Abanthus

Abanthus is a country in the Five Kingdoms, in The Crown & The Flame series. Its capital city is Lykos, known far and wide as a center of intrigue. Abanthus seems to have a more cosmopolitan flair than some of the other Kingdoms.

The Crown and The Flame
Approximately fifty years prior to the start of the story, Abanthus, being a kingdom near the coastline as well as one facing the Iron Empire, was Azura's first target for her offerings of fealty to her. Entering Lykos, its capital, Azura met with its then ruler Hector Nevrakis to discuss the terms of his surrender, only to be met with a refusal and a counter-threat of invasion. Hector began the first move against Ducitora, waging a war that would extend all the way to his great-grandson's lifetime.

Luther Nevrakis lost his father to the Iron Empire. While resuming the war, he lost his first wife to Azura's assassins. Now obsessed with the battle, Luther focused all his time in the war effort. As luck would have it, Luther was invited to a formal alliance where all the heads of state will be gathered in one place. Taking advantage of the promiscuity of the Queen of Stormholt's sister, Luther was able to invade Stormholt Castle and assassinate all the heads of state.

Now the supreme ruler of the Five Kingdoms, Luther set his relatives and associates as regents of the Kingdoms, with his daughter Zenobia regent of Abanthus, the controlling Kingdom for the first half of the series. About two years later, Zenobia was usurped by Kenna Rys, and Lykos served as the latter's temporary seat of power, with Lykos Castle holding the Nevrakis family as prisoners.

Lykos is portrayed as a city of poverty and thieves, with beggars common in the streets. It is also home to a group of spies and assassins controlling the darker, deadlier side of Lykos, the Order of the Black Asps led by the Adder of Lykos.