Tbh, D'Hara is doing just fine - the help from allies made a big difference to helping us fight off the monsters but generally speaking we have a good noble density and enough nobles to drive internal activity so we're pretty well off compared to Madina/Fissoa.
Madina has a psychological territorial problem. That big island is just a
natural expanse for them to hold, and historically it was rather easy for them to do, despite everything else. Aurvandil aside, there was never anyone else who was ever in a position to really invade Madina, nor who really tried, so it didn't matter how bad the realm was, it was basically impossible to fail at holding the whole island. The realm has taken that territory for granted for so long, it's probably hard to accept any change to this.
But the game changed. Madina isn't as isolated at it once was. It has to up its game to be somewhat on par with the rest of the continent, because the monster threat is more diffuse and as continental denisty goes down, it pressure keeps stacking up until one of the realms (or many) start failing. It's really kind of a war by proxy. Fight the other realms by holding out longest.
Fissoa is a similar situation, minus the natural territorial expanse. Save for a few wars with Luria (which it mostly tried to avoid at all costs, due to the overwhelming odds it represented), it never really had any enemies to deal with, with Madina back door and the seas on other sides.
Both realms need to adapt, though. And not just to holding less land. These monsters, they are forcing interaction. To which you can react in many ways. You can help a realm annex another, for example, doing so can drastically reduce the density in your "ally", making him a much larger target to the next rogue invasion. You can try to reduce or destroy a realm; doing so increases the continental density, thus staving off the next monster invasion. You can try to be legitimately nice, force deal with neighbors, and collaborate. Mount organized defenses and the like, so that when the hordes strike, you fare better, or at least recuperate faster. You can go hunt the nearby rogues between the invasions, so as to lessen what will come for you when they trigger. You can invest in better RCs, walls, militia. Draw up contingency plans.
In short, you can do a ton of things about these monsters.
But if you just sit back and take for granted that you are entitled to 13-14 regions despite only having 14 nobles, yea, you might have trouble, and might grow frustrated with the results you obtain.
Arnor and Morek both have less nobles than Madina has, but from all appearances are more dynamic. It's not just about noble count.
