Nordrhein Collective

The Nordrhein Collective, a brainchild of ManOfRet, is a pseudo-confederate collection of elective kingdoms that resides on the northwestern coast of continental Lomaria. They are best-known for their non-feudalistic economy and advanced manufacturing technologies.

History
In the earliest days of the Nordrhein region of Lomaria, very few peoples inhabited the area. It remained a sort of "dark forest" throughout much of its history until about 400 AD, when the Elka people first migrated into the area from the south. They established several villages throughout the region, primarily sticking to the banks of the rivers. Over time, these villages expanded to become some of the largest population centers in Lomaria. The eventual capital of the Elka nation, Dormhicum (now called Rheinstadt), was founded at the mouth of the Rhein River in 612, and it is today one of the largest cities in Lomaria with over 900,000 residents.

The Elka tended to stick to the heavily wooded regions of the eastern Nordrhein, while a second tribe, the Frinck, set up in the western coastal plains. The Frinck were much less city oriented, instead establishing a myriad of tiny towns across the plains. Accordingly, they were far more agriculture-based and rural. The Frinck therefore generated a great surplus of food, and soon become known as the Breadmakers of the region. A very close economic bond was thus formed especially between the Frinck and the Elka, as the Elka had to import food to help sustain their booming population.

In the year 1073, Dormhicum was destroyed in a fire. While the origins of the fire are technically unknown, a rumor quickly spread that the small colony of dwarves that had set up camp within the mines around the city were the cause of the fire. Nordrheiner scholars have since disproven this rumor, but not before the legend grew into various forms. As a result, a vast anti-dwarven lore exists in the culture of the Nordrhein region. The small dwarven population of the region was quickly driven out in the years following the fire. Simultaneously, Dormhicum was rebuilt and renamed Rheinstadt, a name that fit much more closely with the evolved dialect of the region. The new city was constructed in a more modern layout, and the infrastructure was updated to allow for very-high-density populations. As a result, Rheinstadt is one of the most densely populated and important cities in Lomaria.

Almost two hundred years later, in 1255, tensions began to escalate between the Frinck of the west and the Elka of the east. This was a result of the economic and cultural mingling of the two. The Elka culture was penetrating deep into Frinck territory, and the old nobles were not amenable to the change, so dissension spread. An anti-Elka uprising in one of the powerful Frinck kingdoms (Altar) led almost immediately to a full-scale war against the Elka. Unfortunately for the Frinck, the Elka were industrially capable and more heavily populated; the better-equipped and larger armies of the east quickly quelled the rebellion and cemented Elka rule over the Nordrhein region.

Two years of fighting occurred, with the Frinck rebellion beginning and ending in Altaris, the largest town in the western Nordrhein region. While the Frinck fought fiercely and in many cases matched the Elka forces, one brilliant military leader from the east named Hadrid Bundelgaar drove his army efficiently and quickly through the enemy forces, putting down rebellions left and right. It was he who almost single-handedly won the war for the Elka, and he was quickly elected as the Chancellor of the newly unified Nordrhein region. He officially established the Collective in 1262, five years after the war ended. The Altaris Charter thus marked the final unification of the region and the complete destruction of the previous feudal regime in Frinck lands. Additionally, the Frinck and the Elka nations combined into one single cultural group called the Hadrigaar.

Since then, the Collective has grown into a very stable and powerful confederacy of 13 Electives. The new proto-capitalist ideology of the former Elka grew to dominate the economic systems of the region, which allowed the Collective's economy to boom and technological innovation to increase almost eight-fold for the next few decades. This resulted in a very advanced society which is almost entirely distinct from its neighbors, and one of the only non-dwarven powers capable of mass production in Lomaria.