Nathlan

Nathlan, also known as the Country of Nathlan or the Eastern nation of the West, was a small, feudal state on the Dragon Coast as of the 15 century DR. It was inhabited primarily by Shou immigrants from Kara-Tur organized into clans.
==Description==
Nathlan's predominantly Shou population was suspicious of non-Shou and non-humans. This was especially the case in the capital of Nathlekh, where only Shou were allowed to live permanently and visitors were confined to their own section of the city. 
==Geography==
Centered around Nathlekh City in the Dragon Coast region, Nathlan was a small nation that hugged the shores of the Long Arm Lake and extended south to the Xian wasteland.
==Government==
Nathlan was organized like a feudal city-state. Power was wielded by the nation's many clans, with nine such clans—known as the Nine Wei clans—having far greater influence than the others. The most notable of these mighty clans was Clan Neng, which had ties to the emperor of Shou Lung and was said to lead the Nine Wei clans.
The clans of Nathlan were known to value their independence, but also to seek to influence their neighbors. By the late 15 century DR, it was believed that Nathlan was bankrolling groups like the Nine Golden Swords in Westgate.
==Trade==
Despite their wariness of outsiders, the people of Nathlan were friendly to trade. They were known for their silk products and for valuable crafts like marionettes in the shape of dragons.
Nathlan's only major trade route was a road that connected Nathlekh City to Westgate in the north.
==History==
The seeds of Nathlan's founding lay in Clan Neng, who enjoyed special powers and privileges as a one-time "consort clan" to the emperor of Shou Lung in the centuries prior to the Spellplague. At some point, members of the clan followed the Golden Way to its terminus and then continued west to the Dragon Coast, which was seen as the true westernmost end of trade routes to Kara-Tur. They then settled in the city of Nathlekh, and would come to wield great influence as other Shou settlers arrived in the region over the centuries.
Following the destruction wrought in Kara-Tur by the Spellplague of the , large numbers of Shou refugees fled west to Faerûn. Many of them followed the trade routes all the way to Nathlekh, swelling its population and transforming it into a majority Shou city. This in turn led to the founding of the city-state of Nathlan as powerful Shou clans exerted their influence over the surrounding land.
By the , Nathlan was a strong and independent nation sometimes known as "the Eastern nation of the West". The country was vigilant against external influence over its affairs and tended to be wary of any outsiders, non-Shou, and non-humans. At the same time, Nathlan was also suspected of actively meddling in the affairs of its neighbors and welcomed any opportunity to extend its influence along the Dragon Coast.
==Inhabitants==
While the people of Nathlan disliked outsiders, they were not necessarily pessimistic or cold-hearted. Their insularity left them largely naïve about the non-Shou peoples and lands beyond their own tiny nation, and those driven to discover the world outside their home were not necessarily discouraged. Those Shou belonging to a clan were recognizable by a common surname, with the understanding that a shared surname meant a shared ancestor and a shared ancestral village back in Shou Lung.
Nathlan was known to be a place of not only Shou people, but of their martial and magical traditions as well. Wizards and monks trained in eastern traditions could be found in Nathlan, and Nathlekh City in particular was known to be the premier site of Kara-Turan monastic and ascetic martial traditions. Those Shou raised in these styles developed a deep bond with their people.
It was said that spirits and deities not otherwise found outside Kara-Tur could be encountered in Nathlan. In the face of Nathlan's xenophobia, a few hengeyokai called the nation home, but were careful to remain in their human forms.
==Appendix==
===References===
FR:Nathlan
Category:Countries
Category:Human locations
Category:Shou locations
Category:Locations on the Long Arm Lake
Category:Locations on the Dragon Coast
Category:Locations in the Eastern Heartlands
Category:Locations in Interior Faerûn
Category:Locations in Faerûn
Category:Locations on Toril