Keoland is one of the oldest kingdoms in the Flanaess. It’s foundation nearly a millennium ago (-342 CY) represented the birth of the first post-migration human kingdom in the Flanaess following the Twin Cataclysms. Keoish heartlands span the lands from Gradsul at the Azure Coast to the Rushmoors in the north, between the great Sheldomar and Javan rivers in the east and west. These heartlands are some of the most provincial and bucolic in the Flanaess, having been largely untouched by war and conflict for centuries. The climate is customarily temperate year-round and the soils of the central valleys are rich, allowing the kingdom to grow wheat, rye, and other grains in great abundance. The country has never been rich in terms of mineral wealth, and perhaps for that reason it has always conducted a brisk trade with its neighbors, to whom it supplies staples such as foodstuffs in return for hard coin.

The folk of the land can be friendly and generous, but they are primarily noted for their superstitious natures, particularly their wariness of foreigners. The people are a mixture of Suel and Oeridian bloodlines, well blended for the most part in the provinces of the nation, except in certain rarefied circles such as the nobility and other closed societies. Flan still exist in small pockets in the kingdom, no longer numerous in the heartlands and now driven to the peripheries of the valley. The common tongue is spoken here, but the primary dialect is called Keolandish. The speech of the common folk is highly recognizable for its accent.

For most of Keoland’s history, the study of magic was banned to its citizenry, and its practice was restricted to secret societies and certain nobles. Little evidence is seen by the casual observer of powerful wizards’ magic, as commoners fear those who practice spellcraft. Many priesthoods are present in the realm, though religion was never a dominant force in the kingdom, either.

Keoland is a true monarchy in that its kings rule for life and have great powers and authority at their disposal, but officially the government is a permanent regency. Ruled in the trust of the noble houses, the matter of succession has always resided in the Council of Niole Dra. This deliberative body, composed of the major nobility and heads of certain long- established guilds and societies in the kingdom, has the responsibility to authorize succession and oversee matters dealing with the nation’s founding charter. It is the founding charter, penned some nine centuries ago, that ascribes rights and obligations on the part of all the citizenry of the country, whether lowborn or high. The Throne of the Lion, as the office of the king is referred to in Keoland, is currently held by Kimbertos Skotti.

For several generations, Keoland was a formidable military power. Its superior cavalry and bold knights pushed the kingdom’s borders outward to the north, west, and east. Each successful campaign increased both the crown’s wealth and power, and each one in turn drew the kingdom’s attention even farther north. The southern coastal regions of Keoland (namely the Viscounty of Salinmoor, which includes Saltmarsh), remained a backwater – forgotten and neglected by the crown. Some argue the peoples of Salinmoor enjoyed this lack of attention.

As is always the case with empires built upon conquest, with time victories turned to defeat and Keoland’s neighbors asserted their dominion, and this Kingdom’s star dimmed. With Keoland’s long reign of dominance and glory coming to an end, it’s crown began to look to its southern realm and did not like what it saw: a weak border vulnerable to invasion, a populace operating without oversight, resources mismanaged, piracy and banditry, and (most egregiously) revenue rightfully owed to the crown being withheld…

Some key locations and areas of the Kingdom of Keoland are:

• Niole Dra (“Old Dragon” in ancient Suloise), the Capital. The oldest known center of government in the Flanaess; it is Koeland’s center of culture and power. It’s population is approximately 25,000.
• The Viscounty of Salinmoor. A southern coastal province; its capital is Seaton. Saltmarsh is located here.
• The Duchy of Gradsul. Keolan’s wealthy and most heavily populated southeasternmost province.