Allied Lands

The Allied Lands is the name for the collective sovereign states allied together to combat the might of the necromancers. They exist in the Nameless World.

Political Nature
Tension exists between the various states, though their leaders attempt to place these aside or ignore them, to meet the greater threat of the necromancers. International affairs, mediation regarding magical issues, and unified concentration against external threats are handled by the White Council.

There are four major power blocs within the society: kingdoms, magical families, city-states, and lone powers.

Because countries can rarely patrol their borders without making their neighbors suspicious of a possible invasion, the lands along those borders often become lawless. At the same time, villagers along the borders find themselves visited by tax collectors from both nations.

Culture and Development
Popular games in the Allied Lands include Kingmaker (their equivalent of chess) and Ken. Dueling is also a popular sport.

The position of women differs depending upon social status and magical skill. Women of royalty live in "gilded cages," while peasant and serf women are the property of their fathers and husbands. Middle-class and magical women have the most freedom, with sorceresses having the greatest freedom of all.

Nuttall has explained that the tech level of the Allied Lands is the equivalent of our world's sixteenth century, minus gunpowder. Some knowledge of germs referred to as "invisible devils," is present among the richer or more intelligent circles, but is unknown among the common people.