I don't know that much about the rest of the world during the second age, but apart from what Peter and Jeff said, the EWF often dealt with the Praxians through their proxies, the pure horse people. The pure horse people were, of course, just out for themselves. I suspect that they frequently entertained emissaries from both the EWF and the Middle Seas Empire. Geographically jumping past Dragon Pass to claim the desolate wastes couldn't have seemed like a very viable strategy for the MSE. The only interesting thing that ever found there were the giants' cradles. So, the EWF didn't need much of a presence there. I'd think of it as a long, low-level skirmish. I think that towards the end of the second age, both cultures started realizing that there are some very strong magics out in the wastes, but they had bigger problems at that point.
So, if your game calls for it, you can find a second age manuscript by a scholar sent from one of the big empires, describing one of the wonders of the waste. And maybe those scholars put in motion some deeper magic processes that lie dormant or are just coming to a head.
Chris
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