MM! AU: Map of Anima

One of the most prosperous Kingdoms on Remnant before the Great War, Mistral has had a tumultuous time since the end of that terrible conflict. Ostracized as one of the aggressor nations, Mistral was forced to virtually disband its armed forces as the Emperor knuckled under to the will of the King of Vale, as well as pay reparations to Vale and Vacuo. With no aid coming from the collapsing Mantle, Mistral was on it's own. 

However, the death of the former Emperor and the rise of Prince Shanmao to the throne saw the kingdom undergo a period of rebirth, and prosperity returned as arts and culture once more flourished in the outer territories. With Mistral controlling much of Anima, the kingdom could call on a wide supply of resources and people, and industry began to flourish in cities such as Odessa. However, with this rebirth came a surge in criminal activity, as Black Markets grew in the cities for everything from weapons and Dust to narcotics and slave laborers. Meanwhile, Bandit gangs roamed the countryside, battling other settlements as often as they battled the Grimm. 

Despite this, Mistral and Haven Academy enjoyed a time of relative peace...until the Vytal Crisis, and the Grimm Incursion that followed. 

With Atlas in disarray following their role in the chaos, the Government of Mistral made the difficult decision to commence rearmament, and old Great-War vintage uniforms, weapons and equipment were pulled from arsenals and warehouses as recruits mustered at reopened barracks. All these preparations came just in time, as the Siege of Mistral began with a thunderous bombardment on the city. 

for almost a year, the guns of the Red Fang, ranging from light mountain howitzers to massive Gavard Siege guns of the Great War pounded the city, doing untold amounts of damage and killing hundreds. In addition to the human cost, relations with other kingdoms were further strained, as it was discovered that Schnee Dust had manufactured some of the shells falling on the city and other kingdoms could not-or would not-send assistance. Some of the outlying villages, such as Schion, became battlegrounds, with refugees fleeting for the presumed safety of Mistral's walls. Several massacres of innocents by the Red Fang only stirred up more public fear and dissent, and there was a real risk of a public revolt. 
The victory of the Mistral armed forces and their Huntsmen allies came in the nick of time. 

In the aftermath of the Siege, a new surge in nationalism took hold: having won their victory of their own accord with no help from the other nations, the people of Mistral came to believe they could only rely on their own selves for survival, which in turn led to a period of social and technological development, as well as large-scale rebuilding of the military. under the command of such personalities as Jaegar Gathers and Lutina Adel. 

The Kingdom and it's industrial cities also served as something of a "global arsenal" selling large numbers of weapons to other kingdoms to aid in defense and Anti-Grimm activities. Mistral itself soon surpassed Atlas as a technological powerhouse, which would be crucial as the New Path began it's rise in Atlas....