The Aglington Empire

History
Founded by halfling settlers shortly after the collapse, the fist city of Aglington started out as a ramshackle collection of tents and mud huts. Initially, there was little organization in the village. People were expected to fend for themselves, and the village itself mostly served as protection from the beasts that wandered the wilderness more than any sort of community.

After a few years of this, one person decided to step up. They figured, why couldn't this ramshackle village, now made of wood and timber, be more? Why not stone? Why not more than one village? Why not an actual society existing for more than just protection? This person's name has, sadly, been lost to time and history, but most history textbooks choose to refer to them as "The Visionary." And many an academic enjoys arguing about their identity- whether they were a halfling villager, or an outsider? Were they a he? A her? A they?

Regardless of the Visionary's identity, it is unquestioned that they were instrumental in the empire's initial growth. They helped the small village expand, growing into two villages, then five, then nearly a dozen. The visionary also formed the first armies of Aglington, created festivals to celebrate grand milestones, and essentially created the infant form of all Aglington culture singlehandedly. Or, so it's believed. It's entirely possible the Visionary was multiple people, or some sort of Great Elemental.

Whatever the case, the collection of villages formed by The Visionary grew steadily over the next few centuries, until eventually the first village of Aglington, now known as Aglington City, was a sprawling urban center of trade and government, and to this day the Empire remains the largest and most technologically advanced nation of the continent.

Culture and Society
The Aglington Empire prides itself largely on its commitment to practicality. Extravagance is mostly discouraged, and self-expression is shown mostly through how efficient one is at a particular task or job. A high value is placed on personal advancement- known as "The Aglington Dream," and based largely on a person's perceived success in their career or business. Those that are perceived as not striving to be the absolute best they supposedly could be are generally treated as worthless drains on society- be they homeless, children, or people with critical illnesses and disease.

Gender Roles
The empire tries very hard to maintain some form of gender equality. There are no real expectations forced on a person due to gender or sex, and there are systems in place in business and industry that exist largely to ensure there are never more men or women working any particular job- to the point where a person could be turned down from a job or fired solely because there are too many people of their sex working that job. The system runs into a brick wall when it tries to handle the existence of nonbinary individuals, however. It is oft debated whether there are enough living in the empire to bother trying to create a 3/3/3 split, or if it's even worth making the distinction between a potential employee's gender and biological sex.

Racial Demographics and Relations
A majority of the Aglington Empire is made up of halflings. Halflings run the largest business, every parliamentary seat is filled by a halfling, and it is generally much easier to get by if one is, indeed, a halfling. Race in the empire is, however, rarely discussed in more than hushed whispers, though the problems are obvious to anyone who looks. Ogres and centaurs in particular find it difficult to find solid ground living in the empire, and those that try nearly inevitably end up homeless and living in the slums. As well, while it is a commonly held belief that gnomes are some sort of mongrel half-breed created from the union of elves and halflings, this doesn't seem to particularly affect how gnomish individuals are treated at all.

Of the minority races, orcs are by far treated the "best" (speaking in relative terms). They're considered a sort of "noble" race, and often idealized and objectified for their large stature and tusks.

Outside of halflings and orcs, "Shorter" races are generally treated best within the empire. Goblins, hylids and gnomes have a relatively easy time finding jobs or careers, and keeping away from homelessness. Dwarves, however, are essentially nonexistent in the empire, due largely to the poor relations with the mostly dwarven kingdom of Anutek.

Oddly, most of the police and guard force in the empire is made up entirely of humans and orcs. Though said police still treat halfling citizens better than even those of their own races.

Religion
Openly practiced religion is banned in the empire. It is generally okay for people to practice their religion in private, however clerics and other openly religious people often have difficulty not being harassed by law enforcement.