The seven nations still standing quickly met to sign a monumental peace treaty, the Aecus Concord. One of the stipulations of the treaty was the foundation of an international peacekeeping organization, consisting of individuals from all the involved nations, also dubbed the Aecus Concord. It consists of three subunits:
- Supernatural Phenomena Investigation (SPI), about whom this story is concerned. These are the people who are called in when the situation is too weird for the country’s usual police force. Part detectives and part spies, SPI is the “Interpol” of the A.C. However, their central focus is not on mundane crime, politics or intrigue, but only dangerous magic which might somehow threaten world peace.
- Military Aid and Defense (MAD), a mixed force offering benign services to nations that request it. Members are volunteers from the armed forces of constituent nations. MAD is the “U.N. Peacekeeping” force of the A.C.
- Trade, Enforcement, Arbitration and Mediation (TEAM), the diplomatic arm of the A.C., facilitating diplomatic relations and fair trade between the nations. It enforces its arbitration decisions, as well as international regulations, largely via threat of trade sanctions and embargoes, should a nation fail to comply. Which so far has been rare.
The A.C. have created teleportation circles between major cities across Aecus, which all three branches regularly utilize in service to their goals. The teleportation circle spell can transport someone from any location to a permanent circle. A relatively common item known as a teleport crystal also exists (typically worth 10 gp) which anyone can use to activate a circle without spellcasting; in this way, the cities stay connected and in touch with one another. While it is not cost effective to use the circles for mass trade of goods, or to commute between cities on a daily basis, they do provide many diplomatic opportunities, as well as offering a rich courier market when the goods or information being transported are of significant enough value.