You are on a large continent that is the entirety of the kingdom of Dranlek, and is ruled by King Hawthorn III. He has been in charge for over 70 years, but doesn't look to be any older than 45. In fact, his appearance hasn't change for as long most can remember. Not that he is seen very often. Nobody talks about this though. People that aren't careful with what they say tend to be hauled off by the imperial guard and are never seen again.
The stories say that this Kingdom used to be a friendly place, open to all, and the various races were treated as equals. That the king himself used to be a kind and generous man. Not anymore. At this point it's rare to see anything other than humans. Others tend to be shunned and distrusted. Mostly out of fear. King Hawthorn III has expressed his disgust over the "inferior" races, and has made an attempt to rid them from his lands. Those caught consorting with them tend to be seen as sympathizers and are hauled off.
Magic has also been outlawed. The only way to practice the arcane arts is in the service of the king. When the decree was first made, some chose to stay and serve Hawthorn, but most just left. The ones that stayed and are in his employ grew rather powerful in a short span of time. Any schools teaching magic were shut down. Libraries were raided to make sure they had no magical texts. Anyone caught with magical texts, or practicing magic were hauled away.
Soon after, the High Priest declared that Emperor Hawthorn III was in fact a god among men, and the worshiping of other "lesser" gods was outlawed as well. This was met with a great deal of anger and back lash. Most of the temples to the other gods (or "true" gods and they said) refused to close. For a time it seemed they would be able to keep their doors open and continue to help the sick and the wounded. But them the Imperial Army, led by the High Priest himself, set out on a mission to close them all down. One by one, they marched on every city, every monastery, every temple. The holy men that were unwilling to convert (which was most of them) were rounded up and hauled back to the capitol city and thrown in the dungeons. The religious buildings themselves were raised to the ground so that no traces of them remained.
A few resistance groups would start to form here or there. But a reward was offered to anyone that turned in "trouble makers". Everyone was afraid of the king and his guard captains. With the borders being closed to trade, times had grown hard. So most would comply and turn people in. After a few years, things calmed down. They were by no means better, but most cities had a garrison of troops in it, and people got used to minding their own business and doing as they were told.
Dranklek became a kingdom of fear and oppression.