The Great War (2013-2014)

“There would be no winners, only survivors.” — HonoredMule of Harmless?, 2014

War Details#

Date Range:	October 2013 – July 2014
Primary Theaters:	Mal Motsha, Kal Tirikan, Freemorn, Norweld, and western Elgea
Coalition / Dominion Bloc:	Harmless? [H?] • Night Crusaders [NC] • Dwarven Lords [Dlord] • The Colonist Empire [TCol] • The Order [T-O] • Dark Blight [DB] • TRIVIUM [TVM]
Grand Alliance:	vCrow • uCrow • nCrow • Eagle’s Eyrie [EE] • Shade [SHADE] • BANE • Soon • Dark Empire • Æsir • Fairy Road Authority [Roads] • Dwarven Druids • Invictus • Elysian Fields • Pending… [Soon] • The Liberation • NAAM • Victrix [VICX]
Outcome:	Grand Alliance victory; Dominion collapsed; H? and NC crushed by coordinated sieges and widespread noob-ringings
Casualties:	Several million troops; 150+ cities razed or exodused
Key Figures:	SirBradly (NC) • Malek (BANE) • Kale Weathers (TCol) • Nokigon (DB) • HonoredMule (H?) • Kumomoto (H?) • Boru (VicX) • Mahaut (VicX) • The_Duke (SHADE) • Praetor Augustus (T-O) • Zenorra & Tacardi (TCol) • Tamaeon (uCrow) • Sevenonefour (vCrow) • Dittobite (vCrow)

Origins and Causes#

The origins of the Great War remain a subject of debate among historians and veterans alike. Some argue that it began when vCrow, tiring of Night Crusaders’ [NC] swagger and opportunism, decided to curb their influence through coordinated action. Others contend that it was, at least in part, an act of revenge by the surviving fragments of Consone who had endured humiliation in the Trove War. In truth, both interpretations hold merit. The war’s genesis was structural in that vCrow provided the organizational core and strategic impetus, but it was also psychological, drawing ex-Consone alliances such as Eagles Eyrie [EE] who still carried the memory of defeat. As Hathaldir later recalled, “For me, it was revenge… We didn’t start the Trove War. We got hammered hard for it. And it was a case of, hang on, we’re bigger, we’re stronger… let’s exercise our knowledge and belt them.”

This duality — vCrow’s disciplined coordination combined with the emotional drive of Consone’s survivors — gave the Grand Alliance both its formidable size and its volatile energy. The war that followed was therefore not simply a campaign of strategy, but a convergence of motive: a structured retaliation fueled by personal vindication.

Prelude – The Burden of Past Wars#

The Great War erupted from the sediment of earlier rivalries. The Coalition’s victory over Consone (2012–2013) left unhealed wounds: punitive raze terms and resentment in EE, Fairy Roads Authority, and Dark Empire.

The NC vs BANE War (2013–2014) hardened veterans on both sides. SirBradly and Malek won mutual respect amid devastation — respect that would later unite them in SIN. By 2014, tournaments had stalled, armies swelled, and “Illy was full of negative gold and people willing to prove their mettle,” as The Duke of Shade recalled. All that was needed was a spark.

In a later reflection, Tamaeon of uCrow corroborated this view, describing how the NC vs BANE War convinced many that Harmless? [H?] was protecting Night Crusaders [NC] from accountability for what he called “indiscriminate targeting of alliances unfit or unequipped for war.” He recalled that when DARK attempted mediation, H? forbade their involvement — an act that “made it clear they would shield NC at all costs.” According to Tamaeon, this moment was the final proof that a continent-wide conflict was inevitable, echoing SirBradly’s own account from the opposite side of the war.^{[Tamaeon 2015]}

Shadow Diplomacy of 2013#

Long before the first declarations of war, plans for a realm-wide confrontation were already taking shape. In his 2015 forum post, Tamaeon confirmed that by September 2013—days before BANE’s surrender—the soon-to-be Grand Alliance had already drawn battle lines and signed agreements to “see the entire war through together, no matter the outcome.” This detailed planning directly followed NC’s renewed offensives and reinforced the widespread fear of an H?-NC hegemony.

