Roark

One of the breakaway states in the Sea of Grass after the Winter War and the Holy Kaelthian Republic's withdrawal from the area. Located between the Lowbridge Republic and the Uulan Confederacy. With the main Mountain Road (connecting Kaelthia and Fuar Uulan) inaccessible due to the HKR's new isolationism, Roark's (much inferior and more winding) Old North Road (which is deceptively named, as it's newer than the Mountain Road) is a choke-point for trade and travel. And Roark's leadership takes full advantage of that fact.

Government

Ruled by His Luminosity, Sun's Grace Erwin Roark the First, Roark is ostensibly a theocracy devoted to the sun god Tor Elan. Erwin rules not as king, but as Servant of the Sun, and the local and town leadership are all ordained clergy of the Orthodox Church of the Sun Ascendant (Erwin's break-off church). In reality, Erwin and his cronies (most of whom were never clergy before the Winter War, although Erwin was a ranking Sun's Fist) rule it as despots, enacting their own petty whims. Backed by the largest contingent of former Holy Hands adventurers (those that decided not to follow the Prophet of Law Unveiled) as secret police, Erwin's government extracts tribute both in coin and in service and has reduced many of the people to near-serfdom.

His top-level lieutenants are

• Arnold Grewak -- a huge, muscular human man (some say with jazuu heritage because of his size. Others say ogre heritage). Standing 6'8" and weighing nearly 400 lbs of muscle, he's the brutal enforcer, running the bands of agents that police the trade route. Volatile temper, mixed with back-slapping (a painful experience) humor. Known for his appetites...of all sorts. Prefers his partners young, but often breaks his toys.
• Malkin Aaronson -- Arnold's mirror opposite. A traveller half-elf, standing 5'2" and weighing only about 100 lbs. Black greasy hair, bad, pale skin, and perpetually pinched features identify this torturer and spymaster. Paranoid and excitable. He runs the secret police, at least the part that focuses inward. Said to be obsessed with poisons and drugs. Known to be asexual, but some claim that he is extremely aroused by watching others being tortured. Prefers the night.
• Larik Wellwater -- a perfectly unremarkable human wall-builder male. Brown hair, brown eyes, stands 5'8" tall at about 130 lbs. Talks in a boring monotone and wears a pair of reading glasses frequently. Very even-tempered. The odd-man-out of the trio, he's the administrator and treasurer of the group. The other two don't like him, but he and Erwin go back a long way. His proclivities are not public, although observers have noticed that he disappears for several days at a time each month, with Erwin covering for him.

Erwin's personal guard consists of 8 beautiful, feral women of various sizes and capabilities, ranging from assassin to brawler. All of the ones who wear armor wear enchanted armor designed to reveal as much skin as possible while the enchantment provides protection. He himself is a capable warrior.

Trade Policy

The Servant of the Sun does realize that without his monopoly of the trade routes and without active trade, his banditry will come to a short, sharp end. So he's actually not so bad on trade. Those interfering with trade (other than his own bully-boys) die, horribly and publicly. He does charge a 10 gp/person, 5gp/wagon or pack animal toll as "payment for road maintenance and bandit suppression"...and the roads still are in bad condition.

Corruption is rampant, and many traders find they have to pay substantially more than the listed fees or find themselves delayed significantly or their goods go missing. There's always someone caught and blamed...but that offender is rarely the one actually responsible.

Culture and Law

Under Erwin, the laws have changed, especially where gender relations are concerned. There are only two acceptable roles for adult women--wives who stay at home and obey their husbands and prostitutes. That is, unless you have special skills--exceptions can be made for individuals with magical powers or those who serve as midwives.

Officially, everyone must attend the Orthodox Church of the Sun Ascendant on Fourthday every week--attendance is taken. Heresy (defined as anything that sheds doubt on the truth of Erwin's current claims) and treason (defined as anything Erwin or his bully boys don't like) are capital offenses. Trials are not public--instead Malkin's goons simply arrive at night and the accused...disappear. The only ones that ever show up again are those who can pay their way out, either in cash, services, or, as some quiet rumors suggest, by selling pretty underage family members as playthings.

Major Settlements

The only major settlement is Sun's Shelter, a town of about 2000 individuals, located on the Old North Road near the border with the Lowbridge Republic.

Four other villages are large enough to be mapped, but the area is fairly heavily settled with hamlets, as it's one of the older post-Cataclysm settled regions. Settlement is concentrated in the south near the border and the road, becoming less dense as you travel north.