Athis Val

Athis Val is a loose confederation of various city states, unified in their outlook in which the main focus is the advancement of magic and learning. Each of the city states enjoys a great deal in independance and freedom, but an overarching council holds sway in matters that affect each of the member states. The council is also meant to rule over slights between member states to prevent conflicts between members from escalating. The council, which consists of a representative from each of the member states, has prevented interstate warfare so far, but is faced with a tough task as the city states are notoriously known for constant infighting and squabbling. Each of the city states has it's own agenda and each is convinced that they are the most superior member of the confederacy. The city in which the council holds office therefore changes annualy to prevent any of the member states from feeling slighted. The people of Athis Val are notoriously known as arrogant and petty, which is reflected in the saying that impossible or extremely hard tasks are like "getting the council of Athis Val to agree on something". At the same time, the people of Athis Val are known to be highly learned, cultured, and creative. Intelligence, magic, and the arts are held in high esteem in each of the city states and even though each of the member states feels itself superior towards the others, they will still agree on feeling a shared and overarching Athis Val culture, which they feel is also superior to that of any other people in the world.   United, the Athis Val city states are a force to be reckoned with, and they are rumored have the most powerful military in the world. Allthough few care to admit it, a unified Athis Val would be able to conquer a significant empire, but it is extremely unlikely to happen due to a preference for the freedom that is possible within a small city state entity, a preference for magical and scientific research over conquering world empires, and the constant internal squabbles that prevent the member states from forming a united front. The last time that Athis Val posed a united front was almost a millenium ago.