The Great Accord

The Great War was ended by the signing of the Matango Accord, in late 2994. The primary goal of the Accord was to prevent any future conflict of that scale. Parties, beyond the Great Powers had vested interests ensuring the signing and success of the Accord.

Throughout the Great War, the Kingdom of Matango , homeland of the Mycoons, remained neutral and managed to deter any threat of invasion. This relatively small plateaux was sparsely populated and few non-Mycoons dared travel there for fear of dying from their spores (see race section). However, as the war dragged on, a constant flow of refugees from both the Republic and the Empire arrived to their cliffs. In a surprising act of mercy, though guided by a long term strategy, King Melanosporum allowed the refugees to settle the unused arable lands of their plateaux in exchange for fealty and taxes on their production. In addition to settling the countryside, the refugees built a large city around the undermountain city of Matango proper and opened additional mines. The Kingdom of Matango quickly became a massive exporter of food to both sides, and given the market price of grain during the war, Matango turned from an isolated, unassailable backwater nation to a wealthy trade powerhouse. It was from that position of strength that Matango brokered the peace treaty.

The second major contributor to the Accord was the Banking Federation . The great banks rose to prominence in the decades nearing the end of the Age of Emancipation and was already an unavoidable actor of international relations during the years just before the Great War. By that time, the great banks had formalized their relationship into the Federation. They made extensive use of modern magic to operate across vast distances without requiring to transport the gold. With the birth of the Federation came the introduction of an international form of paper currency: the Gold Piece Equivalent (GPE). The terms of the banking alliance included a mutual defense pact which meant that any move against any individual member by either the Republic or the Empire meant that the rest of the Federation would throw their support in for its opponent. Needless to say, neither side could afford to lose access to the credit offered by the Banking Federation. Nevertheless, many of the major individual banks gradually, and covertly, moved most of their gold reserves to Matango to insure against potential desperate moves. King Melanosporum, accepted the banks with open arms, though he obtained generous payments up front and imposed taxes on their transactions, further securing the Kingdom’s wealth.

Both the Empire and the Republic were in dire need of funds to rebuild their respective economy and infrastructure. The kingdom of Matango and the Banking Federation were happy to lend credit but the loan conditions were written into the accords with steep interest penalties should either side not abide by the terms of the treaty.

A final note about the Matango Accord: it formalized the independence of Shima Island under the rule of the local Mage Collective.

Fragmentation of the Empire

With the external threat of the Republic gone, the city-states of the Empire were keen to get more autonomy and were reducing their contribution to the central budget to support the military. The backbone of the Empire’s military were the legions of Dragonborns, fiercely loyal to the Imperial family. It eventually became known that Amadeus was behind their destruction, not the Republic. The Imperial army pretty much dissolved within a year of the end of the war. Entire brigades attempted coups against Amadeus but he managed to ward them off with his remaining human and undead troops. For three years, Amadeus’ forces conducted massive reprisal attacks against the Dragonborns, and to a lesser extent the Kobolds, in the province of Thamasa, forcing a mass exodus. The loss of their ancestral home and of their place in Imperial society were catastrophic for Dragonborn populations. They resettled among the territories of various imperial provinces and city-states, forming new settlements or integrating with local populations. Some groups became nomadic tribes working as mercenary forces.

In fits and starts, city-states and provinces broke away from the Empire over a period of 15 years post great war. To this day, Amadeus rules from the city of New Thamasa, though his kingdom does not hold a candle to the glorious days of the Empire. In fact, while he still claims the title of Emperor, most of his rivals refer to him as the Lich King, as a reminder of the diminished scope of his domaine.