For years historians and politicians both have pretended the Protectorate of Menoth was not a nation of its own because the agreements that ended the Cygnaran Civil War left it beholden to Cygnar’s crown. Over time those obligations proved to be a farce, however, and while the Protectorate remains technically vassal to Cygnar at the outbreak of war in Llael, what is clear to all is that it now stands as the youngest of the Iron Kingdoms.

Caspia was divided in the aftermath of the Cygnaran Civil War. The larger, western portion of the city remained part of Cygnar, while the eastern portion across the Black River became Sul, capital of the Protectorate. This placed bitter enemies in close proximity, with only towering walls and a rushing river between their heavily armed garrisons. The rest of the Protectorate stretches east and southeast into an arid and resource-poor region adjacent to the dangerous Bloodstone Marches.

Sul-Menites practice a strict form of worship and believe their only chance of evading endless torment in the afterlife is obedience to the True Law. Priests and scrutators instill a terror of the clergy in the population, teaching the people to obey without question and to expect the lash for expressing the slightest doubt. Perhaps because of these harsh measures, the Menite faith has been in slow decline for many centuries, steadily losing ground to the (moderately) more benevolent message of the Church of Morrow.

The recent appearance of the so-called “Harbinger of Menoth” has provided the spark the Menites have long sought to revitalize their faith. This young woman emerged from an obscure town on the fringes of the Protectorate and displayed clear signs of miraculous contact with the divine, including the fact that her feet refuse to touch the unclean earth. It is said she sometimes communes directly with Menoth, and can even speak his words. Witnessing her visage has prompted thousands of foreigner Menites to immediately convert to her cause, pull up their roots, and relocate to the Protectorate.