Wild Lands

The Wild Lands are the most north-western part of the continent Askori. For hundreds of years the former Kingdom of Dastow was one of the economically most powerful nations in all of Askori. Wealth was unusally wide spread meaning that even the poorest members of society could afford their daily bread and a comfortable home. Unlike in many other feudal and monarchist nations wealth and power wasn´t concentrated soley on the nobility. The Kingdom of Dastow is first mentioned in history around 568 and fell apart in 954. Since 982 the majority of the Wild Lands are not regulated by a Government anymore and are considered neutral territory that isn´t ruled by any internationally recognized Nation or Organisation. However the Wild Lands still have a considerable population and with the city of Kiduth there is still one intact city that already existed before the collaps of the Dastowian Kingdom. The city of Kiduth has a functioning Government and Law Enforcement however its influence doesn´t reach far beyond the city limits. During 980s and 990s the Wild Lands developed into the most popular location for criminials or any individuals that seek to live without being regulated by a Government. Due to this and other reasons the Wild Lands are considered the most dangerous place in Askori to live in.

The Darkest Marketplace
The Wild Lands are often called "The Darkest Marketplace" most of the times meant as an insult to it. The lack of Government intervention makes the Wild Lands very popular for producing, consuming, trading, selling and buying illegal weapons, materials, substances and essentially anything that would get you in trouble in any nation of Askori. "The Darkest Marketplace" became one of the alternative names for the Wild Lands when a Zoranian politican used this name during a speech in the 1020s which spread the alternative name throughout the entire continent. "The Darkest Marketplace" means that the activities are so hard to control, to regulate and to even know about that there is essentially no light that makes it possible for anyone to see what is actually going on. However it has happened repeatedly that Governments of the nations in Askori or Companies located there have used the Wild Lands to make questionable deals that would have been very difficult to do without the Wild Lands. It is not uncommon that nations sell weapons and military equipment with the help of "The Darkest Marketplace" in order to hide their own involvement.

Besides weapons and military equipment "The Darkest Marketplace" is also infamous for its slavery, slave trading, drug production and trading. The Wild Lands therefore offer cheaper labor than almost any other nation in Askori as slavery is banned in most of them and weapons, drugs and other illegal substance can be bought for a much cheaper price than through the black market in any nation. Some nations that have issues with their own production even buy Morphine from the Wild Lands despite the risk the potentially unprofessional production comes with. Some companies have production in the Wild Lands because of the cheap labor despite the security risk that comes with it.

Population
Even though its population isn´t as big as typical nations the Wild Lands population is still a respectable amount. The city of Kiduth concentrates a good part of the population within its borders but the vast majority lives scattered across the Wild Lands. There is many different individuals but mostly they are separated into this different groups.

Villagers and Farmers
There is many villages within the Wild Lands where the inhabitants just seek to have a calm and peaceful life. The villages usually own a considerable amount of weapons and are prepared for attacks against them but they try to stay out of trouble. Trade between villages is pretty common and usually without trouble other than the usual negotiation and arguments over the price. Most villages make a living by farming and food production as well as basic manufacturing. They´re mostly independent from foreign food sources and have a surplus they use to trade for useful things they need. A few villages are involved in the production of drugs by farming the necessary crops however that is rather unusual. Most villages have acces to cheap medicine with the downside of it having low quality standards. Many villages don´t have any professionally trained medical personnel of their own. So they either get medical care by paying villages which can offer it or they just stay without professional medical care. Because of that villagers die from diseases or injuries on a regular basis that would not even endanger their life in a nation with professional medical care. Good quality antibiotics are hard to aquire and often misused and thus wasted without providing any real help. Villagers are careful with strangers and not very welcoming but usually don´t meet them with hostility unless they´re given a reason to be. Every Village lives by its own laws and it´s common that they have a leader elected by the inhabitants. This also means that the villages have their own independent law enforcement and justice system and commonly a village guard which are made of men that are willing to defend the village in case of an attack.

