The Realm of Dyria

The Realm of Dyria spans a number of the islands of the Encircled Sea, as well as the east coast, running inland until it reaches the Red Waste, a vast expanse of badlands. Expansive though it is, much of the inland part of Dyria is hilly and in places quite arid, with much of its fertile land concentrated on the coast. Its major settlements are consequently concentrated there along the coast and and on various islands, leaving its eastern reaches sparsely populated, and then only by particularly hardy folk.

Dyria, along with Adana and Hana, was one of the three founding members of the empire. Many Dyrian houses predate the Third Greytide and it was already a cohesive realm before the Third Greytide. The settlements of the Great Green, a duchy spanning numerous islands, are believed to be among the oldest in eastern Elthos. Dyrians are often proud of their heritage and proud of their homes. In Dyria, loyalty to one's home comes before loyalty to one's liege. Apart from that quirk, Dyrians have a feudal structure typical of much of Elthos, with layers of nobility owing obligations to their lieges and protecting their vassals.

Dyria experienced a palace coup in 602, orchestrated by members of the then royal house, Aetos, in the face of internal disputes and the perceived tyranny of the then Queen Areti, though the man they installed as king was from House Kournis. Since that time, Dyria has been stable. Dyria's borders are generally secure, apart from along the Red Waste, and even that is scarcely a concern to Dyrians living in the densely settled fertile regions along the coast of the Encircled Sea or on its numerous islands. The Waste is home to nomadic tribes, some of them human and some not. While Dyrians sometimes trade with visiting human nomads, the same cannot be said of their engagement with non-humans, which is generally violent. Holdings on Dyria's eastern border tend to be well guarded.

Dyria is home to an unusually large number of dwarves. They are a secretive people and scant little is known of them, despite that many have been resident in House Karalis' home of Wayguard for centuries. Many more arrived to the empire about a century ago following some evil that befell their mountain holds in the Worldspine. The dwarves' general refusal to swear fealty to a human monarch has a blind eye turned to it, because they have generally been a boon for those places in which they have settled, producing fine luxury goods and causing no trouble. Their skill has been a boon to the economies of places they have settled, with certain cities by now being renowned for the dwarven products produced there, much to the ire of artisans in those cities in the early days. Human craftsmen have since adapted, especially after coming to the realisation that dwarves do nothing quickly, and their wares are a luxury for most, but non-competitive where volume is required. Since 631, small bands of dwarves have departed Dyria, apparently bound for the Worldspine, though their business remains a secret.