abstract
| - In the years after the Era of Chaos, many of the Empire's enemies took advantage. The most daring was the combined assault of Dragonborn out of the Axplo Jungle and Eladrin from their island stronghold of Tel Avandi against the weakened Riverlands. For years, the Eladrin had been raiding and harrying Imperial ships along the Storm Coast and Pax Coasta. Their ships were built for tremendous speed which they used in surprise hit and run attacks. The Dragonborn, despite once allying themselves with the Empire against the Yuan-ti, were furious that the Imperial Dragons were allowed to rampage at will during the Dragonrage. With more than half the Imperial Army dead after fighting the abberations for years, the soldiers who remained were untrained or unruly, and even then, they were scattered all over the Empire in attempts to keep the fringes in check. In secret, the Avandi and Dragonborn had been meeting and preparing for a time such as this. And once the threat of the Far Realm was removed, they struck. Eladrin corsairs hit the port of Ghale at dawn on the same day the Dragonborn attacked several outposts along the Seel River. This cut the the Nerathi in the Riverlands off from the capital and the more populated lands to the southeast. The Eladrin moved in from the coast and Dragonborn up from the rivers and laid siege to Harrendel. While the siege went on, a strong naval force of Eladrin raided along Pax Coasta all the way north to Lioq. Any Imperial ships were sunk on sight, and any merchants were captured. The Dragonborn pillaged the countryside, forcing many hungry mouths to head east in search of help. But eventually, the efficiency of the Empire won out. The Eladrin were too far away from Tel Avandi to keep themselves well armed and the Dragonborn were too decentralized to ever compete logistically. The war machine of the Empire slowly but surely worked its way from the capital, then Zhun, then into the Riverlands proper. From there, it was a slow but steady war of attrition that was broke when the Siege at Harrendel was lifted. The Nerathi never forgave the Eladrin or Dragonborn and sought to destroy them until its very end.
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