Thread:Faenor of the Silver Laurel/@comment-26535281-20170105005928/@comment-26444332-20170105022329

I have no doubt that if the Rin chose, they could bend all their resources towards the conquest of the Consortium. And they would probably achieve it: but they would pay a heavy price.

Even as the Rin are unrelenting in their thirst for conquest, the Aetanii are an immovable defence that would not give. The Rin might win, but it would almost certainly be a phyrric victory, leaving the Empire temporarily open to assault from their enemies. Which is my reasoning for the timeline of what it has: the Rin are certainly smart enough to realize that they could take the Consortium, but they would lose their ability to maintain the Empire's other defences in the meantime. If they wanted to take the Consortium, even in a war of attrition, they would have to commit everyone to it.