Strategic discussions mapped out a predicted chain of escalation: NC would renew attacks on BANE; BANE’s retaliation would draw in Harmless? as defender; and the Crow Confederation, alongside allies in Shade and others, would join to counterbalance the Coalition. The intention was not parity but destruction — to “crush” rather than equalize Harmless?’s power.

Throughout 2013, diplomatic feelers spread outward: Shade pledged its readiness, Valar and VICX were expected to join when called, and alliances like Pending, Shadow, and Dark were quietly cultivated. These preparations created a continent-wide lattice of loyalties waiting only for provocation.

That spark came when a prominent Coalition figure publicly antagonized rival commanders in global chat — a taunt that turned strategic patience into personal resolve. In the months that followed, the talk of eventual confrontation hardened into certainty. When the Robbrit incident occurred the next year, the powder keg was already packed.

Alliances and Ideologies#

The Coalition (+ Dominion Bloc) — These alliances saw themselves as guardians of order and purveyors of “honor in war.” H?’s treaties drafted by HonoredMule codified that ideal. Coalition members included:

• Harmless? [H?]
• The Night Crusaders [NC]
• The Dwarven Lords [Dlord]
• The Colonist Empire [TCol]
• The Order [T-O]
• Dark Blight [DB]
• TRIVIUM [TVM]

The Grand Alliance — These alliances viewed Harmless as a moralizing hegemony to be broken, with the Night Crusaders representing a marauding, chaotic arm of violence and destruction let loose by H? in order to sow fear and intimidation. Their war was for independence and equity among alliances. Alliance members included:

• Æsir
• Damage Inc.
• Dark Empire
• Dwarven Druids
• Elysian Fields
• Eagle’s Eyrie [EE]
• Fairy Road Authority [FRA]
• Invictus
• NAAM-Alliance [NAAM]
• Pending…
• The Liberation
• Valiant Crows [vCrow]
• Victrix [VICX]

Both rosters are fully cross-sourced from two independent traditions: Arcanum Illyria’s community wiki (Bonfyr Verboo, post-H? era), and forum-based historical chronologies (Nokigon, Epidemic, Tamaeon, etc.)

The Spark – Robbrit and the Domino Week#

In October 2013, a minor settlement dispute in Mal Motsha ignited a world war. TCol’s Robbrit settled near an inactive account that later joined uCrow. When uCrow launched sieges, Kale Weathers ordered them broken.

Within days the realm erupted:

• Oct 15 2013 — EE declares war on Trivium (TVM)
• Oct 26 2013 — uCrow & vCrow declare on TCol
• Oct 28 2013 — Harmless? declares on EE (“six-month clause”)
• Oct 30 2013 — Dark, Shade, Soon, and vCrow declare on Harmless

Nokigon estimated the Grand Alliance held a 2.5:1 advantage in population and armies — the largest mobilization in Illyriad history.

Chronological Campaign Table#

Date	Region / Event	Belligerents	Outcome / Notes
Oct 2013	Mal Motsha – Robbrit Dispute	TCol vs uCrow	Sieges broken by TCol; escalation to full declarations
15 Oct 2013	EE declares on TVM	EE vs TVM / H?	Revenge for Consone-era losses
26 Oct 2013	uCrow & vCrow declare on TCol	Dominion vs Crowfed	Opens northern front
28 Oct 2013	Harmless? declares on EE	H? vs EE	Triggers bloc-wide alignment
Oct 2014	Stuebenus’ Kingdom of the Dwarves	Dominion vs Grand Alliance	Massive mountain battle; Kale Weathers retires
30 Oct – Nov 2013	Dark / Shade / Soon / vCrow declare on H?	Grand Alliance vs Coalition	Global escalation — “Domino Week”
Nov 2013	Freemorn Battles	Shade vs Harmless?	Heavy casualties; Shade gains ground
Nov – Dec 2013	Siege of Ely	Dominion (DB, TCol, T-O) vs nCrow / EE	Dominion repulsed; Ely holds; Dominion surrenders soon after
Dec 2013	Siege of Coriallum	T-O vs vCrow / NAAM	City survives 15-day siege by resource convoys
Dec 2013 – Jan 2014	Sieges at Sinde & Taelin’s City	DB / TCol vs vCrow	Over 1 million troops lost each; Dominion crippled
Feb 2014	H? Strongholds in Kal Tirikan	Shade / BANE / Crows vs H?	H? armies decimated in attempts to save cities
Apr-Jun 2014	NC Final Stand, Noob-Ringings, and NC’s Collapse	Grand Alliance vs NC	SirBradly & Electrok razed; NC destroyed
July 20, 2014	Harmless? Surrenders	Head of Coalition	Formal surrender and end of war

