The Border Wars

The Border Wars is the name given to the long-standing conflict on the expanding boundaries of Elothnin. Since its founding under Otellian a millenium ago, Elothnin has grown consistently, often with the resistance of their neighbors who were being brought into the country against their will. The term Border Wars' modern usage refers primarily to the more recent conflicts between the Elothninian Empire and the non-humans living in the Fethil and western parts of the country.

The Imperial Offensive
The Border Wars began under the reign of Queen Lilhelndine who sought to expand Elothnin's borders to the Erkenheld Forest at the expense of the non-human residents of the Fethil and Perejin. Though there were already humans living in these areas, including Prabil Worthis, they were content to coexist peacefully with their primarily elvish neighbors, and, for the most part, did not see any need to bring the land under Elothnin's rule.

However, with an increasing number of reports from frontiersmen and explorers describing the bountiful grain and hospitable climate, a swell of public support for invasion steadily developed. In addition to the accounts of early adventurers, a famine struck Elothnin in 850--the same year as King Gimmelthorpe's death--throwing added urgency to the demands of expansionist politicians and publicists. Naturally, a great deal of planning was involved: an army (see right) had to be raised and outfitted, maps needed to be made, and a strategy concocted.

After five years of wrangling, in the year 855 Lilhelndine sent an army into the Fethil to claim the territory for the empire and subdue any resistance they met. Despite the extensive planning, the venture proved quite ill-conceived, and the army was hampered by poor logistics and supply issues. The troops were mired in deep mud after heavy spring rains, and sustained severe losses from elvish guerillas who harried the column during its slow advance.

After reaching what was then the small village of Neerhemfeth, the army had lost nearly a quarter of its troops to the elves' guerilla tactics, disease and desertion. At this point, the commander elected to beat a retreat to the boundaries of Elothnin proper and face the wrathful disappointment of Lilhelndine.

Peaceful Expansion
Diplomacy, in the form of the rustic Prabil Worthis, proved a much more effective approach to expansion than military adventure. Worthis had lived among the elves for a number of years, and had argued against forcefully incorporating the territory into the Elothninian empire. Rather, he argued for a peaceful association between the independent province and its larger, more powerful neighbor.

When it became clear that Elothnin was bent upon conquest, even at a heavy loss of life, and that the elves were going to remain equally staunch in defense of their homeland, Worthis sought to forestall a bloody conflagration by getting the elves to leave through a traditional drinking match. Being both an honorable people and great lovers ale, the elves were quite content to put their fate in the hands of their stoutest lush. The elves' champion and Worthis drank for three days straight before the latter proved the victor (see left for an artist's interpretation of this auspicious event). The elves were so astonished by the human's capacity for drink that they felt little resentment about having to leave the land that they had inhabited since time immemorial.

Many of these red elves migrated to valleys in the Klevarcht Mountains where they proceeded to eke out a living off of the few plants, including, of course, pipe-weed, that would sustain themselves in the less than favorable soil. Some groups of elves were more reluctant to leave their ancestral homeland, and simply moved farther north and west to the areas of the Fethil adjacent to the Erkenheld and Klevarcht mountains.

Persistent Hostilities
Following the death of Prabil Wothis in the year 924, relations between elves and human settlers in the Fethil soured. This was in part due to the loss of the great negotiator and preacher of tolerance that had been Worthis, and also to the increased demand for farmland and resources as ever greater numbers of humans entered the Fethil. This expansion resulted in the resumption of guerrilla attacks by red elves on human settlements.

In response, Lilhelndine issued a formal proclamation of annexation of the Fethil and Perejin and sent out a refitted, stronger army force to protect the humans under attack. Due to the sheer size and strength of the Imperial Army, those elves that resisted were forced to take flight into the Erkenheld Forest. The elves, under the leadership of a young Jellihondor, soon struck an alliance with the centaurs of the forest who felt threatened by Elothnin's seemingly insatiable drive for territory, uniting the Rebel Forces under one flag for the first time (see right).

In Perejin, humans began making incursions into the Erkenheld Forest, attempting to take advantage of the empire's growing market for timber, by setting up logging in the mysterious forest. Progress in this endeavor was slow but steady, hampered by the odd tricks that magical areas are apt to play on the minds of men. In addition, the normally retiring gnomes of the forest were sparked to pugnacity by Elothninian encroachment on their homeland, leading many of them to join with the elves in fighting against the humans.

The Border Wars have continued more or less unabated for ever since, taking a particularly heavy toll on the Fethil, where the majority of fighting has been concentrated. Neither side has won a decisive victory during this time, but, some Elothninain strategists believe that the advantage currently lies with the resistance insofar as they have been able to systematically harry Imperial Army with very little loss of life on their own side.