Astela: Difference between revisions
→Volscine Civil Wra
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It would take decades for Astela to recover from the war. Faced with its failure to retake Lucroza, the GUG now allied itself closely with Volscina and maintained its claim as the one true Celanoran government. The military rule that had consolidated throughout the Great War remained in place and gradually expanded to dominate every segment of Astelan society and economics. Astela now existed at the front line of the new Novaran Cold War, and transformed into something of a garrison state with harsh conscription laws enforced upon the population and a fiercely militarized border maintained with Celanora.
=== Volscine Civil
The end of the Cold War and the outbreak of the Volscine Civil War left Astela adrift and without its great power patron. The GUG found itself struggling to maintain power amidst a crippling economic collapse and the loss of outside support. Faced with this difficult scenario, the GUG sought to normalize ties with Celanora, which itself hoped to stave off the disaster that would come with an Astelan collapse and a potential need to absorb the dilapidated territory. Cryrian-brokered negotiations resulted in the Treaty of Talvere, which finally saw the GUG relinquish its claim to Celanora, and in turn led Celanora to recognize Astela as a separate and fully independent nation. The border between the two nations also saw a limited drawdown of forces and a reduction in tensions, allowing both nations to rededicate their resources to their increasingly unstable Volscine frontiers.
Despite the notable impacts of the Treaty of Talvere, hopes for liberalization within the GUG were soon dashed. The Astelan government instead doubled down on trying to maintain its autocratic rule, frequently engaging in openly criminal enterprises in order to keep itself afloat. Reports quickly spread of severe abuses by Astelan security forces towards Volscine refugees fleeing from Seccera, which ranged from the establishment of forced labor camps to supposed arrangements with sapient trafficking groups that could offer hard currency. Astela also established a secretive trade with the Milofite government across the Sherman Channel in order to acquire desperately needed foodstuffs. Thus, despite the normalization with Celanora, Astela's international isolation only grew as the Civil War progressed.
Today, Astela remains both fiercely autocratic and secretive, and its economy still struggles to recover from the Volscine Civil War and the subsequent sanctions it has faced. The military government remains in power and has sought out new patronage from the Volscine Empire even as tensions with neighboring Seccera remain high and future relations with Celanora uncertain.
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