10 Year Famine

== Overview ==
The 10 Year Famine of Contra was a devastating period that persisted from 191 AG until 201 AG. It saw the deaths of tens of thousands of Contrans due to widespread disease in their staple crops. With a population relying significantly on income from their exported crops around the then waning Grenthyx Dynasty, many people's livelihoods were destroyed. The famine led initially to House Armitage adopting a paternalistic approach to supporting their subjects as much as was possible, but ultimately by the end of the famine resulted in a devastating sense of betrayal and total loss of trust towards House Armitage.
== History ==
First reported in 191 AG, a disease began to spread with alarming success across staple crops, beginning in the south. By the next year, the disease had grown to infect the few crops that could exist in the north of the Kingdom, devastating the local population. In late 192 AG, House Armitage began to distribute their own supplies to the immediate local population to help mitigate against the famine, marking a distinct willingness to help the suffering population. Indeed, at this same time House Armitage, intending to show that their subjects were their primary concern, invited them to Connett Castle to enjoy the Split Mountain Festival with them for the first time.
Despite the best efforts of House Armitage, the disease had taken hold amongst Contra's crop yield by 196 AG, and the worst of the famine set in, now plunging most of the kingdom into a state of starvation. Even so, the people of Contra remained supportive of House Armitage, recognising that they could not do anything more.
In 198 AG, a 26 year-old Helmontan Patriarch Forkoux Fyth visited the Kingdom at the invitation of Head of the Advisory Council of Contra - Cesil Burnwyn - with the aim of explaining to King Lythe and Queen Straeyl Armitage his impression of the newly crowned King, Barren II Grenthyx. In essence, they wished to consult the young Patriarch specially due to his experience in dealings with the Dynasty, so that they could make the most informed decisions for their starving population. Indeed, as a mark of respect, Forkoux opted to not journey in the opulent Murndorl to Connett Castle. 
Shortly thereafter, Barren blocked Contrans from trading the few crops not compromised with anywhere else in The Continent, an action that was the result of a retaliatory Lythe refusing to trade with certain Kingdoms that Barren had given preferential treatment to prior. Both of these decisions unleashed untold suffering onto Contrans, who could no longer hope to take any money in - even if they were fortunate enough to have good crops. They facilitated ongoing mass starvation. 
== Effects ==
The disease gradually phased out of circulation by 201 AG, by which point House Armitage had been seen to abandon the trust of the people of Contra by signalling their intent to assist in eradicating the Grenthyx Dynasty entirely, which reduced any prospect of economic recovery for their subjects following the worst of the famine. One such ramification arrived in the form of the Storming of Connett Catle in 202 AG.Category:Events