Long has a state of relative peace existed between the Kingdom of the Trolls and their one true neighbour, Vikinshire. When the great Tefūmon I long ago united the feuding Troll Lords under one Kingdom, full scale war against a foreign power was both impractical, and not in the interest of the King, as he was more concerned with consolidating his own authority over the unruly Troll Lords he supposedly reigned over. Tefūmon I's successors were at first strong Kings, who, as part of their expression of royal authority, forbade their vassals from engaging in unauthorized warfare.

However, as generations passed, the Kings of the Trolls became less and less active in the affairs of their subjects, and the royal title itself devolved into a near-meaningless honour, with the Kings having no effective power beyond their personal demesnes. This erosion of royal authority meant that the Troll Lords were free to conduct their own independent wars, many of which, naturally, amounted to raids or border skirmishes with the Republic of Vikinshire to the north.

The Republic of Vikinshire, similarly going through a decline in its central government, merely endured the raids on its borders, unable to mount any counteroffensive beyond launching its own minor raids. However, in the reign of His Majesty Tefūmon LXXVII, King of the Trolls, a political revolution occured in Vikinshire, transforming it overnight from a wimpy Republic, to a much stronger Empire.

Inspired by his northern neighbour, and perhaps a bit fearful for his own position, Tefūmon LXXVII broke with centuries-long convention, and summoned a Great Conclave of the Troll Lords, which a King had not done since the times of myths. In this Conclave, the King spoke of a resurgence of the Troll nation. As a warlike and brutal people, a resurgence of any sort naturally meant a war of some kind. Tefūmon LXXVII's speech struck a fire with the other Troll Lords, who all agreed that a full-scale invasion of Vikinshire would surely render eternal glory and riches unto all of them.

Glory be!