Newlucia is the name given to a collection of Feudal States that claimed independence and thus gained a sort of autonomy, though tied through many bonds through their historical union.
Over time relations between each state broke down–at first, over matters of trade, particularly of pomegranites–used heavily in what were the Rituals of Newlucia.
These disagreements eventually came down to the tennant farmers who, rather than uniting against the Lords, instead turned against each other as they furiously defended their plots of land.
The escalation of these disputes resulted in a great many bloody battles and such was the profusion of bodies that a winding line of rich forest now separates each state as a border, the roots of the trees fed by the blood of the fallen.
Michael Scott Hand 