Major Campaigns#

Mal Motsha – The Dominion Front: The Dominion opened offensively by besieging Ely (Asjeff of nCrow) to relieve pressure on TCol. After the loss of Siparia and Three Pools, their reserves were spent. “Either we would break them, or be broken ourselves,” wrote Nokigon — and they were broken.

Kal Tirikan – Shade vs Harmless?: Freemorn saw some of the bloodiest fighting. The Duke of Shade recorded battles against John 5420 and Leanthar of H?, each inflicting 2 : 1 casualties before yielding ground.

The Siege of Coriallum: Praetor Augustus demolished his own city to lower storm population and held for 15 days under constant attack, supplied nightly by alliance-wide resource convoys. The siege expired with Coriallum intact — a symbol of steadfast defense.

Turning Points#

The Ely Disaster, DSD Collapse, and Dominion Surrender:
What Nokigon later called “The Ely Failure” was, in truth, the disastrous cavalry assault led by Kale Weathers up the mountain slopes north of Ely. Entire columns were annihilated, crippling TCol’s armies. Kale resigned immediately afterward, and within weeks his successor Pellinell surrendered the Dark Star Dominion to the Grand Alliance. To SirBradly, this was “the moment the Coalition died.”

Roman Empire Surrenders to uCrow, NAAM, and CK

Also in January of 2014, Coalition-aligned RE formally surrendered to the Grand Alliance. In a forum post, uCrow leader Tamaeon announced the final peace agreement: “I want to congratulate The Roman Empire on behalf of CK, NAAM and uCrow for embracing a lengthy ceasefire and successfully negotiating a lasting peace settlement with our coalition.” In the same forum thread, both nCrow’s rill and longtime Crow veteran Angrim noted that this conflict was “what started the war in the first place.” In this way, RE’s settlement with the Grand Alliance mirrored RHY’s early settlement with Consone, with both alliances being involved in the spark of their respective wars.

The Duke’s Defection Controversy#

The defection of The Duke and his alliance, Shade, remains one of the most debated episodes of the Great War. Early in the conflict, Shade had declared neutrality and acted as a stabilizing influence between the Grand Alliance and its adversaries. Yet as the war deepened and the northern front grew bloodier, Shade entered into confederation with Pending, Valiant Crows [vCrow], and other Grand Alliance elements, shifting the balance of power decisively in the north.

Malek described the move as “the great betrayal,” claiming that Duke had privately assured NC and Harmless? of neutrality while secretly preparing to attack. SirBradly agreed that the defection was unexpected but acknowledged that the strain of diplomacy and pressure from the Crows likely made neutrality untenable. Duke’s new testimony confirms the duality of those accounts: he admits that Shade had been in private discussion with the Crows before the outbreak of war, intending to avoid conflict but drawn in by personal loyalty to old allies such as Jasche, Hathaldir, and Dittobite.

Once committed, Shade became a pivotal northern asset for the Grand Alliance. Duke’s own recollections describe his heavy cavalry regiments joining coordinated campaigns in Kal Tirikan and Freemorn, where Shade fought alongside Crows and Pending commanders such as John5420, Tordenkaffen, Mishra, Bevo, and Eragon31. Their combined sieges broke through NC’s border defenses and triggered the northern collapse that culminated in the razing of Beecks of NC, one of the war’s most infamous moments. SirBradly described Beecks’ fall as emotionally charged and symbolic — the end of the old northern Coalition order — and The Duke’s new account corroborates their battlefield details almost point for point.

