The security concerns Seelima had for Matrak were indeed legitimate. The province was the largest of its brethren yet wielded one of the smaller populations, numbering only 4 to 5 million due to the cold, northern climate and harsh geography.
For context, Adhan, the capital of the country had a population reaching close to 10 million prior to the deadly drought despite possessing half the land, and even the originally poorest Zanzan province with rocky, heavy soil had roughly the same population.
And even that was beginning to improve with Alexander's agricultural and economic reforms. People from Adhan, Kuleef, and Ankoot were slowly starting towards this land looking for more opportunities.
It would still take quite a while for this change to become visible, but in the future, Zanzan looked to be on track to far outgrow Matrak.
