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Ratik is a small but wealthy feudal nation in the north-east of the Flanaess. It lies in a strip along the Solnor coast, and hemmed in by the towering Rakers, the Timberway Forest, and the Loftwood. Ratik rests in a crossroads of civilisations, with the civilised former Aerdi Great Kingdom to the south, the barbaric Suel tribes in the Thillonrian Peninsula to the north, and dwarven clans in the Rakers themselves. Primarily a human nation, the majority of those folk are from a Suel heritage, the realm is home to many dwarves and a lesser number of halflings. Other races are few in number.
Since the death of the previous Archbaron, Alain IV, Ratik has been ruled by his widow Evaleigh. But she is foreign born, from the County of Knurl in the Bone March, and this does not sit well with all of the lords and ladies of the fourteen noble houses of the realm. Evaleigh holds onto power, but there are many who would see her fall.
Its previous good relations with the Frost Barbarians are being tested due to recent border disputes, and the tenuous peace with the Snow Barbarians is never entirely certain. The threat of attack from the malevolent humanoids that infest the Rakers, the Loftwood, and the conquered Bone March is ever present. So too is the jealousy of the North Kingdom, who would like to see Ratik fall and come under their rule. The country is surrounded by enemies, but remains defiant.
Ratikans are an independent and entrepreneurial folk with an eye for the main chance. Some might describe them as selfish and lawless. The fact remains that those with ambition, and the skills and courage to support it, might go far in a place such as Ratik, where opportunities flourish.
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