Has anyone considered that maybe there is no plague? There probably once was, but decades after the surrounding regions have implemented their precautions to keep those from the plaguelands out, the plague itself may have simply run its course.

This gives two viable options for the plaguelands:

1. It is a blighted region imprisoned by the fortifications of the surrounding areas. Those within are forced to depend on themselves for survival, as they have no imports. The people would likely have become a tribal society, living off the land and making use of the ruined towns and villages evacuated so many years ago. Of course attempts have been made to escape into another region, but those people are quickly put down by the border guards.

Imagine their horror should they ever find out that they’ve been killing innocent, plague-free victims all this time.

2. In basically the same scenario as above, but the plaguelands have since become a thriving utopia. Crops grow in abundance, rivers flow clean, etc. Of course the populace is more than content to let those on the outside think what they will. I think that in this scenario there should be some blighted border of some sort, just to keep the perception to outsiders that the land is indeed still inhospitable.

Just my two cents… carry on.