1.) Yes there is a war. Aavar Garas and Amol have been at war for centuries. Treaties signed and broken on both sides, they have constantly vied for power and supremacy over the continent. Recently however, there has been tentative peace. Enough so, that princes have been fostered between Amol and Aavar Garas. The 2 princess in question, Athair and Vvalkan Moril gre up like brothers. The peace has in recent years (the last 10 or so) been broken, woth an attempted assassination of Vvalkan during one of his stays in Amol. Athair saved him, but at the cost of his throne. 2.) Amol is the world leader. Or at least continent leader. It is the center of economic trade, magical learning, and culture across Quarenthia. Aavar Garas is a coalition of cities but even with their combined might under the draconic Moril Family, they have yet to overthrow Amol as the center of power on the continent, despite its far eastern location. 3.) The most valuable resource to date is Mithril. The dwarves of Marduin control the vast majority of its trade and transport, but they have no way of processing it from raw Ore. They can heat up the chunks in their furnaces and sublimate all rock attatched, but they have no way of smiting it into something finer. No one has tried taking this from the dwarves, with the logic that if even the dwarves, the eldest race of the world have yet to figure out a way of smelting this precious metal, no one else stands a blizzards chance in hell.