Magnus VIII. Hungry
Magnus VIII. he succeeded the glorious reign of Anne I and almost immediately faced the end of the Second Golden Age. A year after his accession came the Three-Year Drought, which crippled agriculture and caused a famine. Magnus was able to quickly move supplies from the granaries and averted a much larger scale disaster. He subsequently faced the Grain Conflict with the Free Kingdom and goblin raids in the north. After the defeat at the Two Hundred and Eighth Tower, he assembled one of the largest armies in history, but the death of Urgiore prevented a great war. His later reign was marked by stagnant markets and efforts to support large cities.
Dynastic Information
Heir to an ending golden age
Magnus VIII. his accession to the throne was clear long in advance, but fate did not prepare him for an easy start. Through no fault of his, the period of peace and prosperity that culminated under Anna I ended. Already a year after his accession, the Three-Year Drought came, which completely changed the economic situation. In three whole years, according to the chronicles, only seven rains came. Crops grew small, in some places they didn't grow at all, and famine hit the eastern part of the empire as early as the end of 1306. Magnus had to act quickly, otherwise his reign would begin with disaster.
Anti-Hunger Supplies
Magnus began moving grain from the granaries and other foodstuffs as needed across the empire. The system was not without problems and there were failures, delays or local crises somewhere, but overall it prevented the worst. At the end of the Three Year Drought, the number of deaths from starvation was in the hundreds, not the thousands or higher. Still, Magnus became a target of criticism, as both the people and the nobility often looked for the culprit in times of need, regardless of the true extent of the lives saved.
Conflict over grain
The Free Kingdom was hit even harder by the drought and began making conquests during the crisis. Magnus was fortunate that the army was at full strength due to his mother's legacy, and many subjects still yearned to serve the Imperial cause. The war known as the Conflict of the Grain lasted until 1310 and ended with Magnus's victory. The Free Kingdom was bound by a pact of non-aggression for a hundred years and had to pay tribute to the areas affected by the war. Magnus thus emerged from the crisis as a winner, at least from a military point of view.
Slaughterhouse at the Two Hundred and Eighth Tower
However, a new threat was growing in the north. The goblins forgot about the tribute made under Anna and started raiding. Magnus sent two battalions to defend the border with the realm of Urgiora. However, he decided on a bold attack and inflicted a historic defeat on the empire at tower number 208 of the third defense line. Orc hexblades with heavily enchanted weapons tore through Imperial troops in a way the army had no answer for. Magnus gathered seven battalions for a massive revenge expedition, but Urgior was killed by the goblin Skull Hunters in the meantime. The emperor therefore disbanded the expedition and began to rebuild the north.
Cities and stagnation
The rest of Magnus' reign was marked by a slow stagnation of the markets. The empire's economy was at its peak and could not easily grow further. Therefore, Magnus often visited the other lords' large cities and tried to help them keep their growth curve above the dangerous limit. He believed that large cities were the future of empire. However, during one of these visits he became ill and died of heart failure. His rule thus remains associated with crisis, hunger, military threat and the effort to keep the empire on the threshold of a new, less certain era.