NOCHET
Proper Name: Unified Court of Nochet
Ruler: Yelam Sparleaf. His Most High Olven Lord of the Court of Nochet
Government: Hereditary Monarchy (Olven/Half-Olven)
Capitol: K'f'el
Major Towns: Dishos, Dlus, Lanert, Nah'imir, Surisa
Provinces: High Forest (Dishos), Low Forest (Lanert), Juin (Nah'imir), Plains (Nilod)
Resources: Gemstones, Iron, Lumber, Mithral
Coinage: Lord (pp), Acorn (gp), Branch (ep), Leaf (sp), Blade (cp)
Population: 400,000 (Gray Olven 50%, Chenxa 12%, Human 30%, Half-Olven 8%)
Languages: Olven, Chenxa, Suloise (ancient)
Alignments: CG, NG, CN
Religions: Olves - (Seldarine), Chenxa - (Swiftherd), Humans - (Akwamon, Bralm, Jascar, Kord, Lendor, Lydia, Norebo, Phaulkon, Phyton, Wee Jas)
Allies: Zofon
Enemies: Sunela, Osbyle

Overview & History: Settled by Suloise noble families nearly two millennia before the Twin Cataclysms, Nochet was made popular as a summer retreat due to the cool mountain breezes that made this tropical region pleasant throughout the year. Long a stronghold of those who served the more beneficent Suloise gods (Phaulkon & Phyton, primarily), relations with the olves and chenxa who had originally dwelt in the valley were cordial, if not outright friendly.

In the decades preceding the Twin Cataclysms, Nochet was increasingly settled by Suloise families seeking to avoid the conflict with the Bakluni, many of whom served the darker aspects of the Suloisan Pantheon. Incidents between man, olve and chenxa were on the rise, and tensions rose to their peak on that final night when the sky above the eastern mountains burned, and thousands of refugees poured through the mountains fleeing the destruction of their homes.

Certain noble families, seeking lands to call their own, began razing the eastern forests. By dawn, nearly a hundred square miles of forest was ablaze, killing the olves and chenxa who lived there indiscriminately; by midafternoon the Days of Rage had begun in full.

For six weeks the battle raged, man against olve, man against chenxa, and man against man. Those families that had lived in the valley for centuries sided with the olves and chenxa, and though they took heavy losses, eventually they were successful.

In the end, the olves and their allies had their victory, but it was a bitter one for those humans who survived. Long had the olven people given ground before the onslaught of human colonization; no more ground would they give. They offered the humans, even their allies, a simple choice: swear fealty to the Olven Court, or take their chances in the new desert to the east. Most chose to take that oath, while a few were allowed to flee south to the urban centers they knew lay along the coast. Only the worst were given over to the Sea of Dust.

Nearly ten centuries later, the Days of Rage are but a memory even to most of the olves. Those noble families that chose to remain have forged close ties with the olves through intermarriage and commerce. While some envy the freedom their brethren along the coast enjoy, they also recognize that such freedom carries the heavy price of war; barring the Days of Rage, the humans of Nochet have known peace for nearly a millennium.

As a result, Nochet is a harmonious blend of the best of olven and Suloise culture, boasting the finest libraries and centers of learning to be found in the region. The rich deposits of ore found along the eastern mountains bring wealth and prosperity to nearly all the human cities, while the northern forest serves as one of the last preserves of the Juinwood tree in the world (juinwood being highly sought after for the manufacture of wands and staves).

Conflicts & Intrigues: Though secluded from the hustle and bustle of the Sunelan coast, the battles their neighbors have fought with the hochebi pirates and their allies can be felt even this far north.

Sunela, the splinter-Kingdom that holds the best claim on the Lost Throne, has long envied the wealth of lost tomes known to be held in trust by Nochet, though geography prevents their taking them by force. Relations between the two nations are strained, as the Sunelan ambassadors remind the Olven Court too much of those who came late to their valley and burned nearly half of it to ash.

Osbyle, on the other hand, allies itself with the hochebi and the Huuncha League to the south. Their hatred of olves runs deep and strong, and their hatred of their Nochetti brethren even deeper for their perceived enslavement to the Olven Court.