Melonwood

Melonwood (formerly known as Monaco for the first two months of its existence) was a small island city and territory in the heart of the +,+ quadrant on Civcraft 2.0. It was founded on January 8, 2014 by exiles from the city of Stoneburrow following a failed coup d'etat. It was initially founded as an independent constitutional monarchy next to the land claims of New Danzilona, and then, following a conflict, was annexed as a territory of NDZ on February 24, 2014, which it remained as until the end of Civcraft 2.0.

Melonwood was most notable for being the point of conflict between the founders of Monaco and the Danzilonans. Though each nation initially tolerated each other and attempted peaceful land negotiations, their relations fell apart when the Monacans claimed land within NDZ territory and built a Berlin Wall-style barrier around it, burning down any Danzilonan structure on the wrong side of it. After negotiations ended and weeks of protesting by the Danzilonans, the Monacans raided NDZ and Pella, pearling an NDZ founder and breaking into the house of the King of Pella. After reinforcements arrived from the rest of the U3P, the founder and Doge of Monaco, Cheshirelulcat, was pearled, and the alt of the other founder, Thymos, was hunted down a month later.

After being annexed by NDZ, the city was given the name Melonwood by the Danzilonans. The area lay mostly dormant, having no permanent residents and being used mostly by the Danzilonan citizens for watermelon farming and the planned site of a new vault. On August 9, 2015, NDZ citizens spruced up and repaired much of the city, remaining in such a state until the end of 2.0.

Discovery
The island that housed the city of Melonwood was initially discovered by Danzilonan explorers as it was only a few hundred blocks away from the heart of New Danzilona and directly bordered the island that they claimed. Though it lay between NDZ and their northern territory of Chocomoor, the city-state did not claim it, but did consider it a potential site for the New Esperanza project which never saw the light of day. Thus, it lay vacant for the first 7 months of Civcraft 2.0.

Stoneburrow Exiles and the Founding of Monaco
Stoneburrow was a U3P city founded at the beginning of 2.0, west of NDZ. Initially a group of friends, a conflict arose over disagreements over how much certain citizens were owed in exchange for labor put into the city's projects. Unable to reach a compromise, Stoneburrow citizens and laborers Cheshirelulcat and Thymos attempted to overthrow the city's government, but were pearled by its founders. Soon after, an agreement was reached and the rebels were unpearled, but the failed coup d'etat caused too deep of a wound for the city to heal, and they and a few other residents left. On January 8, 2014, they made their way to the Melonwood island and founded a constitutional monarchy they named Monaco. Seeking to become their own version of Duck City, the Monacan founders focused heavily on resource accumulation and diamond mining. They wished to build large skyscrapers and a vault, which would be highly effective when paired with the vanilla chunk that the island sat on, so they would expand as a regional power.

Danzilonan Conflict and the Fall of Monaco
Wanting to have more area to build farms, Monaco negotiated buying land that was owned by NDZ on the main island that the latter city sat on. On January 19, 2014, Cheshirelulcat and NDZ founder Gant2000 drafted the Treaty of Monte Carlo. In exchange for the land owned by NDZ, Monaco promised to pay 150 diamonds to the city, lease out the use of its vanilla chunk for a U3P-owned vault, and promised that, should NDZ development reach a certain point, Monaco would forfeit its sovereignty and join NDZ as a territory. The treaty was unpopular among the Danzilonans, who had concerns about the viability of actually building a vault within the terms of the agreement, as well as the obligation to annex a city in the future not knowing what the situation in it would be by then. A vote was held on January 24th on the ratification of the treaty, and when most Danzilonans voted no, the decision was postponed for further negotiations.

The negotiations ended when, on February 11th, Cheshire and a number of Danzilonan officials claimed to have made a backdoor deal for the city without the ratification of the voters. With a deal secured, the Monacans built a wall around their claims on the Danzilonan mainland and a new checkpoint that guarded the way into the claims. Upset that they had no choice in the matter and that the Treaty of Monte Carlo was never ratified, Danzilonan citizens peacefully protested the seizure of their lands. Protests intensified when Monacans burned down the home of a Danzilonan that was built on the side of the wall they claimed. Both Monacan and NDZ officials largely ignored these protests for their first week.

The government of New Danzilona turned against Monaco, however, when Cheshirelulcat and Thymos, no longer tolerating the protests, raided NDZ and pearled one of its founders on February 22nd. They also attacked NDZ ally and U3P member Pella when they broke into its King's home. The Monacans demanded reparations for supposed damages done during the protests, but their legitimacy fell apart when they pearled first and asked questions later. After their raids ended, NDZ and U3P citizens mobilized against Monaco and pearled Chesh and another raider the following day. Though Chesh attempted to distance Thymos away from Monaco, the Danzilonans hunted him down over the next month, finally pearling him on March 28th. The island Monaco sat on was officially annexed by New Danzilona on February 24th.

Aftermath
Cheshire, Thymos, and the rest of the Monacans were unpearled on an undisclosed date. Cheshire went on to continue his career as a semi-nation building raider, getting involved with America, Titan, and the Nox-affiliated Meme Brigade, as well as founding the Russian Federation near the end of 2.0. Thymos would live out a more peaceful Civcraft career, legitimizing himself and becoming a diarch of Fellowship for a time.

The end of the conflict gave unprecedented international attention and prestige to New Danzilona and the Danzilonan Federation. What was once another small city in the U3P soon became its largest member, growing from around 10 to more than 30 residents over the course of the spring and summer of 2014. The cooperation of the Danzilonans in security matters during the conflict continued and formed the basis of what became the Danzilonan Security Force, a militia formed and ran by TheTrackball that provided private security to NDZ's holdings. The relationship between the DSF and the rest of NDZ would be hugely prominent during the Riverford War, defining the course of Danzilonan history for the rest of 2.0.

In contrast, the departure of the Monacans would lead to the decline and end of Stoneburrow, which officially pulled out of the U3P on March 5, 2014, and was never populated again.

Territory of New Danzilona
With the founders of Monaco pearled and banished from the island, the rest of its non-pearled citizens either quit the server, left the city, or joined NDZ proper, leaving the island itself without any permanent residents for the rest of its history. To scrub away its rebellious past and sabotage any infrastructure the former settlers might attempt to take advantage of, the Danzilonans renamed the city to Melonwood (the biome of the island permitted growing watermelons, whereas the main Danzilonan island couldn't) and demolished many of its buildings, leaving only the city hall and its storage unit left.

From that point on, Melonwood was mainly used by the Danzilonans for growing melons and oak trees, as well as for the site of the future NDZ vault known as Hotel Trackifornia, though the latter was never completed.

On August 9, 2015, the city was the target of Phase 4 of Project Phoenix, a federation-wide revitalization project led by Danzilonans Des23 and Lowtuff.