Age of Recovery

Some Tilean scholars proclaimed the years that followed the expulsion of Arabians from Estalia as the Age of Exploration. These scholars claim that during this age Marco Colombo, the founder of the ruling family of Trantio, "discovered" Lustria and brought back riches from that foreign land. Many scholars are sceptical of the claim as there were no historical records proclaiming such an accomplishment at that time nor do they really believe that such an expedition could have escape notice of the High Elves. More likely, the Colombo family's claim was put forward in an attempt to trump the discovery by the Norse Explorer Eric the Lost centuries later. There are also some historical records from the Verenan Temple in Remas that suggests Colombo was nothing more than a pirate who attacked the ships of other Tilean cities as well as Estalian and Arabian. Then again, there are those Lustrian plaques located in the portion of the Trantio palace honouring Marco Colombo.

There is little doubt that the Tilean city-states took advantage of the cessation of hostilities against Araby to expand their network of trade. In this, they were in direct competition with one another, as well as with the Estalian ports, chiefly Magritta. Skirmishes, particularly at sea, were common between these competitors. Moreover, Arabian corsairs returned to plague shipping about the same time that Old Worlder pirates were increasing. At times, these two bandits of the sea would battle one another for the right to attack a merchant ship, allowing the prey in question to escape intact. So numerous were the Old Worlder pirates that they were able to band together to wrestle control of Sartosa from Luccini.

The Wizards' War, which commenced in Middenheim, spilt over the mountain ranges to effect society in the southern Old World. Fleeing Imperial wizards were followed by the Witch-hunters of Sigmar, Mórr and (to a lesser extent) Solkan who desired to "save" the souls of their sorcerous prey through the cleansing flame. Emissaries from the Grand Theogonist of the crumbling Empire of Sigmar brought forth evidence of the Chaos taint of wizards to his religious counterparts. Soon, other cults (the exceptions being Shallya and Ranald) joined in the persecution and burning of wizards and witches. The effort in the Border Princes was more haphazard as that land was far less "civilised" than its neighbours. The sorcerous arts in the Old World were brutally suppressed for the next three centuries with many of its surviving practitioners driven underground.

In the current view of Tilean scholars, the year 2000 I.C. heralded the dawn of the Age of Enlightenment. This term is a misnomer in as much as the years were marked by advancement in art, culture, and prosperity as it was by pestilence, famine, and wars. Some scholars attributed these calamities to malevolent vapours emanating from the Blighted Marshes. While this theory is certainly plausible for northern Tilea, it is a stretch to apply this to the rest of the southern Old World.

Border wars between northern Estalia and southwestern Bretonnia became frequent as each side sought to gain some land at the expense of the other. The Estalian kingdoms even battled one another for influence and land, as well as battling the independent Irranan dukedoms. The Bretonnians tried to extent their influence here as well, but fared as poorly as they did with their continuous attempts in northern Tilea.

Rumours of a war in the northern land of Kislev sent many mercenary bands packing. Due to their absence, peace reigned across the Southern Old World for the few short years that the Empire, Kislev, and Norsca were fighting for their survival.

Return of the Elves and the Rise of Estalia

In 2150 I.C., the Elves returned to the Old World by sailing into Marienburg and signing a treaty making the merchant houses of that city the exclusive agents of the Elves of Ulthuan in matters of trade. This coup trumped the attempts of the various Estalian and Tilean cities in reaching some accord with the Elves.

The reactions of these southern powers differed. The Tileans saw an opportunity to expand their influence, so they signed agreements with Marienburg to become trading and banking partners. Bilbali, capital of the Estalian kingdom of Tigarre was hit hard by the turn of events. Their shipping was greatly effected by pirates from Brionne, who were suspected of working in concert with the Marienburger merchants. Bilbali used diplomatic channels to reach trade agreements with L'Anguille and Bordeleaux, rivals of Marienburg and Brionne, respectively.

Magritta, irritated by the friendliness of Marienburg and their Tilean rivals, concentrated their efforts towards strengthening their trading network with the caliphates and emirates of Araby and extending their reach to the Southlands, Ind, and Cathay. This extension placed the Estalians in direct competition with the Elves for trade, which led to several confrontations on the high seas. The risk was well worth the difficulties as Magritta's wealth grew.

Having had enough of Brionne predations, Bilbali led a coalition of northern Estalian kingdoms and dukedoms against the Duchy of Brionne. Bilbali's Bretonnian partners convinced their King that the incursion was a local matter resulting from the piracy supported by the Brionne duke. Well-placed bribes kept the Bretonnian King content in the initial stages of the hostilities. As the war continued for a number of years with Brionne holding its own while under siege, other Bretonnian dukedoms, chiefly Quenelles and Carcassonne, began pressing the King to allow them to come to Brionne's aid.

The inconclusive campaign proved to be a drain on Bilbali's wealth. With the prospect of a costly and broader war, L'Anguille and Bordeleaux emissaries brokered a peace in which Brionne would pay some reparations to Bilbali and its Estalian allies in exchange for the cessation of war. Brionne's support for the pirates became less overt for a number of decades. In time, that charade came to an end.

Magritta tried a different approach in the south. For years, the daughters of the noble families of Astarios and Cantonia were much sought after by the ruling class of southern Tilea for marriage and political alliances. This gave the rulers of these Estalian kingdoms some influence in Tilean politics and power schemes. The expenditure of capital gained some additional trade concessions with Luccini and Verrezo, which caused some alarm in Remas and Miragliano. Tobaro began to become concerned with Estalian activity, especially after Magritta invaded the island of Sartosa on the pretence of acting against the pirates based on that island.

The fall of Sartosa caused alarms in Marienburg. Their northern rival decided to act against Magritta's interests by using its wealth to break Estalian influence and power in southern Tilea. This threat forced Magritta's hand and the Estalian kingdom of Astarios led the attack on Tobaro, one of Marienburg's Tilean trade partners, albeit a very minor one. This move proved too much for Magritta's Tilean allies and a general struggle commenced. The drain on Magritta's and its allies' treasuries made the Tilean venture too costly to maintain. The irony was that the southern Estalian kingdoms were forced to obtain loans from Marienburg to keep their economies afloat while they withdrew from Sartosa and Tobaro.

In the Border Princes, more Orc incursions forced Bretonnia's hand. Responding to pleas from the nobility who claim some kinship, the Bretonnian King proclaimed a crusade against the greenskins. Bretonnian knights and their retinues crossed into northern Tilea where they took ships to the Border Princes in their quest for honour and glory. The Bretonnians enjoyed great success in clearing the land of greenskins, but their pride and arrogance got the better of them. They took their campaign into the Badlands, slaughtering all they came across. Heady by their success, the cream of Bretonnian knights ignored Dwarf warnings as they rode into Death Pass in their quest to drive the greenskins back into the Dark Lands. The subsequent massacre forced the Bretonnians back into the Border Princes, many of who subsequently returned to their homeland defeated and demoralised. Nonetheless, the Bretonnians did succeed in pushing the majority of Orcs and Goblins back across the Blood River.