Thesk

Thesk is a northern nation located along the sea of Fallen Stars and between the nations of Thay and Impiltur. It is an oligarchy consisting of various noble houses and contains roughly 850,000 residents. The majority of these inhabitants are typically merchants and farmers and are under jurisdiction of the noble house that rules that particular area.
Thesk used to be a part of the Narfell empire before its fall somewhere around -5000 DR. The country then remained unclaimed until the Golden Way was constructed, passing through where Thesk is now. This major trade route led to growth in the area surrounding it, and Impiltur governed over the growing nation. This was until the Impilturian princess Delile Balindre founded the city Teflamm and declared Thesk's independence from Impiltur in 1177 DR.
Before Thesk was free of Impiltur's control it was invaded twice by Thay. This first time look place in 1086 DR where they captured the two Theskan cities of Nethjet and Nethentir. Then they once again marched the Red Wizards against Phent in 1110 DR. This time, though, Impiltur sent their forces to aid the Theskan army and they were able to repel the Red Wizards. Relations between Thesk and Thay remained tense until 1151 DR when they were able to negotiate a peace treaty and Thay established an Enclave within Lanchester.
Then, in 1400 DR, the Tuigan Horde from the Hordelands invaded Thesk and the other surrounding nations. With the help of the Red Wizards of Thay and the Hand of Peace from Cennuroth, Thesk was able to repel the Tuigan army by 1412 DR.
Even with all that Thesk has endured, they still remain an incredibly wealthy country, the wealthiest gaining noble titles that are then passed along through their family. Each noble family has land that they govern, with the wealthiest and most influential family governing over Teflamm, the capital of Thesk. All of the Theskian cities are located along the Golden Way as the influx of trade allows them to maintain their wealth.
All sorts of goods travel across this path, allowing Theskian nobles to have access to rare materials, and while slavery was not legal within Thesk, slaves were still allowed to be transported through the country due to their neighbor, Thay.
While Thesk is relatively temperate in climate, they are the only country to experience seasonal tornadoes due to their abundance of flat land. Along with flat plains and forests, Thesk also has coastline with the Sea of Fallen Stars. This coastline consists of rocky shores with port cities, With the capital city Lanchester being located in the Valley of Thesk.
Thesk is a wealthy and influential nation in the north though tensions remain high with their neighbors. Impiltur held a grudge against the nation ever since their declaration of independence, and the two nations maintain a very negative view of each other. Overall, the citizens of Thesk live a peaceful and easy life compared to their neighbors in other northern nations.

Delile Balindre was originally a princess of the Impiltur monarchy. She ended up denouncing her Impiltur title, abandoning her Impilturan heritage to help Thesk gain independence. She instilled herself as the noble house in charge of Teflamm, and helped appoint the other noble families within Thesk. Some of her own descendants even became their own independent noble houses. Due to the difficulties of accurate record keeping, many noble houses within Thesk claim to be of Delile's lineage without any evidence to support it. The Balindre noble house still remains the most influential house with Thesk, retaining its rule of the nation's capital, Teflamm.

It is said Delile Balindre was a potent spell caster who was enthralled by the arcane, and due to this belief it is considered standard for noble families to study the various forms of magic.