Lowmarch

History and Government

The people of the Lowmarch have a long and troubled history, dating back to the time when they were brothers of the Upmarch through one of the Clients of Delos'Nordan. While the Lowmarch has historically been inhabited by a plethora of Elven races, as tensions arose the Client deported non-High Elves to the Lowmarch, where living conditions and prosperity were lesser. At the conclusion of The Second Elven War, the Lowmarch was provided independence, but this did little to aid in its struggles.
Many Lowmers fled to the Upmarch after the war ended, but there they found little more than the Lowmarch's familiar desolation. Some families scattered to The Feral Lands and Everaldimor, others descended to the mindless depths of the Feral Elves, and yet others remained and tried to subsist off of the bleak lands. Communities formed with various different hierarchial structures, none of which meshed particularly well together, and the Lowmers remained a largely disparate and impoverished peoples.
After their home was once again used as a battlefield in The Third Elven War, the plight of the Lowmers was escalated to the nations of Pharos by the Dal'morai, who viewed the crisis as analogous to that of The Western Exodus. Unlike in the Upmarch, however, the Elves of the Lowmarch viewed such intervention with wariness. They wanted neutrality rather than foreign interference, and they rejected overtures from other states to aid their peoples. Towns which accepted such aid were viewed with disdain, and civil tension brewed within the Lowmarch's borders. An attempt to establish a uniform, elected governance by the Everaldimese, known as the Ruby Concordat, rapidly collapsed to influence over only a small region of the march.
The outcome of these struggles nearly culminated in a civil war within the Lowmarch. The Dal'morai had threatened to intervene to halt such a circumstance, and this alone brought unity to the Lowmers; unity against the Forest Elves, and thus unity against the only faction which strove to uplift them. A civil war did not come, nor did any prosperity. The Lowmarch remains in a meagre state today, but they have in recent years finally accepted aid from Everaldimor, which has arisen to great influence over the region with a renewed Ruby Concordat.
This influence is tempered by Farenai, who has actively stepped in to halt Everaldimese interests on several occasions - a flashpoint between the two ancient allies. The Farenese support their own compact within the western towns of the Lowmarch, typically referred to as the Amethyst Concordat. The entry of Revansgar and the Upmarch into the region has also altered the political map, with the northern regions of the Lowmarch alternatively being annexed by the Upmarch or being pedaled as the "Diamond Concordat," a direct off-shoot of the Sapphire Concordat that rules up further north.

Cities

Norehoth

Norehoth is the largest of the Lowmarch's cities, sporting a population of about 30000. It is the nominal capital of the Ruby Concordat, a title which makes its status as the Lowmarch's official capital all the more controversial. Norehoth lies on Lake Nore and it holds control over most of the Lowmarch's water, though it refuses to threaten access to these waters to the other Concordats or non-aligned townships.

Geography

The Lowmarch is largely hilly, though its southern sections are rife with forests. Lowmers do not harvest any resources from these woods, and the Everaldimese hold them sacred, prohibiting any exploitation. Lake Nore is the Lowmarch's primary source of water, though the tributaries of various Everaldimese rivers also feed the southern portions of the nation. Usage of these waters often raises tension with the Forest Elves, who hold some of the waters to be holy and within their domain.

Resources

The Lowmarch has very few natural resources. In its north-west it holds precious metals, but the Upmarch's claims over these prevents the Lowmers from tapping into them. Lowmers primarily survive on a combination of hunting, gathering, and small-scale farming, though the resources for this farming must be imported. Lowmers who live on the edge of Lake Nore have diets primarily composed of fishing, and the lake itself is one of the march's only reliable resources.

Ethnicities

All manner of Elves call the Lowmarch their home, though the majority are Forest Elves, Spirit Elves, and Dark Elves. A minority of High Elves resides in the northern parts, close to the Upmarch, and they tend to favor the Diamond Concordat. Allegiances to the other concordats are not split by race, despite the protectors of each concordat having a generally homogeneous racial makeup. Many other races have come in recent years as outlaws, looking for a place to live unpersecuted. Some fear that the Lowmarch could go the way of Southmoor as a result, but Lowmers deeply abhor war because of their history, and necromancy is regularly rooted out by chapters of Witch-Hunters, which help to boost and fund the Lowmer economy in exchange for open operations within the region.

Diplomacy

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"March of Many Compacts"

Adjectives: Lowmer
National Animal: Chevrotain
National Instrument: Xylophone

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Ethnicities: Everaldimese, Wyldfolk, Delos'Nordani, Farenese
Languages: Delos'rithei, Sylvaro'rithei, Human Common (Pharosian Gultic)

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Capital: Norehoth
Ruler: The three Concordats, various other factions
Government: Factional Struggles

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Hallmarks: Mixed Elven society, political pawn, banditry and outlaw haven, poverty and desolation
Characteristics: Combative, self-serving, forlorn, hoarding

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Type

Geopolitical, County / March

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