Anderith was a land in the Midlands, that betrayed that alliance and allowed itself to be conquered by the Imperial Order, during the events of Soul of the Fire.
Geography[]
Anderith lay far to the southwest of the Midlands, where the Drun River flows into the sea. It was isolated from the rest of the Midlands by the wilds. Fairfield was the capital city.
People[]
Two different races settled in this country in the Midlands, the Anders and the Hakens. The Anders were recognized by dark hair, while the Hakens all had bright red hair. The exact political history of these people was not known, but it was said by the Anders that the Hakens were a savage and violent race in the past. They used this as an excuse to oppress the Hakens, in order to suppress their “evil Haken nature”. Hakens were required to attend regular "penance assemblies", sessions in which they would be told of supposed crimes by their people in the past against the Anders, and made to apologize for them publicly.
History[]
Anderith was named after an ancient Wizard, Joseph Ander, who enslaved the magic of the chimes within the nation’s defenses called the Dominie Dirtch.
The people of the area repeatedly changed their name and the name of their land. Anderith has also been called Toscla, Vengren, Vendice, and Turslan.
Jagang came to Anderith to acquire food for his army, as supply lines from the Old World were becoming long and dangerous.
Richard Rahl attempted to sway the people of Anderith to join the D'Haran Empire as most of the rest of the Midlands had done and cut off trade with the Imperial Order, but was defeated in a vote. He eventually freed the chimes from their bondage in the Dominie Dirtch, causing them to crumble and fall. This left the Anderlith defenseless against the Imperial Order's army.
Government[]
Officially, it was the Sovereign who was the holy religious leader and supreme ruler of Anderith. However, this position was mostly ceremonial. It was the Minister of Culture who wielded the true power.
The Minister passed most of the laws of Anderith and also appointed the magistrates who saw them carried out. His power touched every business and every person in the land and he also oversaw the affairs of the army.
Besides the Minister, the Office of Cultural Amity, and its eleven Directors were set in place to keep a check on the power of the people named Minister or Sovereign. It was the Directors who elected the Sovereign, who in turn appointed the Minister.
Economy[]
Anderith grows great quantities of grain and other crops that feed many people of the Midlands. They send long trains of cargo wagons north to trade.
Military[]
See also: Anderith Army
Only Anders and Haken women could join the Anderith Army, mainly because Haken men were not allowed to carry a weapon.
Since the Dominie Dirtch was such an effective means of defense from foreign aggression, there was no need to maintain a powerful standing army. Because of this, the Anderith Army fell into severe dilapidation, only a few guard troops were actually well-trained.