Stromthar

Stromthar is one of the major continents on the planet of Sprin'Torel.

Xaspueres
From the bottom of the hills to about half way up the forest on the Western side of Stromthar is Xaspueres, a country where what matters most is a sense of discovery. Here, the social hierarchy is decided not by what you do for a living or how much money you have or how many servants you have. Instead, it is dependent on what you've found.

A testament to this is Carcalliers, the capital. Carcalliers was founded by the first President of the land, Clifford Steele, next to a mine that gave way to a crystal cavern loaded with scientific discoveries. Since then, every year the country determines who ought to be the president based on their merit. Below them, there are high members of society who may rule over smaller areas of land.

Given the discoveries that come out of Xaspueres - and their penchant for curiosity on a whole, it stands to reason that Xaspueres has never had too many economic difficulties. Though there was some concern over what may happen to the country when there are no longer things to discover and explore, they doubt that time will come in a very long time.

Cleisil
Stretching out down the Northern coast to about half way down the Northwestern coast is Cleisil. Given the border of this country, they had become extraordinarily proficient in fishing as a whole. While some consider this to be a rather unconventional source of income and some even suggest that the country is lesser for putting such weight on what many consider a hobby, the Cleisilese fish with pride.

Coloves, the capital, is found on the Northwestern coast, an area that is rich with thousands of different species of marine life. This fishing city is not only where the president lives, but also where they hold the competition to determine who should be the next president. While this leads to many lines of presidency, this is what the people agreed on, and a sense of understanding with ideal fishing methods is typically seen as important for maintaining a healthy fishing industry.

Of course, they understand that it is impossible for them to live on fish alone, and a majority of their catch goes elsewhere around the world in exchange for other goods that they may need to survive as a society. As such, the entire country is seen as a large fishing industry, with each city and town treated as smaller industries with the heads of those being decided on in a manner similar to the presidency.

Stroydan
Taking up almost the entire Northeastern quarter of the continent is Stroydan. While Stroydan claims to pay close attention to every citizen, there is still a class structure where those who are most able to help everyone else are closer to the top while those who need the most help without helping others as much are closer to the bottom. While Stroydan is very industrial as a result, with the upper classes running the industries that help everyone else. Of course, it is worth noting that even though this structure does make it difficult for people to move upwards in rank, it is not impossible. For instance, when the entire country was facing a drought, a lone citizen figured out a way to irrigate the water from the ocean while filtering it to ensure there would be fresh water for everyone.

Passis, the capital, is the height of philanthropic society. Unlike the larger countries in Stromthar, Stroydan is an empire instead of a presidential system, with the emperor residing in Passis. Though unlike other empires, Stroydan's emperor is a position of privilege instead of a god given right. While the original emperor was given the title for founding and maintaining the country at a younger age, as time moved on and the emperors got complacent, the people were prepared to overthrow them unless they continued helping society. Since then, every emperor must go through a trial to prove their worth in order to legitimize their leadership.

Qedria
Located right in the middle of the Eastern side of Stromthar is a massive agricultural country - Qedria. Here, rank is determined by food production, whether through hunting or gathering. Though the emperor here is exempt from this social hierarchy due to a need for having someone in charge to organise food production and distribution, every other member of society is ranked not only by how much land they own but also what they do with it. While this makes the social structure almost perfectly rigid, the emperor still pays close attention to individual ingenuity, promoting people who have shown great strides in agricultural innovation to higher ranks, and demoting members of society who were not maintaining their quotas.

Of course, even though the emperor is exempt from these hierarchical rules, this hardly means that Draguimart, the capital, isn't perpetually busy. Though the land had slowly become too built up for agriculture, this hardly changed the fact that it then became a bustling marketplace where people could go to sample unique and amazing different types of food.

Eglistan
Eglistan is the Southernmost country on Stromthar, reaching out from the bottom of the hills to envelop as much of the Southern coast as possible. While some claim there is no way that anyone could survive that far South with how cold and barren it is, Eglistanians found a way. Though, how they did so, was a secret for hundreds of years. While there were plenty of theories surrounding how they survived, eventually it came out that they had survived for this long with the help of magic. While every other country uses magic has a hobby or as a means to enhance their lives, this is how Eglistan has survived through the ages.

As if to prove a point, the capital of Eglistan on the Southeastern most point of the country, a place where the temperature can drop to record lows. Of course, they dedicated their lives to learning, studying, and practicing magic for the sake of survival. As such, evocation wizards and druids are extremely prized here given that they're able to use their magic to provide warmth, food, and water for everyone around the country.

Politics
Given the close proximity and the competitive nature of the various countries on Stromthar, it stood to reason that they would share similar political structures - though there are still some key differences. With each of these countries being a meritocracy, what matters is not who you know or how rich you are, but rather what you do with what you have. While this typically sways towards the rich given that it is easier for them to do extravagant things than the more poor members of the society could do.

Where these countries differ, however, is on what matters most between these countries. For instance, while Eglistan cares more about magical innovation and ingenuity, Stroydan pays closer attention to what is best for the society on a whole.