The Grand Game

The Grand Game is a term used for the strategic rivalry between Eluvatar, the Haradrim Empire, and the Myrorian Empire for supremacy in central Ennorath. The rivalry is generally considered as having started in the late 18th century between Eluvatar and the Haradrim, and expanded in 1817, with the establishment of the Myrorian colony of Bellevir, to 1898, when the brinkmanship in the region exploded into the Great War.

Eluvataran-Haradrim rivalry in Ennorath

By the end of the 18th century, the Haradrim Empire and Eluvatar had shared a border in central Ennorath for decades, and both nations had become fiercely defensive of their influence in the region. From the Haradrim perspective, Eluvatar's consolidation of the Benn and Finn in the southern parts of the nation stood as a threat to their northernmost province, Suveri. As Eluvatar began to unite the feuding peoples along their southern border, the Haradrim feared that the united nation would use this new territory as a staging ground for an Eluvataran invasion of Suveri.

It was with this in mind that the Haradrim began to institute new laws in their Suveri province, and moved a greater number of troops to the region as a buffer in case of an invasion. The laws were not effective as keeping dissent down, however, and were soon repealed to ensure the native Suveri as an ally in any invasion by the Eluvatarans.

The establishment of Bellevir

At the same time, the Myrorian Empire sought to expand their dominions beyond Nouvé Resdaynea, and saw the mostly unclaimed land in north-central Ennorath as a perfect place to establish a frontier outpost and feed the growing textile mills around Pelagis. In 1817, Myroria formally established the colony of Bellevir in north-central Ennorath, which quickly expanded to border both the Haradrim and Eluvatar; the nations now had a third rival to contend with for the domination of central Ennorath.

By 1850, Eluvatar had decided to seek an alliance with their cordially neutral neighbor Myroria. The Eluvataran government quickly secured an alliance stretching across the Northern Strait, the Coalition of Carth, and their rival in Ennorath was now an ally. The Haradrim's position in the region was becoming more and more precarious, and with Baan Myrskyja's encouragement that young lycanthropes join the Eluvataran armies in the south of the nation, the Haradrim knew that the Baan must be eliminated to ensure the balance of power in the region.

The Great War

By the fall of 1898, the Haradrim government had become secure in their plan of action, and hired a Myrorian assassin to kill the Baan Myrskyja. From the Haradrim perspective, such an assassination was hardly important considering the hundreds that had been carried out over the years against them by the Eluvatarans. However, the assassination of Myrskyja as he traveled through the region would lead to declarations of war by the Coalition against the Haradrim and their ally the Bolu. The conflict over a small region of Ennorath had, in a matter of weeks, exploded into the largest war the world had ever seen.