Malta

The generally neutral faction of Malta is a faction located to the south of Jerusalem. They're primary interest is preserving relative peace between the factions of Israel so there the actually the Swiss

## History

### Founding and Early Days

The faction of Malta was founded on October 26th 2020 by Ian 'Major' (shadowlord) during the expulsion of Jerusalem's residents by Constantinople. Ian Major rowed across the ocean next Jerusalem hoping to find an island to claim. The trip was much shorter than he expected, lasting only one minute before he reached another continent. Ian Major scouted the shore line and eventually found an island that he liked. His goal was to isolate Malta in order to gather resources and build undisturbed. The city of Valletta, named after the real-life one in Malta, was founded on the island. Ian Major would soon be joined by his cousins Sean (OneClassyCookie) and Andrew (TromboneZone)

### Halloween Weekend

The Halloween weekend saw two major construction projects built in Valletta, the Bell Tower and the Embassy. The bell tower was based off the one in real-life and was completed thanks to the help of Nick (CardinalCyrusXV) donating 2048 sand to the project. It was completed in 2 hours and was adorned with the flag of the Malta. During its construction, nick placed a command block that would spawn lighting whenever the lever was pulled. It was removed by Nick due to a glitch that caused lighting to continue spawning whenever the lever was broken while on. The Bell Tower is the first thing that travelers see when crossing the ocean to Valletta. The Embassy was built after the Bell Tower with left over sand from Nick's donation. The goal of the Embassy is to act as a place where factions could to discuss with each other and sign treaties.

### Early November

Early November saw the Thievery of Ken incident, in which Ken (BronzeCoast) would steal items from chests in Maltese territory. As a result, Sean would be involved in delivering justice, as the court building would not begin construction for a few days. During this incident, Sean would assist Tyler (murpledurp) in getting Ken to sign a treaty saying he would cease his robberies. This treaty would be known as the treaty of Jiddah.

Ken would however break the terms of the treaty and steal again, which would lead to administrative discipline from server owner Nick. Ken would then repay the stolen goods to the Maltese, as well as fine to the state.

## Colonies

### The Special Administrative Exclusion Zone of Jiddah and Nick Pelchat Mountain

Jiddah was the former base of Ken that was not far from Valletta. Not much is know about the city before Judgement Day and there are few photos of the village. After Nick banned Ken from the server for theft of property, he salted Ken's wounds by world editing in 1000 TNT above the city. The explosion obliterated the Jiddah and only left a few villager houses standing. Ownership of Jiddah was then transferred to Ian 'Major,' who created a large lavacast in the center of crater and named it Nick Pelchat Mountain in honor of Jiddah's destroyer. He also changed the name of the town to the Special Administrative Exclusion Zone of Jiddah and Nick Pelchat Mountain. Little remains of the original village because of the massive explosion and Ian 'Major' savaging the houses farms for construction materials.

### Arkeyan Town

Arkeyan Town is a small mining town that rests beside a ravine. It is the cite of smaller mining operations and is often frequented by Ian 'Major.' The town has a small mining shack, farm, ender chest, and stables.

## Members

### Ian 'Major'

Ian 'Major' was the original founder of the faction. He founded this faction during the Byzantine-Jerusalem War and would immediately declare Malta's neutrality. During the expulsion of non-Byzantines from Jerusalem, Ian 'Major' would begin his search for a new land, and would find one to across the ocean from Jerusalem. He would also recruit Sean and Andrew to his faction and construct the Bell Tower at Valletta. Another one of his accomplishments would be tipping the spear in netherite mining, introducing bed-bombing as the primary method. Ian would later begin to build a bridge going from Valletta to Jerusalem.

### Sean

Sean was the second person to join Malta, although present on the second day of the server running, he would not begin actively playing until he joined Malta. Sean would be instrumental in acquiring Malta's colonial holdings, as well as bringing and end to the Thievery of Ken incident. Sean would recruit his brother Andrew to the faction soon after joining it himself.

### Andrew

Recruited by Sean, Andrew would join the faction and begin relatively active play on the server a day or two after Sean's joining.

## War

So far Malta has not partaken in any wars yet. It is a neutral faction that does occasional trade and has brokered treaties. However, a growing concern are the multiple "claims" Malta has made on the Maltese continent. The faction has claimed strategically valuable territories such as (but not limited to) ravines, cave systems, and villages, pillager towers. The faction has also claimed a large portion of the ocean dividing it from Jerusalem.

## Trivia

* The original name for the faction was "The Phoenicians"
* The banner of Malta is inspired by the real-life flag of Malta
* Arkeyan Town was named after the "Lost City of of Arkeyus" from the video Game "Skylanders: Giants". The Arkeyans were a race of evil robots that once conquered the skylands. Ian "Major has very fond memories of the video game and has incorporated the word "Arkeyan" in the name of a few things on the server such as his armor