Khainian Provinces

The Khainian Provinces are a series of five islands (four small and one rather considerable landmass) organized into a federation of states under a single federal government. The states were initially culturally fractured, but have become joined into one people over the years, with distinct cultural groups accepting of the federal authority and most tenants of the dominant culture. The federal government is a structured honorable timocracy, where members of the noble class are chosen from landowners who show desirable traits, such as honor and tenacity, by a council of their peers.   Once chosen, a noble is allowed to significantly expand their lands, and may only rise the ranks through displays of great bravery, honor, and exemplary service to the state. Battles and wars between nobles for land is common, though bloody conflict is rare, with fights between champions and small skirmishes being most common. The Khainian Provinces lack any form of structured legal system, as each noble is responsible the laws on his lands, and most disputes are heard in his court, whatever shape that may take. Once a small caste of nobles, this class has grown, with some nobles being elected specifically to fill certain service roles, such as to police a greater noble's lands, or hear disputes on his behalf.   For the average citizen, life in the Khainian provinces is good, with food being plentiful and corruption being minimal, though they may occasionally be called to take part in a noble's battle. However, there is little caste mobility if one does not own land, though such citizens may be rewarded by their reigning noble for sufficient acts of service. The Khainian Provinces are one of the few states in Drisenheim where education is not restricted by class, as nobles see the schooling of their subjects in both civil and martial matters to be a matter of honor. However, the Khainian Provinces hold this timocratic system at the cost of the severe exclusion of multiple races considered fundamentally unfit for this system.