Vanic Gold Vaults
The Vanic Gold Vaults refer to the suspected location of supposed gold bullion that was seized by Senya prior to and during the collapse of Stormark in 1685. By this time, Senya was one of the few remaining nations to retain trade relations with Stormark, and the Senyan government used this unique position to leverage financial penalties on the Kingdom. One major advantage also came through Loftleiðir, the Storish airline, which had began using Svorgas International Airport as a hub to facilitate transport within the Kingdom, due to the closure of air traffic at the hands of other nations. As a result, it was widely believed that much Storish goods were being transported through Senyan cargo planes, allowing potentially the Senyan government to seize Storish goods.
Although the Senyan government has acknowledged that some levels of goods were acquired during this time, it has never publicly acknowledged the amount, and numerous credible sources have reported that the Senyan government sits on an enormous reserve of stolen Vanic gold, which is rumoured to be housed in Svorgas.
History
During the 1620s, Senya, out of a mistrust with both Jingdao and Shireroth, had begun to foster trade relations with many nations across Micras, including Stormark. Elwynn, at that time a close ally of Senya, came under Vanic rule in 1623. Due to Senya's close relationship with Elwynn, Senya began to increase its trade relations with both Vanic powers. Despite an increasing weariness towards the Vanic states from many of the international powers, Harald of Stormark was eager to foster economic trade with Senya, with Elwynn, Hurmu and Stormark all exporting products to Senya. Senya's economy boomed with Vanic support, but Senya was never fully reliant on Vanic products, and maintained good trade and poltiical relations with the majority of Micras' nations. Although the rest of the world was growing weary of the Vanic nations, the Sxiro-Jingdaoese confrontation and the fact that Senya at that time was such a small and politically irrelevant nation meant that much of the world's powers were not too concerned by Senya's engagements with the Vanic powers. Furthermore, unlike other nations the Vanics traded with, Senya never saw an influx of Froyalaners, maintaining its own cultural independence from Stormark.
Virtually all of Stormark's trade with Senya was conducted through SEKEF, a Storish company that at the behest of King Harald maintained a monopoly on Storish imports and exports, which opened up offices in Senya in the 1620s. By 1650, it was also one of the largest companies in Senya, employing many Senyans and contributing a significant chunk towards the Senyan economy.
In 1651, though, things began to change. The Auspicious Occasion in Elwynn saw the Vanics removed from power in that country, and the subsequent Uppheaval in Natopia in the 1660s saw the remaining Vanic states become increasingly isolated. Senya, too, had become much more concerned about some of the more peverse habits of the ancient ways of the Froyalaners. Furthermore, improving diplomatic relations with Shireroth and other surrounding states such saw Senya's reliance on Vanic imports decline. As Senya began to expand its territory in Apollonia, it began to emerge as an industrial nation capable of producing some of its own products. A booming middle class did however provide Stormark with some market for trade, and SEKEF continued to operate in Senya. However, as the decades began to go on, especially with Stormark's continued military engagements in Benacia and Keltia, and the Froyalanish genocide, Vanic authorities began to worry about holding onto their wealth. Senya, which had always shown SEKEF favourable import tarrifs, became a place for many Storish, Batavian and Francian politicians to launder their wealth, protecting it from both seizure by foreign forces and from an increasingly erratic King Harald, who by now was no longer in a sane mental capacity.
SEKEF though was no longer the valuable contributor it once was to the Senyan economy, and in 1685 under considerable international pressure, Senya finally raised import taxes on Stormark. SEKEF, who due to the imminent collapse of their country, had already began en masse relocating their resources to Senya, suddenly found that the vast majority of wealth seized by the Senyan authorities, and when the nation finally collapsed, many Storish nationals were arrested in Senya on charges of money laundering, with many receiving lengthy prison sentences.
The Vaults
Much of the wealth hidden in Senya was in the form of gold bullion. Gold had become a particularly valuable resource in Stormark, and it was widely believed that by the early 1680s, the Storish government, had begun secretly relocating this gold to Senya, against the wishes of King Harald, in an attempt to hide it from a King that they saw as increasingly erratic and untrustworthy. Following the collapse of Stormark, Senya moved all the gold belonging to Stormark to a series of vaults in Svorgas, but refused to disclose just how much had been seized. Construction workers though did reveal that there were several dozen vaults excavated, each both expansive in size and heavily fortified. The Senyan government has acknowledged that due to sensitivity about Vanic gold, these vaults are heavily guarded. The Senyan Military Police is one of the many layers of defence the vaults have, and are under strict instruction to kill anyone they suspect of trying to access the vaults.
Utility
It has been rumoured that the Senyan government uses some the gold to finance its various programmes, though this has been consistently denied by the Senyan government.
Controversy
Several groups of people around Micras, who were impacted by the Vanics, have sought reparations from the Senyan government and access to some of the gold. Some Froyalaners have also requested that they be granted the gold in return as a form of reparation for the genocide. However the Senyan government has consistently ignored these calls and retains that all gold seized is being held under guardianship.
