Long Peace

The "Long Peace" is a term used to describe the present era of Horizon's End server politics. This era is notable for a relative lack of conflict on the server, or the impending threat thereof. This term is borrowed from the real-world concept of the "Long Peace", which describes the era of relative global peace since the end of World War II.

History

The "Long Peace" is generally held to have started with the end of the Ilios Alliance-Vask Authority War on 29 July 2024. The conclusion of this war (and the shortly-following Vask Authority Leak) saw the end of Vask Authority as a competent pirating force; the players of Vask Authority had also been the ring-leaders of several previous conflict-starting groups, such as RentDueYesterday, and so their removal from server politics eliminated the chief source of chaos that rankled Horizon's End server politics in 2023 and 2024. Additionally, this moment in time saw a significant shift in the foreign policy of Vega, which reduced in player count and activity, and transitioned towards more inward-focusing gameplay under the leadership of MaidPierce and Solesey.

Dominant Political Regime

The result of these developments was that the Ilios Alliance have become the most potent political bloc shaping server culture and politics. Unlike previous groups to occupy such a position, the Ilios Alliance are dominated by colonist players, and consequently maintain a non-interventionist and anti-war foreign policy (as Radiance leader star_litty described it, "we don't really fight, we just are gay and rich"). This has resulted in a server political regime distinguished by a lack of either large-scale conflict or the imminent threat thereof.

In the Long Peace, server activity both within and without the Ilios Alliance has predominantly focused on city- & station-building and national development, as well as wide-reaching initiatives to promote Horizon's End and retain new players to increase the server's player count. These latter initiatives, such as yodabird19's r/mcservers Reddit advertisements and Consue's Horizon's End Bluesky account, are motivated by the belief held by many players on the server that the existing player-base of Horizon's End can no longer support large-scale conflict, and that the rise of new nations is needed to ensure that the server's politics remain interesting in the long term.

Battlecruiser Stockpiling

During this era of the server, many large nations stockpile large fleets of warships and battlecruisers. No nations have major conflicts because of the threat of these powerful warships.

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Minor Conflicts

Some minor conflicts have still occurred since the beginning of the Long Peace.

A majority of them are direct derivatives of the Ilios Alliance-Vask Authority War:

• The continued pirating efforts of z4nityy, the sole remaining active member of Vask Authority, are a direct continuation (though a far less potent one) of Vask Authority's previous wartime piracy against the Ilios Alliance.
• The assorted medley of hostile activity directed towards Imperial Nova and the Ilios Alliance by walkemdownand_kickintheydoors is pursued by Sherbet_S, a former Vega grinder who expressed great support for Vask Authority during their reign, and disdain for the Ilios Alliance and its members.

The sole substantial novel conflict to arise on the server since the end of the Ilios Alliance-Vask Authority War has been the Nova-Luxit War, a minor conflict between Imperial Nova and the United Luxit States lasting from 17 November to 8 December, 2024.