnoll Empire would decide to help their allies, entering a war in three fronts they’ surely lose.
Category:Nations
Category:Giantstep