Akenlos
The Akenlos region is positioned in the North-West area of Daeamorant, and governed by Domusanc Veritalos . Its capital is the city of Santaris.
The Akenlos region is largely encircled by mountains, the northernmost of which are part of the Southstone Mountains. Because of the mountains surrounding the region, it is difficult to grow crops. In addition to mountains causing the air passing over them to dry by the time it gets into the region, thus causing a lowered amount of rainfall, the contagion plaguing the Southstone Mountains does to an extent spill over into the Akenlos region, causing the northernmost parts of the region to be undesirable as prospective settlements.
Owing to these factors, the people of the Akenlos region are especially adaptable by Daeamorant standards. The crops that are grown in Akenlos are cycled regularly to preserve the health of the soil as much as possible, and Clerics of Thaemenar are as common as those of Alleniel or Torach in Akenlos, as rituals of purification or stimulated crop growth are as important to the people as study of tradition and law or the extermination of evil. A significant portion of the foodstuffs consumed by those living in Akenlos is shipped up from the region of Iacalos in the South via large caravans, commonly accompanied by Clerics of Thaemenar and Paladins of Torach that view the journey as a pilgrimage. These Clerics and Paladins going to Akenlos do so to bring their respective talents to aid their northern neighbors as a showing of their devotion. With regard to exports, Akenlos ships rare minerals and iron ore mined from their surrounding mountains elsewhere in the country. Domusanc Drusurys imports much of the iron ore shipped out of Akenlos, and Domusanc Extonas receives many of their rare metals and gemstones from Akenlos as well.
Among the regions of Daeamorant, Akenlos has the smallest population, partially owing to its somewhat-isolated location and partially owing to the aforementioned natural hindrances of the region. This smaller population and more isolated nature of settlements in the region has led to a number of cultural nuances in Akenlos in comparison to the rest of Daeamorant. Most notably, while still very much keeping with Daeamorant tradition in heavily adhering to law and structure, have a notably higher respect for verbal and otherwise less officially documented agreements.
Cultural and Ideological Differences
The emphasis on the important of keeping one's word even in the most casual of circumstances should cause it to be no surprise that the hallmark of Domusanc Veritalos, the seat of power in the region, is their consistency in keeping their word. Interestingly, a more religiously inclined individual may notice something of a paradox: It's commonly known that Daeamorant does not recognize the divinity of Daemaskorn, the God of Punishment, who seems like the obvious choice for reverence in Akenlos.
This incongruency in philosophy is explained by those in Akenlos through a "radicial" philosophical difference, in that those of Akenlos view the notion of "agreements" as a whole as falling within the domain of Alleniel, the Goddess of Law. Most of Daeamorant believes that agreements made in sincerity should be catalogued and easily referenced: Handshake agreements are not considered "official" unless they're properly documented. This is largely a reaction to Daeamorant's distaste for the God of Contracts, as the ideology of the country generally considers agreements made without fulfilling all official legal requirements to be made with the deliberate intent to manipulate, mislead, or betray. In this regard, Akenlos differs, in that the people there instead think any agreement is made with honest intent, and thus they instead consider such things to be overseen by Alleniel rather than Daemaskorn.
It is perhaps for this reason that the reliability of the word of Domusanc Veritalos is so important. Because Veritalos has such a reputation for honoring agreements, their piety is not questioned, despite them having a more fringe belief system when compared to the cultural standard. In essence, the conduct of those of Veritalos assuages concerns that their agreements are made with malicious intent, and thus they are an "exception" of sorts to the predominant belief that handshake deals are inherently nefarious. Adding to this, through their rigid adherence to this belief set, Domusanc Veritalos showcases a form of "order" that is considered praiseworthy in a country primarily reverent toward a Goddess of Order.
A deviance in ideology does cause problems however: As one might imagine, anyone who disagrees with the religious doctrine of Daeamorant tends to gravitate to the Akenlos region. Those who discover they're born with Arcane capabilities, as well as those who find themselves beholden to something beyond the Emergent Plane, frequently seek out seclusion in the northern regions of Akenlos if they are impeded from relocating out of the country. Domusanc Veritalos has, on a few rare occasions in the past, reached out to the Southstone City Inquisitorium with aid in "solving" these problems, though philosophical disagreements ultimately saw the end of this practice. This historic cooperation did result, however, in Domusanc Veritalos establishing the Witch-Hunters, an organization resembling the Inquisitorium but, from a Torvahlan perspective, far more ruthless. This past cooperation is also why many of the Inquisitors of Southstone come from Daeamorant, as Inquisitors visit orphanages in Akenlos to bring forgotten orphans back to Southstone to become Inquisitors. For children displaying magical potential in particular, this is a far preferential option than staying in Daeamorant.
Citizens of Akenlos are required to apprentice for 2-4 years in a profession before being permitted to own a business, but most of the land in Akenlos is accounted for by powerful families in the region. Owning land is usually accomplished by becoming a subject of one of the ruling parties in Akenlos, as the region is fairly small compared to the others in Daeamorant and thus ownership of land is regulated. Land owned by these houses may be sold to their subjects, but this only occurs rarely. Instead, usually subjects integrate into one of these families through marriage instead, should the two families be on especially good terms.