Diet of Bugs

In 1196 UC, as chronicled in The Fifth Elephant, the three main power-blocs in the former Unholy Empire met for a summit conference in the otherwise unremarkable Überwaldean town of Bugs.

In order to arrive at an uneasy sort of truce in a several-thousand-year old enmity, Dwarfs, Werewolves and Vampires agreed on the following points.

• The Dwarfs are not to mine any more silver, nor is garlic to be grown except as a flavouring for foodstuffs. Allium Sativum will not in any circumstances be used as a defensive or offensive weapon.

• In return for this concession on the part of the Dwarfs:
  • The Werewolf party agrees that Dwarfs are, from this moment on, off the menu.
  • The Vampire party will agree to refrain from snacking on members of the Dwarf race.

Neither humans nor trolls were invited, and were neither signatories nor beneficiaries of the Agreement. The cynical might note that Vampires and Werewolves still needed to eat somebody from time to time, and trolls are beneath anyone's notice as well as being impervious to even the most determined bite - it has been said that a vampire would need an industrial drill to get into a Troll's neck, and a werewolf would need tungsten carbide jaws to make even a dent...

The agreement at this Diet lasted nearly 7a centuries, until Wolfgang von Überwald led a group of renegade Werewolves in attempting to restore the old ways.

With the pact broken the Low King of the dwarfs began once again to mine and forge silver, giving the first new item, a ring, as a gift to Sybil Ramkin. Garlic was still not grown, despite the growing power of the Vampires. By Snuff it is stated that the Low King rules all Überwald below ground and Lady Margolotta of the Vampires is the ruler of all Überwald above ground, presumably representing both the undead and the humans, while the trolls are likely to come under the authority of Diamond King of Trolls.

Annotation

The Roundworld reference is to the Diet of Worms, which was a general assembly (a Diet) of the estates of the Holy Roman Emperor that took place in Worms, a small town on the Rhine river located in what is now Germany. It was conducted from January 28 to May 25, 1521, with Emperor Charles V presiding. Although other issues were dealt with at the Diet of Worms, it is most memorable for addressing Martin Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation.