The Allantai Concord is a hub alliance that was formed between five hubs in the Nordic-Polar region of Mid-Deep around BV 200 and persists to this day.
Member Hubs
There are five hubs who are members of the Allantai Concord.
Allantai
A sprawling hub located in a long, low cavern, Allantai's capture and near-destruction was the catalyst to the formation of the Allantai Concord, which is named after the hub. It is ruled by a single monarch with absolute power, and its vast artisan's quarter allows Allantai to be one of the largest suppliers of fine goods to the Concord. It is one of two hubs situated the closest to Galactus' magnetic north.
Aisis
The layout of Aisis is unique in that it was once actually two smaller hubs, whose proximity to one another eventually led to a merging of power. Aisis is now divided into two halves, Upper and Lower Aisis, so named because Upper Aisis sits about 500 feet up on a massive rock ledge that bisects the cavern. To travel between the two sectors, one must either travel on the stairs, use a basket-lift, or fly on the back of one of the massive bats that inhabits this cavern. Aisis is ruled by a council of hereditarily selected members.
Borsas
Located just southwest of Allantai, the hub of Borsas is the smallest member of the Concord. It was the second hub to be overrun and one of the first advocates, after its own near-destruction, for the creation of an alliance n case of future disasters. Despite its small size, it has a lot of skilled weapon- and armorsmiths, whose talents are used to supply the collective armies of the Concord in times of need.
Klatting
Situated between Aisis and Allantai, Klatting is densely populated despite being the second smallest in area of the members of the Concord. Because they were not able to built out, the architects and masons of Klatting have instead built up, creating towering spires packed closely together like bundles of reeds. A complex series of bridges, stairways, and ladders allows one to travedl from one end of Klatting to the other without touching the ground, which is just as well since Klatting often experiences swarms of acid mites which crowd the cavern floor and cause serious damage when stepped upon.
Lidvall
Lidvall has made a reputation for itself as a very militaristic hub, whose primary position of power is held by its General. All of its citizens are required to complete two years of military service, and many choose to continue their careers in these positions. Lidvallian society places little importance on the arts, and as such the hub often needs to borrow artisans from other hubs to help boost its productivity, especially in regards to weaponry and food. On the other hand, Lidvall can easily supply military power to other hubs in times of strife.
The Nordic-Polar Alliance is made up of five hubs: Allantai, Borsas, Lidvall, Aisis, and Klatting. Each hub holds equal sway within the alliance when decisions are being made, unless the decision in question more heavily affects one or more hubs, in which case those to whom it is most relevant are given more consideration and influence. The main parties who actually take place in the deliberations and decision-making process are the leaders of each hub, or in the case of a hub that has no singular ruler, an individual nominated by other members of their council or ruling class. Each hub is also allotted two additional diplomats, who are decided by either the hub's leader or by the inhabitants of that hub, depending on each hub's government. All representatives of each hub are expected to attend regular alliance meetings, to share news of their respective hubs or to bring up issues that could impact the whole of the alliance. Each decision that the alliance makes must receive approval from at least sixty percent of representatives, which is equivalent to the total approval of three of the five hubs in the alliance. Since not all of the representatives of a hub will necessarily agree on the same issues, this method of approval ensures that singular members of a particular hub do not obstruct what their other hub-fellows wish to see happen. Once decisions are made and policies agreed upon, representatives return to their respective hubs and put those policies into action. If, after the policies are enacted, unforeseen consequences cause some or all representatives to change their minds and renege their approval, the council will meet again for an emergency meeting to determine how to proceed.
The Nordic-Polar Alliance is intended to promote the survival and persistence of its five member hubs. Each has pledged to come to the aid of the others should need arise, as the members believe that the fall of one hub would mark the beginning of the end for the four remaining hubs due to their proximity to one another.
The Nordic-Polar Alliance has access to the combined resources and strength of its five member hubs. In times of need, it can call upon each hub to provide the collective cause with resources such as gold, wealth, weaponry, food, materials, and even troops as necessary. It may also call for leaders in technological or strategic fields to provide assistance and guidance where the representatives may lack. It is difficult to estimate the Alliance's total assets at any one time because each hub is rather protective of such information and may exaggerate or downplay their strength when not in times of need, although honesty is required when the Alliance must address collective threatens or issues that require the pooling or allocation of resources.
The Nordic-Polar Alliance was first formed around BV 200, when Allantai, one of the two hubs closest to magnetic north, was overrun by an army of monsters that had been amassing just outside its perception over the last year or so. Attacks by armies such as this are fairly common in the Deep, where resources can sometimes be scarce and prosperous hubs look like appealing targets to large groups of monsters, who may not have access to all of the same technologies that some hubs have which allow them to maximize their resource production.
When Allantai was first attacked, it sent several runners through the tunnels of Mid-Deep to locate nearby hubs and ask for help in exchange for some of the hub's resources. The first hub that was located was the neighboring Klatting, which refused to help because it did not have an army prepared to venture away from the hub. Borsas also refused, on the grounds that it did not want to waste its precious resources defending a hub other than itself. By the time a runner reached Lidvall and Aisis, Allantai was completely overrun and many of its citizens were killed or fled into the tunnels. Following closely behind them were the front edges of the monster army, on their way to capture the survivors and to begin ransacking other settlements nearby. Borsas was quickly overtaken, and Klatting, Aisis, and Lidvall began to realize that they would be next. Working quickly, each hub soon stood its army and marched towards the two falling hubs. Their organized and prepared armies easily outmatched the surprised and thinly spread monsters, who abandoned the ransacked hubs and took their spoils with them as they fled.
In thanks for their assistance, Borsas and Allantai sent gifts of some remaining resources and pledged to send more once they had recovered. The events of these attacks left the hubs wondering what might have happened if they had still ignored the pleas for help - would they too have been overrun, as Borsas had been? It was determined that the best way to proceed should such an event happen again was to form an alliance and send aid to one another when it was needed. Although this was first an unofficial alliance, once the ideas of treaties and diplomatic agreements has spread from the surface world to the Deep, the five hubs created what they dubbed the Allantai Concord around AV 300, which made their alliance official to the rest of the world. Since then, the terms of this concord have expanded to include material aid and the deployment of folk providing specialized labor such as medical care or construction should a hub require it.
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