Jaune - Prince of Arcadia -

Vol 1 Ch 1: Arcadia

The Great War. What a terrible name for such a horrible time in history. Though the war itself lasted around ten years, the century leading up to it was filled with so much tension, you might as well lump them together. And most of that tension was coming from Mistral.

Territories rich with resources and safe from Grimm have always been in high demand. But the emperor of Mistral had managed to conquer nearly all that had to offer, thanks in part to an unlikely friend, Mantle.

The two Kingdoms had allied. Mistral provided the tiny Kingdom with goods unavailable in the tundra. In return, Mantle introduced technological innovation, as well as guidance in settlement of Anima's cold northern territory. It was good until it wasn't.

An incident in Mantle led to a strange and unexpected decree - the abolishment of the arts and the repression of self-expression. The people of Mantle had come to believe that they would be much safer from the Grimm if they could keep the masses' emotions in check. Given Mistral's artistic solid culture, many assumed this would be the end of their alliance. But they were wrong.

Mistral complied... selectively, enforcing Mantle's wishes only in the outer territories, allowing the central powers to continue to live as they pleased if you haven't caught on yet, Mistral's full of jerks.

The people of Vale had a problem with this. Well, they had a problem with many things Mistral and Mantle had been up to - treatment of their citizens, use of slave labor, and their constant insistence that their way of life was what was best for everyone.

Eventually, Mistral made the jump across the sea to the eastern coast of Sanus. The small islands and peninsulas in the area were perfect for establishing a settlement. They were so perfect that Vale had just begun settling the place themselves. I think we can all guess what happened next.

He did everything he could to avoid armed conflict. Despite cries from his people, he insisted on sharing the land with the settlers from Mistral. But... (sigh) To this day, no one knows who shot first, but what began as a riot between two bands of settlers... would suddenly become the first battle of the Great War. Mantle quickly came to Mistral's side. Battles were fought on both Sanus and Anima soil. Villages were lost to both combat and Grimm. And it wasn't long before they decided to join the party.

Up to this point, Vacuo and Arcadia had done their best to stay out of the fight as Mantle and Mistral, having both already established a small presence in both territories years before, promised to leave them alone.

Provided they didn't interfere. Soon, those talks evolved. It went from "Don't side with them" to "Side with us, and you'll be safe." Vacuo and Arcadia did not much care for that, and they concluded that if Vale were to fall, there'd be no one left to stop Mistral and Mantle from conquering the next. So they did what they considered to be the logical thing. They drove Mantle and Mistral out of their lands and told Vale they had their backs. (chuckles) I love their style.

So the war raged on. Grimm attacks increased worldwide. On the battlefield, this meant a temporary ceasefire to deal with the monsters before returning to the fight at hand. Those left miserable back at home, however, were often helpless, with their best warriors away fighting the "good" war. A lot of settlements were lost during these years, and most were never reclaimed. Rations on food were put into effect, development of technology accelerated, Humans and Faunus who fought alongside one another became closer, and every day, humanity grew more and more efficient at destroying itself.