Editing Autia (section)

==='''The Malorite War'''===

History:

Although generally not considered a trading nation, the Kingdom of Yr does sometimes trade gold for rare strategic resources that will help it in its never-ending war with Nantes. About a hundred years ago, the Union conquered the Malsolia Coast, and began exporting large quantities of Malorite Ore. Yr quickly found several arcane uses for Malorite and became one of the main purchasers of the ore. However, about fifty years later, the Imperium of Dright, using a mix of lucrative trade deals and the threat of invasion, managed to acquire a monopoly on all Malorite exported from Malsolia.

Angered by this perceived slight, Yr unleashed its best succubi, demagogues, and demonbinders against both Dright and the Union to stir up rebellions, summon demons, and forge strange and new creations from captured vehicles and equipment. Sensing weakness, Alkor, Belkan, and Harlbourg took the opportunity to conquer several colonies belonging to the Union and Dwight, and even some belonging to the Shahdom (allied to The Union at the time).

By the time the dust settled, the alliance of Alkor, Belkan, and Harlbourg had acquired several small colonies, but more importantly, Malsolia gained its independence from The Union, and agents of Yr continue to cause havoc against the Dright to this day.

Present Situation:

Arguably the Malorite War never really ended, it just entered a slower moving phase. Malsolia signed trade deals with Dwight, which also provides it with a certain amount of protection against the Union, though everyone knows eventually the Union will try to retake Malsolia. Secret deals have been signed between Yr and the Union to split Malsolia between them, and the increased cooperation between these two old enemies is becoming increasingly apparent to everyone else. Meanwhile, Utopian privateers harass nearly everyone except Malsolia and the Freedom Coalition, the Freedom Coalition sabotages the remaining Union colonies, the Shahdom tries to regain relevance on the continent by assisting Malsolia, Malsolia seeks to start a war between The Union and the Maritime Khurultai, and Alkor and the Lapus Elves wait to see what opportunities the next phase of this war will bring.

Factions:

The Union - The loss of Malsolia and several other minor colonies was a significant humiliation for The Union, and they have invested significantly modernizing a portion of their air force and navy, and fortifying their remaining colonies since then. Up until recently, their efforts were almost constantly thwarted by Yrian sabotage, but the recent alliance with Yr means their main rivals are now the Freedom Coalition, Utopia, and Dright, none of whom have proven nearly as adept at subterfuge as Yr. For the past several years they have slowly been building up a substantial sized force among the island chains west of Lapus, and it is only a matter of time before they assault Malsolia directly. Unlike their infamously poorly equipped militias back home, the Union military units in the Lapus region have fairly modern equipment, though their lack of magic users (officially) remains a weakness.

Imperium of Dright - Dright was also harmed by the events of fifty years ago, but not as badly. By backstabbing the Union at the height of the previous war, they were allowed to establish many trade concessions in Malsolia, while several other mines gave Dright favorable terms in Malorite exports. However, Dright has many enemies in this region. Their vessels and trade concessions are raided by both The Union and Yr, while back in the core Dright nation, Yrian agents continue to sponsor rebellions, summon demons, and create strange, new "Iron Beasts". Due to their inability to breath normal air, as well as the general selfishness of the Dright race, the Dreeght themselves make up only a relatively small portion of the Dright Imperium's oversea forces. Instead they rely heavily on foreign mercenaries like Balorians, Lindgrubians, evil minded fey, Afzen Amazons, Union renegades, Arctic Elves, Darhuns, Harbourgians, and orcs. On their home turf, they continue to rely heavily on mercenaries, though lower class Dreeght also quite common among security forces and slave handlers. Since humans and most other races require expensive specialized masks to operate safely in the core areas of Dright, relying completely on mercenaries simply isn't an option. Mercenary work for Dright pays very well, and comes with high end loaned equipment and other side benefits, but thanks to Drights sinister reputation, only the most amoral mercenaries will work for them, many of whom have no qualms about turning against their employer if the odds are against them.

Kingdom of Yr - Never a strong nation to begin with, the centuries old war with Nantes has sapped much of their people and economy even before the coup by demon worshippers and their creations. Since then, there has been massive emigration, as well as the sacrifice and/or enslavement of much of the remaining population. Therefore, particularly with the war with Nantes ongoing, the Yrians have become masters of using demonbinding and demonic magic in ways even other demon worshippers find reckless. Conventional forces are reserved mostly for defensive duties, while summon demons and demon infused constructs are used for most offensive fighting. In the Lapus Theatre, Yr's small navy is mostly used to ship Malorite from their concessions and small colonies back to Yr. Likewise, soldiers mostly guard the concessions and colonies rather than be used offensively. Instead, shapeshifting succubi and Yrian warlocks cause havoc behind enemy lines with assassinations, enchantments, sabotage of key equipment, unleashing summoned demons to wreck havoc, and creating Iron Beasts and other constructs to attack, spy, or sabotage. Yr is hated for their demon worshipping ways, and is attacked by nearly everyone in the region, likewise, they freely attack anyone in the region when the mood strikes them, though Dright remains their favorite target, where desperate slaves are easily converted to demon worship. However, foreign intelligence groups have noted the Union and Yr are working increasingly in lockstep.

Malsolia - Malsolia has been preparing for the inevitable Union retaliation for ages. Malsolia has a reasonable sized stockpile of military equipment captured from the Union, including many ships. On top of this, they are sometimes able to infuse particularly reckless individuals with magic via primitive experiments with Malorite. However, the general consensus is they can't handle the Union by themselves, particularly now that the Yrians are involved. Malsolia receives some support from Dright, the Shahdom, the Freedom Coalition, and Utopia, but Alkor has thus far refused to help out as long as trade treaties favor Dright.

Utopia - The fighters of Utopia consist mostly of recruits from the Nantic States, aided by members of the Silver Goddesses Amazon tribe. They possess several highly fortified island bases, and a range of captured ships used for privateering. Highly idealistic, they raid pretty much anyone, including the Union, Yr, and Afrolia, who they see as evil, as well as any Alkorian or Harbourgian vessel suspected of being involved in slavery. They are allied with Malsolia, and as a result, grudgingly leave Dright vessels alone, though refuse to leave Afrolia vessels alone, a frequent source of tension between Malsolia, Dright, and Utopia. Utopia is also allied with the Freedom Coalition for raids against the Union, and with Aquatica for raids against pretty much anyone except Afrolian and Alkor.

Afrolia - The main supplier of slaves to Dright, Afrolia is seen as essential to keeping the Imperium's economy running, due to their tendency to give low quality gas masks to slaves. Afrolia ships are frequently targeted by the Union, Yr, and Utopia. Alkor grudgingly protects Afrolia ships due to an ancient treaty, but due to their hatred of Dwight, Alkor is slow to aid Afrolia compared to in other regions of the world. A notable exception to this are the Narrowstead Guards, a quasi-government mercenary force of Alkorian vessels paid hansomely to guard Afrozil assets regardless of the morality involved.

Alkor - Alkor remains a major player in this region, but for now tries to preserve its forces until others have weakened each other first. The general consensus is that they will likely protect their existing assets while letting the Union, Yr, and Dright wear each other down, before offering Malsolia their protection in return for favorable trade terms. They occasionally skirmish with Yr and Utopia, but for now neither Alkor nor the Union is keen on fighting each other in this region.