Need to have this blocked out for the first stretch goal.
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Scorpion of the Plains
The Mage’s Alliance’s arrival at the trans-Mississippi in 2121 AD turned out to be an opportune moment. The newly-founded kingdoms of Nebraska and the Lakes were expanding in each other’s direction, and it was clear that war would likely break out over the Iowa territories very soon. Matters were not helped by the fact that both ruling dynasties were convinced that the other was secretly in league with the much-shrunken United States, still holding out on the East Coast and stubbornly refusing to die.
It is unclear which nation first seized upon the idea of using the refugees from the East as convenient mercenaries and potential subject-allies. It was an obvious opportunity: the refugees needed land and slaves to farm it, and could offer magical services beyond the abilities of the locals. Better and better, the Mage’s Alliance was fleeing from the USA, after losing a war. That suggested that they weren’t too powerful, and could be controlled.
The MA wasted no time taking advantage. They traded limited war-magic in exchange for being granted lands in fief, which they promptly seized outright once they were strong enough. They also bought every war-captive that Nebraska and Laker slave-mongers were able to sell, paying for it with more magic. While First Mage Henderson was alive, these captives were treated as non-voting freedmen with basic civil rights. After his death in 2147 AD, their position slowly degraded over the next two centuries.
By 2150 AD the basic strategic situation in the Midwest had stabilized. The Mage’s Alliance held the rich farmland of Iowa, thus keeping Nebraska and the Lakes from ever directly fighting each other. Those two countries contested the Marcher Lands instead, spending too much time and treasure trying to bring the Illinois and Missouri territories to heel. Oddly, the MA never attempted to conquer territory east of the Mississippi, instead concentrating on the Great Plains, but they were happy to provide magical mercenaries for endless proxy wars. Every year, Nebraska and the Lakes took a little more territory that they couldn’t quite hold effectively.
And every year, the Mage’s Alliance grew just a little bit stronger.