The Toelandic Territories largely consist of various mining communities towards the tip of Evelynn's toes, specifically the 3 middle toes of her left foot. It was colloquially known as the TT, and despite the dangerous labour of mining it was a rather laid back faction of the Kingdom. Princess Vienna was the ruler of the TT, and was held in very high regard by its citizens. Her father was the founder of the largest mining company in the faction, and had amassed a large fortune which aided Vienna's rise to power. Vienna's father was a very generous man however, and also used his fortune to aid the communities across the TT as well as boost its military. There were strong relationships between the TT and it's neighbouring factions, Big Toeronto and Little Toeronto, as it had been over 1400 years since they broke off from the TT, but having a strong military was always an asset in Evelynnia. War could break out at any moment, and their neighbours to the south, the Great Ball Lands, would be eager to take over their mines should war occur. Vienna's father had recently passed away, and preparations for a massive funeral service were under way. The leaders of the 2 Toerontos, Queen Juniper of Big Toeronto and Prince Nero of Little Toeronto, were in attendance. Little Toeronto was the smallest faction in Evelynnia, and Nero, being long infatuated with Vienna, had been considered proposing to her and hopefully unifying the 2 factions, giving him more credibility and allowing his people access to the toenail mines of the TT. Vienna was considered one of the most gorgeous people in the whole Kingdom, but had never been in a relationship. She was well aware of Nero's attraction to her and suspected his political motives behind it as well, but she decided not to confront him about it to avoid souring the relations between the factions. It was a funeral after all, Vienna had been so busy preparing for it that she hardly had any time to mourn her fathers passing. She had too much on her mind to worry about Nero.
The day of the funeral arrived, and thousands of people from across the TT were in attendance at Vienna's palace. Nero approached Vienna shortly before the service began. "My deepest condolences for your loss, your majesty. If you don't mind, after the funeral could I have a quick word with you? It's important" he said. Vienna subtly rolled her eyes. "I'll think about it Nero, I'm focused on this right now" she said sternly. Nero awkwardly nodded and sat down. Juniper approached Vienna shortly after. "It's a shame, your father was a good man" she said. Vienna smiled and thanked her as Juniper also returned to her seat. Juniper was not much of a talker, she was rather reclusive and her making an appearance in public was fairly rare. It was common for leaders of neighbouring factions to attend the funerals of other leaders, but not so much for a public figure, which only went to show how beloved Vienna's father was. The ceremony began, with Vienna, other members of her family and Isaac, the man her father had named the new owner of his mining company, gave heartfelt speeches in his memory. Citizens of the TT were then allowed to approach the casket to say their goodbyes. After the ceremony concluded, Juniper left after a quick goodbye to Vienna and her family, but Nero of course remained. "Do you have a minute now, Vienna? I really need to speak to you" he said, fiddling with something in his pocket. "Fine, make it quick" she replied. Nero swallowed nervously. "Well, um, I've been thinking recently that my people could really, uh, benefit from a potential, y'know, merger of sorts of our factions. So I was thinking, heh, that maybe you would-" he stuttered before Vienna held her finger to Nero's mouth, cutting him off. "I've heard enough. My answer is no, Nero. I have zero interest in marrying you, and my faction would gain nothing from incorporating yours" she said to him. All Nero could do was laugh nervously to himself before walking away.
As he was leaving the palace, Nero noticed Juniper was waiting just outside. "You haven't left yet?" he asked her. Juniper walked up to him. "You tried to propose to her didn't you?" she said bluntly. Nero rubbed his neck and looked down. "You had to have known she would say no. But I know you want to join the TT. I do too. I respect Vienna and her family, but I don't think she's a stronger leader. It should be one of us instead, and the TT should be all 5 toes, don't you think?" said Juniper, giving him a coy smile. Nero was surprised to learn Juniper felt the same way he did. He smiled and nodded. "Good, then we have an alliance. I'll speak to you again soon" said Juniper, shaking his hand before departing back home.
The Middle Toe Mining Company, or the MTMC, was the mining company that Vienna's father had founded. Isaac was his protege, and it was no surprise that after his passing, his will stipulated that Isaac was to become the new owner. Vienna traveled up to the mining community where the MTMC was located to visit Isaac, whom she had become close friends with over the years, and to inspect the mines. It was an enormous operation, more than half the miners in the TT worked for the MTMC. They mined Evelynn's toenail fibers, which were an extremely tough and durable material, it's uses were virtually countless. It was one of the most sought after materials in the Kingdom, and as such the TT was one of the most wealthy factions. It was dangerous for the people of Evelynnia to leave the soles of Evelynn's feet, even if it was just to the toenails, so only the most qualified miners were allowed anywhere but the tip. Vienna, being the princess, was granted special permission, and she and Isaac boarded a specially designed vehicle he used to travel the rough terrain of the toenail. They drove for several hours to reach the big mine. "There it is, over there" said Isaac, as he pointed towards it. "This is the biggest mine in the whole Kingdom. 20% of all toenail fibers in Evelynnia come from here, its the highest quality stuff, but being so far out onto the toenail its highly dangerous. You're the first non-miner to ever visit it" he explained. Isaac and Vienna exited the vehicle and made their way into the mine. Vienna was bewildered at the scale of it all, she couldn't even see the other side of it. "Incredible, isn't it? I was lost for words when I first came here too, and it was a lot smaller back then too. As you can see, we have thousands of miners here working around the clock. Our economy depends heavily on this place, so we-" Isaac began to talk as he was interrupted by the sounds of blaring sirens. "Oh shit" he muttered. "What?" asked Vienna, nervously. "That's the cave in alarm. It's never gone off before" he said, as he quickly ran towards the main building of the mine. "Follow me!" he shouted towards Vienna as she ran after him. "Stay here" he said as they entered the building. Isaac entered his office and grabbed the microphone. "EMERGENCY! EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!" he shouted, repeating himself numerous times. All the miners heeded the warning and immediately evacuated the mine, heading towards designated safe areas for the event of a cave in. Isaac left his office and walked past Vienna as he left the building. "Where are you going?" she asked. Isaac looked at her. "As the owner of this mine, it is my duty to make sure everyone has safely evacuated. Don't let anyone here leave" he said firmly, as he made his way towards the mine. Shortly after Vienna watched Isaac enter the mine, a deafening explosion shook the walls of the building, windows shattered and everyone struggled to keep their balance. Vienna and the miners continued taking shelter in the building as the dust settled. They did a headcount to make sure everyone had gotten out. Everyone was accounted for, except for Isaac.
Shortly after it was safe to leave the mine, Vienna headed back to her palace. Isaac's body was never found, but it was safe to assume he perished. It was a miracle he was the only casualty of the cave in, as the mine was destroyed beyond salvation. The MTMC declared bankruptcy as a result, and the economy of the TT was in shambles. Juniper made another visit to Vienna's palace. She approached Vienna in her chambers. "I heard about what happened. Such a tragedy, you've been through so much recently. You know, the big toe has far more area to build mines on. I'd be happy to consider negotiations" she said. Vienna's eyes teared up. "Maybe. I'll have to think on that for a little while" she said. "Of course, dear. Take your time. I hope to speak to you again soon" said Juniper as she got up to leave. As she traveled back to Big Toeronto, Juniper wrote a note to Nero. "Nero. The deed is done. We have more leverage over Vienna now. We will begin talks soon. Juniper" the note read.