Liber (province)

Liber is a province in Norarchland. Its seat is the large town of Hampus, where the governor usually resides. The River Cadmus runs along its northwestern edge, and it shares a small bank of the River Notus in the north. It borders the the province of Artorius  in the west, the province of Scilla in the northwest, the province of Cyma in the north, and the provinces of Ops and Quique in the southeast. It borders the Archland Mountains in the east and also has a small border with Vallonia in the northeast. Liber is best known for being part of the major trade route between Vallonia and Norarchland.

History
Liber's position along the River Cadmus made it crucial for navigation along the northern edge of the Archland mountains, and as such it has maintained a fairly consistent population throughout history. It was negatively affected by the Torrent, with its weather patterns and so forth being thrown asunder by the ash cloud. It did not play a huge part in much of Archland's history except for the tense negotiations surrounding which land belonged to Vallonia when it was becoming a nation. Part of the Vallonian province of Pulchra extends over to the Norarchland side of the mountains, and Vallonia did not want to give up this territory. No physical conflict emerged, but the situation was uncertain until the monarchs of both lands decided that allowing Vallonia to keep what is known as the Pulchra Hook would economically benefit both nations.

Geography
Topography Liber, like much of the rest of Norarchland is mostly covered in forest, especially in the inland southern part. Along the river it not wooded and has low, rolling hills. In the southeast are the foothills of the Archland mountains.

Climate
Being one of the northernmost provinces in Archland, Liber has a split climate, with a boreal climate in the north and a hemiboreal climate further toward the south. It has harsh winters with large amounts of snow, but often in the north it gets too cold even to snow. Nevertheless, the population is used to such weather, and sometimes they experience odd mild weather blowing in from Vallonia.

Culture
Liber's culture is very similar to much of the rest of Norarchland; people for the most part keep to themselves, are not interested in frills or impracticality, and have small families. They are hardy and have strong work ethics, both of which are necessary characteristics for living somewhere as cold as Liber. The major town of Hampus tends to be more hospitable because of its location on a merchant route, but its an exception to the rule.

Shadowskin
When revisiting Artorius and secretly meeting with the queen, Pomona lies and tells her that she has been staying in Liber.