The Dust War

The Dust War was the largest and nastiest war in the world’s history. Almost every nation in the world was involved before the end, but it started because the nation of Almennia had found a way to produce Dust just as the world was running out.

That Dust source brokered alliances and deals of all kinds across the world. Those looking for better treatment or to learn the secrets drew up treaties and formed alliances and trade deals with Almennia. Those frustrated or skeptical formed their own separate alliances.

Eventually the pressure of one nation controlling the largest source of Dust in the world exploded when an unknown group used magic to assassinate the archduke of Almennia. This immediately destabilized the nation, causing them to point fingers at enemies and call on allies for help. Within weeks the first shots were fired and The Dust War had begun.

It was mostly fought in and around Almennia, but other borders saw their share of conflict, especially those shared by Almennian allies and those who opposed Almennia. The fighting lasted years and involved combinations of technology unseen before the war. Magical bombs and gases peppered the battlefields, Lunatics and Moonshine infused soldiers broke trench lines, and powerful casters laid waste to entire country sides.

The war came to a slow close when a joint operation of Usonian and Raskan soldiers were able to break through the Almennian lines to one of their Dust factories. There, they would find that instead of the common belief that Almennia’s New Moon was synthetic, it was in fact, being harvested from Lunatics. This realization shocked the joint troops and their leadership into realizing just how bad the war had gotten over this horrid truth that was no longer a secret.

As the world learned the war cooled and soon treaties and reparations were the order of the day. It’s been a few years now and global tensions are still high, but they’re far cooler than they have been as everyone tries to reconcile with the fallout from the war.