Annual War: A long-standing tradition in which Brythalia invades neighboring Raelna and is promptly defeated. In most years the invasion is more a formality than a serious attempt to seize territory. Kings of Brythalia have long viewed the Annual War as a means of diverting the attention of Brythalia's fractious nobles from less desirable activities, such as rebelling against the king. The Annual War gets everyone stirred up against a common foreign enemy -- and that's always useful. Every decade or so the Brythalians get frustrated by their long losing streak and make a real effort to beat the Raelnans, but it never works out for them.

Sometimes called the Annual Invasion.