That was my experience there as well; hence why my character their emigrated. Seemed to have a pretty strong OOC clique; like Eston before the Treaty of Hawthorne.
Out of curiosity, what gave you this impression? As I recall, Onamont got the first Lordship that came available despite being fairly new to the realm because of the services he rendered as an adventurer.
There isn't and hasn't been an OOC group in Kindara. I was there from day one. Alpha had a part in probably every decision that was made in the almost 3 years of Kindara's existence, so if such a group was present I would know. The ruling council has typically been closely knit, but changes when council members are replaced.
