I disagree. Density changes nothing to geography. Luria always had a lot of nobles. Sure, it might be large realm, but the density was never anywhere near as bad as it was in Morek or Corsanctum.
Yet... it has a desert to cross to get to its Southern neighbor. Another desert to cross to get to its western neighbor. A huge frigging mountain range to go North. And nothing but water East. As long as Luria remains a single realm, you could double its noble density, triple it, it won't matter. The geographic barriers remain.
Morek has the seas North of it. And East of it. And West of it. South, a mountain range.
Fissoa has the seas South of it. And East of it. And West of it. North, a desert.
For good and for bad, Dwilight was designed this way. It's my understanding that the idea of having a vast continent, with subcontinents, would allow for interesting diplomacy where it is impossible for everyone to always get involved in everything. I assume, however, that it was also presumed that realms would be a lot smaller. Dwilight's history decided otherwise, however, as those who wanted to rule and govern had an easier time settling abroad than trying to compete for land close to home. Those already established, equally, had greater interests in sponsoring far-off colonies than sharing anything close to home. Even if politics were different, though, would it really fix anything? Dwilight geography is still linear, especially when you take out the western half. Break Morek apart, somehow, and you still end up with realms where most borders are either the seas, the river, or mountains.
