Kingdom of Nyrond:

• Ruler: His August Supremacy, Altmeister of all the Aerdi, King Archbold III
• Capital: Rel Mord (pop. 34,200)
• Population: 1,175,000
• Races: Oeridian, Suel
• Demi-humans: Sylvan Elves (18,000), Gnomes (7,000), Halflings (2,500)
• Humanoids: Few
• Resources: foodstuffs, cloth, copper, silver, low-quality gems

The establishment of Nyrond in 356 CY marked the beginning of the end of the Great Kingdom. But over successive decades, Nyrond itself underwent an imperialist phase, seeking to bend both the Theocracy of the Pale and the Urnst states to its will. The great Council of Rel Mord, called by King Dunstan I, led to the recall of Nyrondese troops from those lands and the creation of treaties with them, as well as with the nascent Iron League, which Nyrond supported with economic aid.

For over a century thereafter, Nyrond was a bastion of strength and good, the great protector of the Flanaess against the Great Kingdom. Its armies were numerous and strong, with legendary elven and halfling scouting troops, and its treaties with the Urnst states allowed it to call on great military strength. The Nyrondese navy dominated Relmor Bay and the eastern Sea of Gearnat. Nyrondese mages were if famed power, and the nation's artisans and scholars were renowned throughout the Flanaess. The cities of Nyrond were marvels of architecture and vision.

The war against the Great Kingdom cost the Nyrondese armies dear, with almost 70,000 casualties, and it exhausted Nyrond's coffers, although its navy remains strong. Territory has been lost around the northeastern portion of Relmor Bay, and while the remains of Almor which hold those lands could be retaken by any moderate army. Nyrond has not the strength or will to do so.

Internally, the murderously high levels of taxation, which the King is forced to exact to maintain vigilance against Iuz on the northwest as well as the Bone March humanoids across the Flinty Hills, has made the peasants and common folk rebellious. Tax riots have had to be quelled in and around the major northern trade town of Midmeadow. Some farmers plead that they cannot even afford seed to sow their fields, and many livestock have been killed for food. The vital silver mines of the Flinty Hills still yield their treasure, and this, with aid from Urnst, is all that keeps Nyrond going.

Further, Nyrond has suffered an exodus of many of its best artisans, mages, scholars, and skilled folk, who have left for the richer Urnst states or for the Free City of Greyhawk. King Archbold and his advisers engage in desperate diplomacy from Keoland to the Theocracy, but with so little to offer, Nyrond's influence is weak. Its major supporters are the Urnst states, who fear Nyrond's fall, which would leave them with Iuz to the north and anarchy to the east.