Southern Fringe Declares Independence

As the both of the Enlightened nation-states expended more and more resources maneuvering against each other, the cities and towns within the Scarlet Wastes and along the southern edge of the Fearthest Plains were left to fend for themselves. Assailed by marauding natives, savage monsters, and bloodthirsty bandits, these communities took their defense upon themselves. Signing a series of treaties offering each other protection and preferable trade, these cities and towns declared themselves independent of both Tierra Ug'Eres and the Klavian Protectorate, and the region came to be known as the Southern Fringe, the very edge of civilization.

Along the southern portion of both Tierra Ug'Eres and the Klavian Protectorate, numerous communities had been founded during the Age of Expansion. Extending into the Scarlet Wastes and the grassland called the Fearthest Plains, these communities were mostly fed by trade, as the more temperate climate made for a longer travel season through the arid flatland well into winter. Most of these towns were little more than waystations along trade routes but a few, including Reyo Seco , were thriving young cities filled with hardy peoples with ambitious minds. For the decades of peace between Tierra Ug'Eres and the Klavian Protectorate these tradeways and tradetowns grew and became quite prosperous.

As the  Nations of Enlightenment grew, their relationship soured. Trade between Tierra Ug'Eres and the Klavian Protectorate slowed to a crawl as each became more insular and tensions grew. Here and there along the southern trade routes, skirmishes were fought by guards from either nation as they patrolled the areas along their shared borders. In order to keep such conflicts from escalating, such patrols were recalled and the southern routes were left to their own devices. While the trade towns and cities did not miss the warring guardsmen, they feared what would replace them.

Soon,