Haradrin and the Suneriv river valley

Haradrin was the old Elven capital. After the fall of the government, the Elves abandoned the city as being indefensible with their armies scattered. The city was briefly occupied by Hobgoblins and Orcs. This occupation was quickly ended by a human army that had formed when various human freedom rebel groups United and managed to gain the support of remaining human population now no longer governed by the elves.

When the elves left to the west, they did not take with them their half elven descendants. Deeming them not purely elven and tainted with treacherous human blood, they were abandoned on mass. These half elves who had previously enjoyed a privileged position in society found themselves robbed of this status and surrounded by a human population that typically resented them.

With the liberation of Haradrin there was a call that went out for those who had knowledge of the language and institutions of the Empire to help rebuild what was lost. The humans we eager to pick up what was left behind by the elves and preferred not to have to start from scratch. This was a niche that the half elves were perfectly suited to fill and they were welcomed to do it.

When half elves breed they produce more half elves. Thus over time the Half elves have come to form a core upper class in Haradrin and control most of the commerce in the city. This has caused resentment as people are starting to feel that they traded they're pointy eared overlords for ones with slightly less pointy ears.

The influence of the half elves in Haradrin is counter balanced by the surrounding country which is mainly human and from which the army takes its soldiers. Haradrin may be the commercial Centre of the region, but the heart of the people beats from Lykakov keep to the north. The keeps guards the main entrance to the Suneriv valley from the north. Captured by humans early on after the fall of Harada, it stood against many battles and horrific sieges over the next century, but never fell. This allowed the human forces to sweep the valley clean of goblinoid invaders.

While there were the occasional small scale incursions of small raiding parties, the northern hordes never breached the valley. This lack of prolonged and large scale deprivations allowed the region to recover quickly.

The City Mshana  is the military and spiritual Centre of the Suneriv valley and acts as a counterpoint to the economic influence of the Half Elves in Haradrin. Mshana is located at the northern end of the valley at the foot of the path that lead up the escarpment to the Keep of Lykakov.

Horodoc. It's a hill town with a keep. Guards the best pass through the hills on the eastern edge leading into the Suneriv valley. Was also the scene of a few large battles after the Elven fall. The geography of the pass made it an even more easily defended site than Lykakov keep. This contributed to the fewer number of battles, as most attackers never bothered once seeing the formidable defences arrayed to protect the pass. Lykakov Keep was a much easier target in comparisson and thus is the reason for the greater number of battles to try and take it, and this also the reason that it has a greater cultural significance for the populace.