Magna Pativa

Magocracy in Eastern Astora. Heavy emphasis on river and lake living, building floating island cities and boasting strong fresh-water and coastal maritime traditions. Founded as refugees from the fall of Netheril, they were rejected from every nation they came to, finally settling in the dangerous frontier territories east of Mulhorand, a sparsely populated land on account of the constant incursions of denizens of the Abyssal Peaks. Settled and grew over several centuries, despite poor treatment by their neighbors, who fostered a general malignance towards arcane practitioners and specifically the Netherese culture, blaming them for much of the world's woes. Early on, settlements were heavily concentrated on islands and in lakes for natural defense, but over time they grew strong enough to defend themselves against attacks without the need for such natural defenses. Eventually, they had become powerful enough to rival the mighty Mulhorand Empire, who fought Magna Pativa in a brief war - really more a series of border skirmishes - in a vain attempt to stymie their growth. They have since become one of the strongest nations in the region, being more than capable of holding attacks from the Abyssal peaks at bay while simultaneously threatening their neighbors with expansionist aspirations. Aspiring to resurrect the Netherese kingdom of old, Pativa seeks to dominate the region and become the greatest power in Astora, in direct competition with Reinstad (The Alternum Confederacy is arguably still more powerful than both, but many question whether there is any level of threat that could actually unify it in its entirety anymore, and it’s strength has been in a slow but steady state of decay for centuries).   Cormath is currently in a cold war with Magna Pativa, with occasional skirmishes along their borders and constant attempts from both sides to conduct espionage on and destabilize the leadership of each nation. Attempts are regularly made to expand Pativan territory into the forest of Tir Naomh, and Tuatha Tir Nua always responds with brutal violence, making the border of these two nations one of the more dangerous locations within the midlands. Mulhorand and Pativa are surprisingly docile towards each other given past transgressions, largely because Mulhorand is stagnant and has no desire for expansion, but are still strong enough to make conquest a particularly costly endeavor for Pativa.