IF-Norlund conflict

The IF-Norlund conflict was a period of high tensions between Norlund and the Imperial Federation which lasted roughly from the release of the new world to the completion of Serenity Superbunker. While for the most part it consisted of a cold war, there were brief moments of actual conflict such as the Norlund and Paradise coup of IF elected government.

Backdrop
Pre-claims IF government

The IF had existed for several months before the official announcement of the new world, subsisting on various rumors of an eventual set of expansion islands. During this period their government was composed not of those democratically elected (As it would be later), but of those who contributed the most materials to their stockpile of things they would need in their eventual departure to the new world (Things such as various factory mats and the like). Aside from the original founders and those who had been admitted to the government for their contributions, they were also joined by ComradeNick, who was looking for a place to vibe after all the excitement of being head of MTA, and who the rest of the government believed would be helpful in issues of national defense. The idea was that each of the senators who chose to remain with the IF after they left for the new world would found their own state within the IF, while the rest would lay down their senatorship to lead elsewhere.

Pre-Release

Shortly after the New World was announced by Crimeo, accompanied by various screenshots of its natural beauty, but before it was released on the live server, IF government (Namely Gordona22 and Cylinder) managed to backwards engineer these screenshots to figure out the map by cross referencing them against Planet MC maps. With their discovery, they spent several hours in debates over what land to claim, and whether or not to claim it before the map was released. Eventually they decided to make land claims for themselves and Varathia (As WNS2 was, at the time, IF senator in addition to being a Varathian Official) before releasing a discord where other nations would be able to settle disputes over the remaining land diplomatically. The IF also met favorable negotiation with SPQR, who had been letting them borrow land on the mainland prior to their departure. These three nations, the Imperial Federation, New Providence (Varathia) and SPQR dominated the two westernmost islands, with the rest of the map belonging primarily to other various mainland nations. Notably, while New Providence's and the Imperial Federation's claims were largely centralized (Although the IF did take small exclaves around the map), SPQR's claim was split into two roughly equally sized chunks, one north and one south of New Providence, a split which became relevant upon the release of the world.

In order to protect these unbastioned claims, Blackwater (A realms PVP nation) offered deals for protection against enemy attacks and raiders to various nations in exchange for large amounts of stamina, most of whom accepted recognizing that if they did not pay for the protection, Blackwater themselves would most likely attack them. While most nations bought protection before the launch of the map, or as soon as the continent was found, the option remained open for well over a month after the new world was found.

Importantlt, while the IF had paid for protection already, ComradeNick also paid for protection of his state, Fortuna, as he had put it on what had been the SPQR northern claim, which was territory which the IF and SPQR were still in negotiations over what to do with it.

Post-Release

After the vast majority of the players had been sailing around the map for hours looking for the new world, _Kicky eventually stumbled upon the new world when sailing some twenty thousand blocks[Citation needed - please check this number] from the mainland. Within the next few hours people from various nations arrived and layed down bastions, solidifying their claims. Many nations started early construction on bunkers, however because people had been spread out all over the ocean, there was a time difference of several hours between when people arrived, which transferred into a great disparity in combat readyness across the new world. Nonetheless, Blackwater had arrived only shortly after the discovery of the new world, and were well prepared for whatever conflict was to come.

While Norlund had been very interested in the new world, both economically for farmland where they could grow new crops and culturally (Among the various names vying to become the official one for the new world, theirs was Kingsluund/Kingsland), yet they had been unable to secure widely recognized claims. As such, when they arrived and tried to settle in what had used to be the SPQR lands, their northern claim was not recognized by the IF, as ComradeNick had decided to put Fortuna there. Norlund's attempt to settle there nonetheless led to severe losses at the hands of Blackwater fighters in the pay of ComradeNick. The first responded and most notorious of these fighters was Vah, who won despite being highly outnumbered, allegedly stealing the prot of the norlish fighters he had killed when his own armor broke. After winning a decisive victory in the new world, the still pvp-hungry Blackwater turned on Norlund's mainland claims.