Denonym: Enali
On a peninsula jutting south from TKTK, separated from the other major nations by The Cradle, The Bones, and The Grave, lies Enalia. Due in part to the inhospitable territory outside its borders, but mostly due to its predominant population of thanays, Enalia balances itself between life and death. This is not to say that the state is weak and liable to collapse, but rather that at any given time, roughly half of Enalia's population is dead. Or rather, undead. Enali society values "civil necromancers" who reuse the useless husks of the dead for unskilled labour. As a result, Enalis have a higher average standard of living than in most nearby states as the underclass of manual labourers is small. Instead, the living are encouraged to learn skilled trades or the simple magic that allows them to direct and repair the undead. This does not mean that Enalia has low wealth disparity; civil necromancers skim a tithe off most of the economy and use their vast wealth to fund projects from the extravagant to the bizarre.
Being separated from other states by inhospitable territory in which they have little interest, Enalia tends towards isolationism. Many other cultures want little to do with Enalia's necromantic economy, though some scrupulous traders have been known to collect the corpses of strong, young people to sell for reanimation, as they make better zombies than the more plentiful bodies of the weak, injured, or elderly.
Prior to TKTK, Enalia was governed by a hereditary aristocracy. The various necromancers had become increasingly influential over the years to the point that large parts of the country were ruled by them in all but name. However, they mostly kept the peace and followed the laws set by their aristocratic masters until one moderately influential necromancer, Alcopo Bertité lost the confidence of his erstwhile aristocratic patron and left the country for several years. When he returned, he was astride an undead dragon, from which he declared himself Emperor of Enalia. This set off a series of civil wars and uprisings that pitted necromancers against aristocrats, then necromancers against each other and commoners against necromancers. The eventual peace settlement led to today's democratic civil government that leans heavily on (and is manipulated behind the scenes by) the now-united Civil Necromancers' Guild.
Major cities include Enal, the capital, and Un, a trading port close to the edge of The Grave.