Lotus City State of Vraelea

You've probably met the Lotus State before, in some capacity - indirectly or directly. They watch, wait, learn and grow. From their mountain fortresses they scour Rathnir, meeting, observing, and manipulating. Pen or the sword, sticky piston or gold ingot, any and all means are considered to achieve their goals. They collect, and they preserve. Whatever it takes.

Vraelea is a medium-small city-state located in the mountains of Central Sparwood - south of Escharia, northwest of Palaris and east of Tatonia. Founded by a lone, weary traveler, seeking a mountain home as he grew weary of his underwater hideout, the nation slowly but surely took shape. Different from any other in Rathnir, Vraelea's architectural style is a strange meld of delicate curves and sharp angles, intricately fusing white, green and blue. A direct democracy, Vraelea slowly grew in membership and with it its prime building and defensive bastion, the Lotus Castle.

Its history is long and varied, and through it the Lotus State has emerged as one of the richest nations for its size, boasting massive stables and untold treasures within its walls. It, as a whole at the least, is generally neutral in world affairs. Beware though - its members have strange, almost alien-like moralities and are not to be underestimated. For those who seek to wrong it or its allies, Vraelea does not give up grudges lightly...