Some radical suggestions:
There are around 190 nobles in dwilght. That means if you ct the playable map area to 60 regions you will have an average density of 3 nobles per region. I have 2 ideas as to how to achieve this:
(1) Simple. Rogue make the entire west uninhabitable including Madina and Islands but not Dhara. Ice makes the north uninhabitable down to Aegirs Deep. Ice makes the south uninhabitable up to Orz bridge wiping out everything up to the bottom half of Luria. Result is around 60 inhabitable regions.
(2) Complex. Redesign the whole map taking every 7 regions and making them into one region. I think you'll end up with around 60 regions and the whole east and west will be opened up. Its a new map but I think it will keep the flavour of the old one and preserve continuity.
Either of these solutions will solve the problem without resorting to unpredictable devices. And they have the advantage of being a quick hit rather than the current death by a thousand cuts. Pease consider these options.
Cheers