While earlier historians have portrayed Duke’s decision as a purely political calculation, his later statements reveal a more personal and introspective motive. He describes the decision to join the Grand Alliance as an act of misplaced loyalty and youthful pride, admitting that he underestimated both the human cost and the moral weight of that choice.

“I was a lot younger then, and hindsight, they say, is 20/20,” he wrote in 2025. “I should have remained neutral—and more than that, Starry and Killer Poodle were good leaders and beacons within the Illyriad community. I wish I had the level of insight to use the position I had within the Grand Alliance to bring an end to the war much sooner.”

The Duke’s reflection adds a rare tone of humility to the historiography of the Great War. It softens the absolutism that once framed Shade’s defection as treachery, instead portraying it as the human outcome of divided loyalties and moral exhaustion. His account now stands as a bridge between the conviction of the Coalition’s veterans and the self-awareness that came to define the Grand Alliance’s final years.

Prelude: TRIVIUM and the Eagles Eyrie Conflict (2013)#

In October 2013, the fragile peace that had followed the collapse of Consone was shattered when EAGLES EYRIE [EE] declared war on TRIVIUM [TVM], a rising power formed from the veterans of The Long Road. EE’s stated motive was revenge for TVM’s alleged attacks on EE forces and cities during the Consone War, as well as its refusal to issue formal declarations at the time. The declaration, issued on October 15, caught TRIVIUM’s leaders off guard. BV later recalled learning of it through an apologetic message from Caconafyx, who had resigned from EE in protest of the decision.

The early stages of the war saw TVM adopting a purely defensive stance, with BV ordering members to rely on runes, dodging, and magical countermeasures while diplomatic negotiations were attempted. But as attacks intensified, TVM began allowing limited counterstrikes. EE soon found support from several Crow alliances, most notably Valiant Crows [vCrow], whose leader dittobite warned BV that if TRIVIUM did not surrender, vCrow would join EE against them to “free them to assist in the south.” Members of nCrow, including Le Roux and her alt Mona Lisa, joined the attacks, along with a single Shade player—believed to be dittobite’s alt.

EE’s leader Hathaldir later reflected on the war: “At the time, I thought I was fighting The Long Road. I didn’t yet understand that Bonfyr had turned it into something different.” This confusion over TRIVIUM’s identity—whether it was the rebirth of TLR or an entirely new alliance—would become emblematic of the shifting loyalties and mythmaking that defined the coming age.

By late November, TRIVIUM’s position had become untenable. Outnumbered and beset by multiple alliances, BV announced the alliance’s withdrawal in a public statement titled “Trivium Has Withdrawn from the War.” The tone was somber but dignified, emphasizing TVM’s intent to rebuild and preserve its community despite its lossesTrivium has withdrawn from the ….

“I would like to say that Trivium has fought harder than most alliances 5× their size could fight. I am proud and honored to have fought with them in this war. They have survived battles that would have toppled most alliances in the game. You have my respect.”
—Myr, Knights of Virtue (Forum post, 2013)

Myr’s tribute captured the spirit of the conflict: bitter yet honorable, fought between veterans who had once stood side by side in the Coalition. In the aftermath, BV described the war as the true beginning of the Great War—“the last battle of the Consone conflict became the first of the next age.” Historians today concur: the TRIVIUM–EE war was the first open rupture among former Coalition allies and the spark that ignited Elgea’s most devastating era of war.

In later interviews, Hathaldir reflected that EAGLES EYRIE’s hard-won experience against TRIVIUM was one reason the alliance was invited into the emerging Grand Alliance. “It wasn’t about history so much as capability,” he said, “but we’d already proven we could fight—and that counted for a lot.” That invitation, rooted in the ashes of the TRIVIUM war, carried the enmities and lessons of 2013 directly into the heart of the Great War.