Mercenaries and Armed Groups
Because of the fact that the Wild Lands are not under any Government Regulation and therefore no one has to pay any sort of taxes it became the most favorite place for Mercenaries and any sort of Armed Groups to settle down there. Mercenaries that usually make their money by lending their men and guns to the nation or organization that pays the most use the Wild Lands to withdraw when things get too hot and the location also allows them to make extra money by taking part in activities that would be considered illegal elsewhere. The Mercenaries are considered to be a very dangerous part of the Wild Lands unless you have them working for you. If there isn´t any foreign contract available to make money for them they make their money by robbing valueables and by aquiring drugs and weapons to sell them in order to make a quick profit.

Armed Groups are similar to Mercenaries but aren´t the same. Armed Groups do not accept foreign contracts but rather make their living purely off robbing valueables and taking part in drug and slave trading. They put others under pressure to work for them and to do them favors. They demand fees from strangers on certain routes so that they´re allowed to continue their journey unharmed. Conflicts between Armed Groups are not unusual and the more wealthier one Armed Group becomes the higher it is at risk that other Armed Groups ally to take it´s wealth and influence away. On that way the Armed Groups regulate themselves so that none of them can become powerful enough to establish structures similar to a stationary Company or Government.

Drug and Slave Traders
Another great danger (and for some a great opportunity) is the trading of Drugs and Slaves. Among all illegal materials Drugs are the ones that are potentially the most profitable especially if they´re smuggled into the black market of any nation of the continent. The production and transportation of drugs within the Wild Lands is usually not very dangerous as long as there is some armed guards that take care of safety issues and the ones taking part don´t need to fear any sort of prosecution within the Wild Lands. Drug Traders are willing to use all violence necessary in order to protect and expand their business and this is what makes them extremely dangerous. Conflict between Drug Traders are daily business with many innocent people being dragged into the conflicts most of them time.

Slave traders make their money by buying and selling slaves or lending them or a set period of time. They also aquire slaves by kidnapping people that are traveling through the Wild Lands or by raiding villages and taking some of the villagers with them. Their most common customers are foreign companies that have some of their production facilities located in the Wild Lands and local "businessman" that require cheap labor. Some villages also buy Slaves from time to time to compensate losses within their own ranks. Slaves themselves favor being sold to villages even though that is the most rare case. Villages usually grant their slaves freedom after they have proven their loyalty and willingness to work and integrate them as full members into the village without restrictions. Kidnapping people from foreign locations is something that barely happens and usually damages a slave traders reputation among other slave traders. The reason is that kidnapping people from any of the nations in Askori could give those nations a reason to start a military intervention against the Wild Lands.

Foreign Companies
Some foreign companies have production facilities located within the wild lands. The main reason is that due to the availability of slaves and no laws regarding a minimum wage the labor is much cheaper than anywhere else. The downside is high security risk and that the companies usually have to spend money in order to maintain guards that protect their facilities. But even this expensive disadvantage doesn´t change that the potential profit made with goods produced in Wild Lands is still a lot greater than compared to the same good produced in facilities elsewhere. Even the extra effort of transporting the goods from the Wild Lands into the nations they´re supposed to be sold in doesn´t change this fact. Companies avoid a great amount of taxes at the same time as the entire production chain is located in a tax free zone.

This fact makes companies a dangerous factor in the Wild Lands. They are willing to do everything to protect and expand their production. Usually they´re in contact with slave traders in order to secure and expand their supply of cheap labor. They also hire mercenaries to deal with certain problems that are interfering with their business. Most foreign companies that are active within the Wild Lands are able to hide their true identity and the goods sold in their home nations usually don´t differ from the goods that were produced in facilities located at home. This makes it difficult to tell which companies are actually exploiting this opportunities and which aren´t.

Colonization attempts
In recent time there has been multiple colonization attempts by different nations. The most common motiviation is to exploit the natural resources and to use the land for agriculture as it´s geography offers many good opportunities for this.