Fenghast is a name of ill-repute and some dread for western nations. If not for its ruler it would be
considered a small country of little significance on the borders of
Aratola. That ruler is, however, the
Demon Queen the most powerful, ruthless and long-lived sorceress in the area of the
Blue Sea.
When the Demon Queen came to power shortly after the country liberated itself from the Southern Khanate, her realm
was considered of little value with the country's only gold mine having been worked out in the last years of the
Khan's rule. The inhabitants of the country were mostly poor goat herders or miners and the Queen's only
other source of income apart from the mines was from tolls on caravans using the ancient overland trade
route that passed from the Sirayn Basin and the Raj to Sankhar.
The Demon Queen quickly restored the country's fortunes but not in any way that made the neighbouring countries
comfortable. Her interests were in breeding better servants, using for instance troll and gnoll stock and in
extending the life of her subjects as intelligent or mindless undead.
She has been blamed for creating the race of Flinds who led the Gnoll forces in the Gnoll Wars, although there is
some debate as to whether she deliberately released them into the Western Khanate or whether they just escaped from
her laboratories. The countries mines are now almost exclusively worked by mindless undead while
her immediate advisors are all intelligent undead. Similarly her armed forces are mostly an appropriate mix of undead types.
Her actions have certainly riled religious factions in the area with both the Peloreans and the worshippers
of Ishtar at times calling for a Crusade or Holy War against the country. The Queen is, however, adept at setting
her opponents at each others throats when threatened. One of her most feared attributes is the way she sets
up court with the express intention of trading favours with individuals who are willing to help her agenda (whatever that is). It has to be said, however, that although many seek her aid only rarely does she give it and the
general fear that she will create some sort of unstoppable army to overwhelm her neighbours has proved groundless
over a thousand years.
As for her human subjects, the majority of them continue with their lives as normal. It is said she cares little
for them but she does not oppress them if they keep out of her way. She will indeed occasionally act like a
responsible ruler and improve their lives. 'Aratolan' goats are famed for their hardiness and resistance to disease and sought after in many countries but they are in fact Fenghast goats whose country of origin has been quietly
surpressed for obvious commercial reasons.