Cantaras

Cantaras lies in the southwest corner of Ascanthus and contains the largest population of any of the other regions of Ascanthus. It is generally considred to be the most powerful country within Ascanthus: both economically and militarilly.

Government
Before The Abandonment, Cantaras contained the chair of all Ascanthian government. The current capital city of Cantaras, Cantaras City, was once the capital city of all of Ascanthus. Since Ascanthus split into its seperate countries, Cantaras has been governed by a constitutional monarchy. The chief monarch, who has always been a king, holds a majority of the power; however, he generally abides by constitutional rules--both written and unwritten--that inhibit him from having absolute control over the country.

The king's power is kept in check by a council of nine elders, which may vote to remove a king from power. The council's power is only in theory however, as one or two members of the council of nine always comes from the king's team of personal advisors. The Council of Elders true influence comes at the death of a king who leaves no apparent heir, where the Council will then select the next king. Two of the council's members are chosen by the king upon his taking of the crown, and the other seven are selected by regional governors.

The current king is King Caleb Avarius. At the age of 25, Caleb took over for his recently deceased father three years prior to the current date.

Geography
The geography of Cantaras is diverse and varied. There are ample flatlands to farm enough food to feed all of Cantaras and still have some left over for storehouses and trade. The rest of the region is varied--covered in hills, forests, lakes, and rivers. The Leven River flows through the middle of Canaras City, and winds southward, where its tributaries flow westward into the ocean, south toward the tribal territories, and, most importantly, east into Lysos.

Cantaras shares its southern border with that of the tribal territories, a region of land lacking in resources, resulting in its people consisting mostly of traveling nomads with no realy ethnic ties to any of the other wandering tribes in the region. A few minor raids and ambushes on trade carivans have taken place, but the individual tribes are too small and too disorganized to have ever posed much of a security threat.

Cantaras City
The largest city in Cantaras, and all of Ascanthus, is the capital: Cantaras City. It is a walled city, one of the only ones in all of Cantaras, with several different districts. To get to the royal palace, one must cross a long, marble bridge laid out over a small lake that seperates the castle from the city. In the time before The Abandonment, the palace was a fully-functioning government building for all of Ascanthus. It is now, however, in addition to housing the royal family of Cantaras, used primarily as a tourist attraction. Many of the buildings in Cantaras City, including the palace, are constructed with marble.

Society
The population in Cantaras is among the most diverse of all of Ascanthus. There is a lot of wealth in the region, due to the vast amount of resources available in Cantaras. While there are still clearly defined classes in Cantaras, more people belong to the upper and middle crusts of society here than in any other region in Ascanthus. The peasants in Cantaras are also significantly better off than in any other region in Ascanthus. There is no law, nor are there any social taboos, preventing a peasant from rising among the classes. However, this is difficult and not very common at all.

The middle class of society consists mostly of merchants (of which there are many in Cantaras). "Knights" are usually considered to be a part of this class, and are usually the second or third sons or daughters of nobles who neither inherited the bulk of their families wealth or went to university.

Religion
All of the countries within Ascanthus have adopted their own patron deity from the pantheon of gods "underneath" Criador. However, in the absence of Criador, Cantaras never adopted another chief deity. While they pay their due respect to the other deities within Ascanthian religion, they still consider Criador to be their main god.