Kendrin

Kendrin is a pseudonation in western Frindar. It is largely an agricultural culture, most well known as the home of Oolbatism. Its nominal capital is the city Refuge, which is also the home of the temple complex housing the Oolbat.

Government and Culture
Kendrin is not technically organized into a single nation, but is rather a collective body of large communities which all hold to Oolbatism. Because Oolbatism denounces social hierarchy and granting any person power over another, there is no centralized government. However, all of the communities revere the Oolbat, so for diplomatic purposes other nations understand them to be the head of state. The priests, which spread the Oolbat's teachings and arbitrate disputes among people, have tasks that would make them magistrates in other parts of the world. While they hold no official power over the people in their care, in practice they are the ruling class of Kendrin.

The economy of Kendrin is based largely on agriculture, and aside from technological advances taking root, has not changed significantly in thousands of years. The condemnation of passions among the Batsi forces a stagnation on their culture that has proven incredibly resilient over the years. Rather than bringing reform, Batsi who take an interest in a different way of life simply leave to find a place where they can try something new without having to struggle against the social norms, and thereby risk being ruled by their passion.

In Popular Culture
The beginning of By Light of Tattered Moon, a story about one Age of the Seeker, takes place in Refuge. While not directly stated, it is assumed that the rest of the story takes place in real and/or illusory settings within Kendrin.