Rikland

Home of the Dwarves. Nationally known as Riklanders. Victorian culture, very proper among the noble class, more like Oliver Twist for the lower classes. They have a state religion dedicated to Balfenur, whom they hold as the wise and noble ruler of the Dwarven pantheon. Mordanic Dwarves, who follow the old Moradinist faith, are cruelly oppressed by the Riklander army. Their subterranean cities are claimed by the Riklanders as Rikkish sovereign territories, much to the Mordanics' ire and chagrin. Several Mordanic resistance movements have existed over the years, carrying out guerilla warfare (or terrorism, if you ask the Rikkish) to try and drive out the "invaders" and the Balfenic families who have settled in the cities to serve as Loyalists. Mordanic Dwarves are hard-working and hard-drinking, both arguably by necessity. Quick to laughter with friends, quick to rage with foes, Mordanics keep their traditions alive through song and verse. Every Mordanic generation is expected to rise to fight the Rikkish, until one day their once-great Kingdom Below is freed from Riklander oppression.

System of Government: Constitutional Monarchy, bicameral Legislature composed of an Upper and Lower house. Upper house is composed of aristocracy and wealthy merchants, lower house is elected by popular vote and functions only in an advisory capacity. State-supported suppresion of Mordanics is the norm, with police, soldiers, and paramilitaries in place to "keep them in their place," ie, firmly under the Balfenic boot-heel. Mordanic resistance takes the form of revolutionary groups and terrorist cells, depending on the mood and the current level of liberalism on display in the Rikkish government.