Malfan

This large, relatively sparsely populated former province of the empire is relatively politically disunited. Most of the population is concentrated in the northeast, near the city of Zipus, which has strong ties to Omba still and whose aristocracy is closely linked to the rest of the former empire by trade and marriage. The remainder is very rural and consists of farming communities who send representatives / local chiefs to an annual conclave. The hereditary Grand Chief lives in the southern capital city of Romaz which is also the heartland of what remains of the Hulti, followers of the old shamanic religion that preceded the Voice and the Hand. Unlike most of the former empire where shamanism is mistrusted at best, and frequently persecuted, Malfan has relative religious tolerance and the Old Folk are numerous. Especially in the plains to the west and south, villages where the Voice and Hand have never reached are still common. Raids from the herders of Umnaka to the south are a constant threat, and the main purpose for which the chiefs unify is their collective defense.