Kelir, "The Middle Kingdom", is perhaps the most traveled of all the kingdoms, due to it's location. Because it is quite literally the kingdom that connects all the others, it is nearly impossible to travel without ending up in Kelir at some point. This has lead to Kelir being a melting pot of the cultures of the other kingdoms. It is not uncommon to see Elves and Dwarves working a field together during the day and sharing drinks together at night in the tavern owned by an Orc and Human couple.
Kelir is mainly plains, with some wooded areas and rivers in the North East of the kingdom. The land is exceptionally furtile, meaning it is mainly covered in farmland, and small villiages.
However, Kelir has been the site of numerous battles, and in places the land still bears the scars of war. It is not unheard of for swords, axes, and even suits of armor to be found by a farmer plowing a new field.
The capital city of Bala is famous for it's quick transformation into one of the greatest strongholds in the land.
The four major cities along Kelir's border leading into the four other Kingdoms were also transformed into miniature versions of Bala, turning them into impressive fortresses in their own right. Even to this day, they are the main centers of entry to Kelir, because they offer the most protection to travelers.
The most famous battle site in the whole of Kelir are the Fields of Kemer. Once, the fields were beautiful rolling green hills, often used as the site of prayers or rituals to Veza due to the natural beauty of the area. Now the fields are covered with deep cracks in the earth and scars as if giant claws tore at the ground. In the center of the fields are the Weapons of the Heros, mostly burried in the ground. For whatever reason, grass and other plants will not grow where magic damaged tore at the landscape, leaving the fields to remain mostly unchanged since the days after the battle.
It is believed that Veza herself has cursed the land, preserving it as a reminder of the folly of magic.
Until Queen Ratha, Kelir has gotten the short end of every war of the Five Kingdoms. Because of this, it's been home to displaced refugees, diserters, injured soldiers, and everyone in between.
Unlike other Kingdoms, Kelir does not have a ruling family. Instead, when a ruler is nearing their twilight years, the call goes out for people who wish to rule. Each town puts forth a single candidate. That candidate leaves for the capital. Once there, a public interview of all the candidates is held, with members of the Court looking for a candidate to sponsor. If a candidate is sponsored, they move on to the final round of candidates.
A candidate's sponsor is expected to prepare a candidate for interviews with the Ruling Family, the General of the Armies, and the Court Regent (a position the Court picks for itself as it sees fit). These three groups all get a single vote. Candidates who did not get a single vote are elliminated. Then, if more than a single candidate is left, every city in Kelir is given the list of remaining candidates, and asked to rank them from most prefered to least. The candidate ranked the most preferable is chosen. Should there be a tie, the current Ruler (or Court Regent, if the current ruler is incapable of casting a vote) makes the choice.
This complicated, but vaguely democratic process has lead to Kelir's rulers to be some of the most popular in the history of the Five Kingdoms. Often, the heirs of the current Ruling family are chosen, due to the Ruler's popularity, but (as was the case with Queen Ratha) sometimes completely unknown people are given the throne.
In the case of a Ruler dying unexpectedly, the General of the Armies, or the Court Regent holds power until the process can be followed.
The accords were the most recent treaty signed by the Five Kingdoms. It ditcates how disputes are solved among the kingdoms. Each kingdom agrees to come to the aid of those being attacked. It designates Kelir in general and Bala specifically as neutral ground upon which any representative of a Kingdom may negotiate without fear of harm. The Kingdoms also agree to keep a portion of their forces in the city of Bala, for immediate deployment should one Kingdom attack another. By the same turn, should Kelir ever be the aggressor, all other Kingdoms already have strongholds in the capital city.
It also specifies that prisoners should be treated with respect, and that citizens displaced by a Kingdom's Army should be given aid and supplies, and a best effort to shelter and protect those citizens as if they were a Kingdom's own should be made.
The current ruler, Queen Ratha, has made history numerous times. When she took the thrown, it was the first time that an unknown citizen had ranked higher on the all-city vote over an existing Ruler's heir. It was also the first time that someone so young had been apointed ruler; she was only eighteen when she took the throne.
From there, her popularity only grew as she became the only Ruler in history to win against all four other Kingdoms at once.