Nahuac and their neigbors

Nahuac has very complex politics, with some states having allies that are the enemies of another state, states being direct rivals of their peers, and other states having their own enemies inside.

Allaria
The Dragon Kingdom is Nahuac’s most steadfast and persistent enemy, with elven and half-elven settlers and troops trying to invade Coalition territory since before there even was a coalition. After the First Null War, the Dragon King Zai Qan tried to offer Nahuac a deal in exchange for their natural resources, but the Coalition refused; since then, Zai and every dragon king after him have tried to plunder Nahuac’s wealth, sometimes quietly, sometimes brazenly, but never stopping. Nine in then of these incursions have been through Ocelinn lands, in East Nahuac; while the entire coalition opposes Allaria’s expansionism, the jaguar-kin hate them with a passion.

It all got even worse when Ocelinn assassins murdered King Yin before the Second Null War. This led to the greatest Allarian invasion force in the history of both realms, which marched right into Nahuacáinn slaughtering soldiers, civilians and everyone they came across. Only the dragonbonded managed to stop the massacre, and the current Dragon Queen has sworn peace with Nahuac. But ancestral hatred won’t die with a decree, and the Náhuinn won’t let their guard down ever again.

The Risen Altanesi
Of all proven or potential threats to the Realm, none is more worrying to the Nahuac Coalition than the risen Altanesi. While no living Náhuinn citizen remembers their ancestors’ subjugation under the Altan Empire, the memory is vivid enough in history and tradition, and the whole Realm knows to fear any return of the vast empire that used to control the world. In addition, these self-styled successors to the Altanesi have recruited Iko’ob gnomes, who were believed extinct millennia ago, and would certainly hold a grudge against the Buunkun and Bendavee for abandoning them during the fall of the original Empire.

So far, the so-called Risen Altanesi have made no serious raids into Coalition territory, but they have shown to be powerful and aggressive, and to indeed have the intention of ultimately conquering Nahuac. For now, the Coalition has reinforced all its South and Eastern borders, and Bendavee and Source-gifted tribes remain alert for any sign of invading Altanesi forces. Everyone knows the first skirmishes will come sooner than later.

The Scourge Triumvirate
It was foretold, it was previsible, and it happened. Sooner or later, the deposed Boaab Serpentfolk, the worst enemies of the Buunkun and Bendavee civilizations, would rise from their fall, return from their exile and try to conquer the world once again. And they would start with the ones that betrayed them.

The new allies of the Boaab, the Scourge Triumvirate of Sabaar, have existed for centuries, but their realm only began attacking and expanding beyond its borders during the last few decades. At first, they were a threat to Nahuac as they gradually expanded north, but more recently, the reappearance of the Risen Altanesi has changed the Coalition’s position. While the Scourge looks down all humans, they hate the Altanesi more. Thus, some Náhuinn states, particularly from North and East Nahuac, suggest allying with the Scourge against the Risen Altanesi. The South and West Quarters, wary of any deal with the Boaab, suggest taking advantage of the Altanesi as a buffer state against the Scourge, and leaving both forces to kill each other before dealing with either. But the whole Coalition agrees it’s a matter of time - the Triumvirate and the Altanesi are fighting for the right to be the first to invade Nahuac. and whoever wins will be the greatest threat the Realm has faced in its millennia-long history.

Tyveria
Nahuac and Tyveria became allies after the Second Null War, and the larger Empire has often helped the Coalition against the ambitions of Sikaria, Allaria and the Nwoda raiders by its mere presence. But the Crimson Crow Syndicate, while claiming no allegiance to Tyveria, has been caught several times using Nahuac to reroute its traffic of smuggled goods and slaves.

Nahuac has repeatedly approached the Empire about the problem, but the Crimson Crow ignores Tyverian jurisdiction. Whether this will escalate into an actual conflict depends on Tyveria’s Imperial Court and their diplomacy.

The Nwoda Free Clans
Nahuac has always had a problem with poachers trying to raid its unspoiled natural resources, and the Nwoda Sky Dwarves often lead the list. Only Allaria has insisted so much on trying to bargain for access to Nahuac’s resources, and their reaction when Nahuac refused was the same - try and plunder what they cannot get by diplomacy.

Since Nwoda raids are small-scale and discreet, and many of their ships visit the Coalition openly, to sell legal goods, there is no open enmity between the two peoples; however, every Nwoda shardship that leaves or enters Nahuac airspace is thoroughly searched, and required a written permit to deal in Coalition soil, lest it be shot down by border guards.

Sikarians
The second most hated foreigners in Nahuac are Sikarian blue elves, for it was in Nahuac soil, twisting its sacred Makaab sorcery, that the elves developed their zoethurgy, their art of mutating nature. Such sacrilege against the natural order would have been disturbing enough, but knowing it was achieved using source slabs - Nahuac’s most sacred, primal force - was a mortal insult.

When the first zoethurgy experiments were revealed, Nahuac took a stance of zero tolerance and expelled all Sikarian alchemists from its soil. Centuries later, Nahuac still hates the blue elves for their sacrilege against nature, and Sikaria still resents Nahuac for the callous banishment of its people. But one day, the Arkane Dominion will return to plunder the slabs in force, and feed their experiments with the Realm’s Makaab power. And the Coalition has been preparing for that day.

The Xibac Lords
Regardless of its poor foreign relations, the Coalition faces its most pressing threat from within. The schism between Mígtainn necromancers and the other, Makaab-using Náhuinn peoples, has kept the Realm at the edge of civil disorder for centuries, more so after the Second Null War, during which Ocelinn tactics caused the permanent death of countless Xibac wizards.

Since the War, Míg tainn speakers stopped appearing in the Nahuacáinn Council, and it is feared they will soon rise in arms against the rest of the Coalition, if not to conquer it, at the very least to secede - which would be an unacceptable loss for Nahuac, given its delicate situation, trapped between so many ambitious neighbors. Desperate diplomatic missions from Buunkun envoys have been fruitless so far, and many wonder if this in fact heralds the end of the Coalition itself.