Thesk

Thesk is an oligarchian nation of around 850,000 people, inhabited by humans, gnomes, and orcs. The majority of its inhabitants are either merchants or farmers. Unusually for Faerûn, a substantial proportion of Theskians are orcs. The Golden Way, the main trade route to Kara-Tur in the east, runs through Thesk, exposing it to a wide variety of cultures and making its people more tolerant than most Faerûnians.

History
Thesk was founded in 937 DR by a coalition of trading and agricultural cities. It was decimated by the Tuigan Horde, causing a long period of unrest as refugees came and went and the destroyed settlements were rebuilt. Due to the remnants of the orc army that were left in Thesk after the Tuigan conflict, inhabitants were initally fearful, but eventually most came to accept them and much of the orc army settled in Phsant.

Politics
Thesk is very wealthy and the wealthiest inhabitant of each settlement becomes the mayor. A council of mayors exists to govern the nation.

Geography
Thesk is located between the Plateau of Thay and the Forest of Lethyr and is largely uninhabited.

Ashanath
Ashanath is an uninhabited area of Thesk. Despite its fertile lands, its lack of settlement is attributable to the seasonal tornadoes from which it suffers.

Settlements
Telflamm is a large independent city-state and the largest settlement in Thesk. Its approximately 23,500 inhabitants appearently are under the rule of a "merchant prince", though behind the scenes it is the Shadowmasters, a thieves guild, who runs the city.

Other settlements of note include Phsant, the site where the Tuigan Horde was defeated and subsequently many members of the orc army settled, Tammar, and Nyth.

Mountains
The Dragonjaw Mountains form a natural border between Thesk in the north and Aglarond in the south. The Thesk Mountains occupy an area roughly central in Thesk.