The Tyrulean city-states had been left devastated by Iam's reign and the destruction of Quintillica. Their reconstruction was rapid, however, and in 105, they resurrected their old alliance, the Quintillican Confederacy. Although the Confederacy was first formed as a defensive league against the Istravite cities to the north, it was not long before it came into opposition with Tympania.
By the 140s, the Quintillican cities were fast on the rise economically, due to their control of the lucrative northern trade. Their universities were flourishing; their technology, improved by their contact with the diverse cultures to the north, was advanced; their fleet was unmatched. The Tyrulean people were said to enjoy a level of wealth unimaginable to the Tympanians. Worst of all, the powerful Quintillican priesthood, which the Tympanians believed to be diabolic, was rumored to have rediscovered the secrets of the Quintillican magical power base thought destroyed by Titus. None of this pleased the Tympanians, and by 145, conflict between the two powers seemed inevitable.