Final Sieges and the Noob-Ringing of Coalition Members#

By early 2015 the Grand Alliance pursued total annihilation of NC. Entire accounts in NC were razed city by city, sending veterans back to the newbie spawn ring with 0-population settlements.

“There is a link on my old profile where I tell the jackals in the forums near the end of the war that I will not apologize, so take your pound of flesh… I lost all but one of my cities in 24 hours.” — SirBradly

Electrok followed suit, queuing a 30-day research so his city could not exodus from incoming sieges. He too was noob-ringed. Bradly called it “a boss move — took it like a warrior.” Their acts of voluntary defeat became the war’s final legend.

H? and the remaining Coalition alliances’ armies were decimated in the late war, exhausting all of their resources to stem the rising tide of destruction that had washed over NC. By July of 2014, H? was virtually out of troops and they faced mass noob-ringing or an unconditional surrender — choosing the latter in order to preserve the alliance. However, while cities were spared, H?’s role as political leader in Illyriad was forever destroyed.

The Moral War – Conflicting Testimonies#

HonoredMule (H?): claimed Harmless entered only to rescue NC and was betrayed by a false ally that sabotaged peace.

Aurordan (EE): countered that Harmless was the aggressor — an empire posing as moral arbiter.

Each side believed it fought for honor, and each believed the other had none.

Aftermath and Legacy#

The war ended without treaty or triumph. The Coalition was gone; Harmless’ troop counts were decimated and NC lay in ruins, many of their accounts noob-ringed or near-noob-ringed. Elgea’s map was scarred by empty hexes and abandoned hubs. The Grand Alliance soon splintered under its own weight and the controversy of whether its summary eradication of NC accounts was an unforgivable atrocity or the result of intransigent NC leaders who chose death over dishonor.

From the ashes rose a new order. SirBradly and Malek — former enemies — founded SIN, a fraternity of veterans that rejected old politics in favor of personal respect and tactical excellence.

Legacy of the Broken Lands#

Bonfyr Verboo’s account on Arcanum Illyria recorded how the remnants of TRIVIUM, after their defeat in Elgea, retreated to the newly discovered Broken Lands — specifically to the region of Oarnamly. There, they reestablished a capital and invited other war refugees to rebuild a new society “out of a broken one.” This migration marked the symbolic close of the Great War and the dawn of Illyriad’s second continental era.

The Great War marked the end of the Confederation Age and the beginning of a new era defined by individual reputation over collective ideology.

Historical Assessment#

• Honor vs Pragmatism: Harmless’s code met the Grand Alliance’s realism.
• Regional to Total War: No corner of Elgea escaped the fighting.
• Valor in Defeat: Bradly and Electrok’s self-sacrifice became symbols of Illyriad chivalry.

The Great War was fought not for resources but for memory and identity. Its ashes taught that no banner guarantees virtue — only the conduct of those who fight beneath it.

Sources and References#

• Nokigon, The History of Illyriad (Incomplete)
• Nokigon et al., “Grandpa, Tell Us About the War” (2014)
• Epidemic, “The Great War” thread (2015)
• Nokigon, “After Consone: The Dominion and the Road to War”
• Bonfyr Verboo (abstractdream), “TRIVIUM” thread (November 2013)
• Arcanum Illyria – “Grand Alliance” (defunct wiki archive, 2014)
• Bonfyr Verboo, “A Brief History of the Grand Alliance War on Harmless? and Allies” (Arcanum Illyria, 2014)
• Tamaeon, “uCrow, NAAM & CK declare peace with Roman Empire” thread (January 2014)
• The Duke, HonoredMule, Aurordan, Artefore, Malek — primary forum commentaries (2014–2015)
• Strategic alliance communications, 2013–2014 (archival coordination among early Grand Alliance planners)
• SirBradly and Malek, personal recollections, October 2025 (interviews on file)
• The Duke, personal recollections, November 5, 2025 (interview on file)
• Primary oral testimony: Hathaldir, October 29, 2025 (interview on file)
• Illyriad Telegraph archives
• Master War Chronology (2025 edition)