Norune is the trade capital of the world. The country is a mainly flat peninsula with ports and docks all along its coast. The weather is usually mild with storms being infrequent, making it a good place for businesses to be located. Sharing boarders with the Dessarian Badlands and Saguaria, raids along the boarders are common due to the nomadic peoples that live in both territories. Highwaymen are frequent sights in Norune, being constant threats to both visitors of the country as well as residents.

“If it exists, it’s in Norune” is the trader’s motto. Nearly anything can be bought, traded for, or sold in the country; including people. The slave trade of the world is centralized in Norune; some countries accepting the practice and others abolishing it. Those sold on the market can come from anywhere, though the main supply is from the naïve Anilasia. Pantherans from Icelandia are always in demand, but in short supply due to the difficult capture and re-education process. Slaves are sold with detailed paperwork, which is needed for the naturalization process in many countries; otherwise the said person is usually returned to Norune. Norune has a strict police enforcement, close to that of martial law at times. Punishments range from fines to community service, even to being sold into the slave trade.

Education in Norune consists primarily of business courses, higher trade skills, and foreign languages. Children are taught from a young age the many different languages of the world and by young ages they are fluent in many languages. It is illegal to use a child translator in a business deal but it is done regardless if the situation is desperate enough. The child is usually paid in candy.

Loyalty among Norune traders is common, and having contacts in Norune is essential for anyone in the trade business, even if located out of country. Having these contacts can get a trader access to rarer items, or cuts in prices. There are rumors of an underground language that circulates Norune; it being used by the lesser known traders that carry goods of ill repute or tainted quality. It is a sort of sign language that to the untrained eye looks like absolutely nothing at all, and is hard to pick up on if one is not highly familiar with Norune’s underground market.