Eldorei

The Kingdom of the Further Dorei (High Dwarven: Realme de Eldorey) is a dwarven-ruled kingdom that dominated much of the western plains north of the Dorei River. Covering some 209,000 square miles and being home to some 6 million people, it is one of the larger states in Ovaicaea. It is predominantly western Hill Dwarven, though the kingdom has sizeable minorities of elves, humans, and gnomes. Much of its population is concentrated along the Dorei River, which has been the kingdom's lifeline to the wider world, serving as the main thoroughfare for trade and communication with its neighboring kingdoms of Lilhadorei, Lithuar, and Eldunari. The kingdom emerged after the fall of the Old Empire in the early 400s, from a collection of dwarven lordships centered on fortified castles, which over time came under the rulership of a single king for mutual defense. The feodal model developed in Lithuar was adopted early on, as a flexible way to maintain defense against frequent Orc raids. Eldorei was often in the middle of Orcish activity, stirring chaos and spurring the construction of numerous castles in the countryside. Eldorei was one of the first kingdoms to form the alliance against the Orcs and rise in revolt in 820. After the Second Orc War, it gained vast swathes of sparsely-inhabited grassland to the north and east, and the centuries since have seen a concerted effort to settle and colonize the new territories. This has been somewhat hampered by large areas of uncultivated land that is poor for growing crops, such as fens and moorland in the north, and large forests in the east.