War of the Tides
It's a volcanic rock salt with solarium veins that work in harmony with the Weave. Some pieces are so active, you almost don't need a cyphermancer to interact with it. If anyone in the Southern Spires, Hemko League, or Nishi had any sense they wouldn't shed blood over it, they'd throw it as far away as possible before it kills us all.
The War of the Tides was a series of bloody military engagements between the Southern Spires kingdom, the Tahbek of Nishi and the Hemko League in the Ilfar Islands region. This conflict took place over five years, finally ending in 2013 AF at the Battle of Red Harbor that claimed the lives of 43,200 people and destroyed the port town of Kahm-to on Habariol Island.
Cause of the conflict was because of the discovery of a new source of volcanic sabecite in the Ilfar Islands that contained veins of the mineral solarium which reacts with energy such as sunlight, or manipulation of The Weave. Tensions grew over the limited resource until war erupted in the late spring of 2008 AF.
War of the Tides was officially brought to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Arbakal in 2013 AF.
The Conflict
In the summer of 2005 AF, a young fisherman discovered a previously unknown deposit of sabecite on the southern side of Habariol Island inside an ancient lava tube. Closer examination of the sabecite by the Jurtel Mining Guild revealed the entire deposit to be laced with high-quality solarium, a mineral known for its natural ability to store and emit energy, such as sunlight. As there is only a 10% chance that solarium will be found in a sabecite deposit, the 40-mile long tube filled with the solarium-sabecite mixture was a rare find.
Sabecite was already valuable as it is one of the primary means of keeping water pumps and aqueducts free of being overgrown by Waterseed grass. Solarium, because of its natural ability to store and interact with energy such as sunlight, has wide use from light sources to lightwave communication technologies. Also, heating water post-treatment for waterseed to remove solarium salt. Having both minerals combined allowed for a vast improvement in the purification process.
Since solarium and sabecite are separately used over many continents in such ways, the lava tunnel on Habariol Island provided a boon for the government of the Illfar Islands, the Hemko League. Mining operations began, and the newly processed ore arrived on the trade markets across Ilfar and then across the Inner Sear to Southern Spires, Nishi, Strathwine, Brenzabia, and other markets.
Sabecite had initially been exported by merchants out of Nishi, Southern Spires and the more northern reaches of Strathwine Barony, Majis, and similar locations. However, the Ilfarian deposit changed everything.
Demand for the new solarium-sabecite overshadowed the need for sabecite from other locations. For some countries, such as Strathwine Barony, Brenzabie, and Majis, this wasn't a large impact on their economy. Sabecite, while valuable, wasn't their primary export. However, for markets in Southern Spires and Nishi where sabecite was a larger part of their economy, the effect was devastating.
Southern Spires saw a drop in demand for their goods over those from the Hemko League to where it affected their economy. Nishi, whose trade rests on their sabecite mines, almost collapsed. Negotiation, price adjustments, and tariffs were tried and ultimately failed. Things came to a head when a crew of freebooters looted a pair of ships headed out over the Inner Sea from Hemko League. It was discovered those freebooters were privateers working on behalf of the Tahbek of Nishi. The information about the privateers was uncovered when the Hemko League wrested control of the same shipment from a set of privateers in the employ of the Southern Spires kingdom.
Open warfare broke out in the late spring of 2008 AF when the Southern Spires passenger ship, Arabis, was destroyed during a botched boarding attempt. All hands and passengers aboard were lost.
My peers, fellow Merchant Prince and Princesses of the Southern Spires. That ship, the Arabis, housed passengers. Our people! Not cargo. Not this "miracle compound". Yet, the greed of the Nishi merchant houses can only see money. They are a threat that must be stopped!
Results and Aftermath
The war came to a bloody end at the Battle of Red Harbor where Southern Spires, Nishi, and Hemko League forces fought for control over the port of Kahm-to on Habariol Island. Kahm-to was the main port of call for transport of the solarium-sabecite ore. The battle raged for four days, ending when a cyphermancer was killed while using the Weave to craft a plasma ball cypher. The half-finished cypher struck a dockside warehouse of solarium-sabecite ore causing a chain reaction that vaporized 60% of Kahm-to and 90% of the naval fleets in the harbor.
The Shroud Society stepped in after, brokering talks that resulted in the Treaty of Arbakal that was signed in Arbakal city on the island of Tasfe in 2013 AF. The result of this redrew boundaries, allowing Nishi to absorb territory along the Inner Sea coastline. This cut off Southern Spires from the Inner Sea, a fact that doesn't sit well with the Merchant Princes of the Southern Spires.
The mine on Habariol Island was quarantined and placed under the management of the Shroud Society as the ore was considered dangerous and export banned pending more study on the solarium-sabecite compound. The Shroud currently maintains an active research settlement there that is, per treaty agreements, observed by representatives from Southern Spires, Nishi, and the Hemko League.
Where there's a will, there's a way. I've got the will, the pay you'll hand over? Well, that's the way.
To date, no solarium-sabecite is legally available on the open trade markets outside of highly restricted purchases between countries. However, there is a thriving smuggling market that exists for solarium-sabecite that causes a thin flow of the rare compound to be available for those willing or desperate enough to pay for it.
Technology Advancements
Technology advancements came out of the war, finding their place among society. Improvements in lightwave wireless communications and treatment processes to remove waterseed grass from water supplies were some benefits. Clockwork-solarium airships and advanced designs in pyreshaws began to fuel new merchant crafts in vehicles and vehicle design.
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