Rel Astra and Medegia

During the Greyhawk wars (582-584) Medegia was known as the 'See of Medegia' for it was a vassal state of the Great Kingdom, and under the rule of a Patriarch General Kimon Allerus, the head of the Church of Hextor in the region. Kimon was old and his health failing when the Great King demanded tribute and armies from Medegia, which would beggar the nation. Kimon sent the bare minimum of both, and those levies sent were of the poorest quality.
The Great Kings generals were incensed that Medegia's footdragging. Added to this was a general xenophobia in Medegia against the slave races of orcs and goblin. They were considered disruptive and their breeding all but outlawed.
Rumors began of a new alliance between Medegia and the Lordship of the Isles against the Sea Baronies. The Armies of the Great Kingdom marched south, pillaged and raided Medegia. The worst of the slave races were given free reign to make an example of the recalcitrent nation. The city of Pontylever was masacred, it became a cursed city, filled with undead horrors. Rel Astra, the Capital of Medegia, was destroyed, and much of it set ablaze. Kimon Allerus and the entire clergy of Hextor in Rel Astra were taken into chains to the north and most never seen again.
During the brief occupation of Rel Astra, something was unleashed. Dark, shadowy forms haunt the night. Creatures of shadow prey on the unwary and unprotected. No one knew where these creatures came from or how to stop them. The local Medegians adapted to the threat. A curfew was enacted. The areas of 'the Prominade', well lit as they are by eternal bonfires, seem to keep the creatures at bay. This area became prime real estate for the rich aristocrats, who felt the rest of the people could fend for themselves.
In the aftermath of the devastation, the people of Medegia formed into fractious groups. The nobility filled the vacume left by the Patriarch General. They elected a mayor, a devious and cruel man from their own ranks. After his disappearance years later under mysterious circumstances, the nobility agreed to elect someone outside of their ranks to fill a 5 year term as mayor.

The current year, 606 C.Y. A large portion of the city, it's north end is mostly in ruins and abandoned. The City State of Rel Astra relies on trade with other costal powers. Having no standing army, it controls a small area of land. The rest of Medegia is on it's own. Brigandry and starvation is a constant threat. Towns and villages are insular and often controlled by a local landlord or warlord. Increased religious freedom from thr Hextorians is cold comfort to an impoverished and frightened city.

Medegia and Rel Astra favor the worship of the Oeridian pantheon. Indeed, during the reign of the Hextorites, when it was the See of Medegia, other religions were outlawed. Major temples to Zilchus, and Procan. There were several temples to hextor, mostly raised or abandoned. There are small shrines to Rudd, the Velaeri, Delleb, and Fharlanghn.

The Pantheon includes: Bleredd, god of smiths and metals. Celestian, god of the stars and wanderers. Cyndor, god of time. Daern, hero-god of defense. Delleb, god of reason and intellect. Erythnul, god of hate, panic and slaughter. Fharlanghn, god of the horizon and travel. Heironeous, god of chivalry, justice, honor, valor and war. Hextor, god of war, discord, conflict, massacres, and tyranny. Johydee, goddess of deception and protection. Kurell, god of jealousy, revenge and thievery. Merikka, goddess of farming and the home. Pholtus, god of resolution, light and the law. Procan, god of the seas, sea life, sea weather, and navigation. Rudd, goddess of chance, good luck and skill. Sol (as Pelor is known in the region), god of sun, strength, and healing. Stern Alia, goddess of culture, law and motherhood. The Velaeri, the collective name for the five dieties of the winds and weather - Velnius, Telchur (winter & north wind), Atroa (spring & east wind), Sotillion (summer & south wind), Wenta (autumn & west wind). Zilchus, god of money, power and trade.