A small, militaristic state on the eastern shores of the Hillayet Sea, this land was settled originally by the Yanoshi. Though brought into the empire, they were never fully "civilized". In modern times, they have reverted to the Yanoshi ways, with several castes and a violent character. The Nonadir Heirate is small and fairly backwards; its economy is based on fishing, lumber, and hiring out as mercenaries. Nonadir pirates are a constant menace along the Keller coasts.
Though the Nonadir separated from mainstream Yanoshi culture centuries ago, they remain recognizably related. The basic unit of Nonadir culture is the "Holding", an extended family of Nonadir warriors and nobles, owners of agricultural lands worked by a contingent of serfs, bolstered by numbers of slaves, depending on a variety of factors. The warriors possess power of life and death over their serfs, who are kept docile and subservient primarily through fear. Nonadir men are raised to be warriors from birth, constantly and harshly tested, with death or injury being the usual price of failure. Nonadir women are generally kept in the home, rarely seen, and charged with administration of the Holding and the production of sons - though valued, they are not considered equals. The primary differences between the Yanoshi and the Nonadir are religious and political. The Yanoshi serve a "God King", an absolute ruler who in turn serves a deity named Yanok; the God-King of Yanosh claims descent from Yanok, who demands blood sacrifices in exchange for blessings. The Nonadir were "liberated" from this system by the Keller Empire about a thousand years ago, in a legendary event called "The Sundering of the Fetters"... as the story goes, the Nonadir were freed from the thrall of their demon-god by the divine power of the Keller sun god Aurintuli, and his representative the Emperor. Ironically, the Keller Emperor claims descent from Aurintuli.
With the end of human sacrifice as a part of the economy, the Nonadir were able to settle into a more stable and productive social system, albeit still geared around warfare. The Nonadir modified the Yanoshi core doctrine of the "Analects of Strife" into something called the "Radiant Way" - it is functionally identical, but incorporates a great deal of Keller religious dogma and solar cult imagery.
In the last two years, there was a great deal of political conflict between two camps in Nonadir society - one conservative faction supported the "Linealist" idea that the Keller Imperial family was in fact descended from Aurintuli, while other rebellious factions believed that the current rullers had lost that divine mandate, and were merely typical grasping aristocrats. When the new Emperor took the throne and called the Heirarch (the ruler of the Nonadir) to his side as a trusted advisor, a short struggle erupted. The conservative faction won, the Nonadir Heirate joined the Keller Empire as the Province of Nonadir, and the Heirarch was named "Grand Duke". The rebels were deprived of land and titles, executed or exiled. Most scattered through the Keller Lands, where they have been finding positions within the armies of those opposing the current wave of Keller Imperial expansion.