Notable in Northland Province

Major Cite: Kethanel

Kethanel is a city-state located on the island Kethel in the Ket Gulf, which separates Orcish and Dwarven lands west of the Worldspine.

Generations before the first Dwarven or Orcish holds joined the Commonwealth — some time around CY -100 — Kethel was settled roughly equally by Orcish and Dwarven clans, roughly six clans apiece. The two clan-oriented cultures proved quite proved to be quite compatible, and where able to cooperate quite effectively. Over the years, in the the tumult of Northland's clan politics, Kethel's occupants frequently found they had more common cause with those they shared their home with than with distant members of their own race. In CY 213, the clans of Kethel Island held council: they agreed, first, to the authority of their council to make decisions for the island as a whole; second, formally, to an alliance of their clans; and third, to make peace with the Commonwealth, a new culture just extending its influence into the region. Less than a century later, in CY 291, they signed the Commonwealth Charter.

Kethel Island is roughly circular, 43dc in diameter at its widest point. Located in a northern gulf, the island's climate is slightly more moderate than the nearby coast, but still cold; the soil is also good, although rocky in places.

Kethanel is a city of more than thirty-five thousand situated in a wide bay on the island’s Southern edge. The architecture of Kethanel is striking; the city is built both above and below ground, and is built of massive stones carved and set by both Orcish and Dwarven hands. It is, not coincidentally, a veritable fortress.

Kethanel has long been a local trading and fishing hub, its role in trade is growing; though it has long been a port for boats crossing the gulf, as the Commonwealth’s sea-faring abilities improve, boats sailing up and around the coast from the Haven Isles have begun to make Kethanel a stopping-point. Some have whispered that a Cairn may be built in Kethanel.

Though Kethel is still predominantly settled by equal numbers of Dwarves and Orcs, after the island joined the Commonwealth it saw an influx of more than a thousand Gnolls, mostly Snow-paws; they settled in the Southeastern reaches of the island. More recently, Kethanel City has seen substantial Kobold immigration, and a small population of Ash Elven merchants have been carried to the city from the Haven Isles by boat.