Major Faction Age of Strife | The Empire

Driven with fire and vengeance accrued over their long and bloody conflict with the Maw, the armies of the Empire are propelled into conflict once more as multiple galactic powers collide on the world of Tython. Unimaginably savage combat erupts across the entirety of the planet, bringing the forces of the Empire being engaged on multiple fronts on the ground and in orbit. Meanwhile the Emperor marched into the heart of darkness on his own, adamant in his desire to seek vengeance against the assassin of Irveric Tavlar, the former Imperial Warlord known as Halketh, but now revealed to be Darth Caelitus.

Unyielding in the face of such a powerfully corrupt traitor to the Empire, Rurik would come out victorious in the end, only to find himself once more facing down the epitome of the darkness that threatened to consume Tython. A clash of titans began henceforth, the collision of their respective powers reverberating through the force as these formidable presences overshadowed the barbarous conflict that went on in the background. Despite the best being given by the Iron Emperor in these crucial moments of the war, the Emperor would meet his demise at the hands of Darth Solipsis in their final and greatest clash.

But in his last command just prior to his death, Emperor Fel would anoint Lord General Erskine Barran as the Lord Regent, to steward his vast realm against the boundless number of dangers which threatened to tear his Empire asunder at any given moment. This edict was given in counter to his brother, Lucien Dooku, being announced as heir to the Empire in the months prior, leading to a situation internally that threatened further unrest after the news of Rurik's death had reached the majority of the populace.

With the death of the Emperor, a viable heir to take the throne, and the appointment of a Lord Regent to boot, a crisis began to slowly brew that had the potential to tear apart all that Rurik had worked to create. Imperial nobility and aristocracy backed the Lord Regent, long known for his fervor and loyalty to the establishment. On the reverse, the general populace were long in favor of the more progressive Heir to the Empire, whose reputation had long been cemented as a Champion of the people.

An accord was reached between the Lord Regent and Heir, with the latter taking the steps to back the Regent's authority, and back down on his rightful claim in order to hold together the fabric of his brother's legacy. The Lord Regent would rule in his stead, and Lucien would tentatively support the Empire through his ascension as the leader of the Order of the Imperial Knights, a position once heralded by none other than the Emperor himself.

With the backing of the Imperial Knights, he assumed the title of Warden of the Empire, and de-facto increased their autonomy from the Imperial war machine to become Guardians of the Empire, first and foremost. The Lord Regent, on the other hand, formed a Triumvirate to serve as the ruling council of the Empire, consolidating the powerbase of the two most powerful men within the Empire alongside his own burgeoning authority. With Grand Moff Willan Tal's influence over the army, and Grand Admiral Caarlyle Rausgeber's influence over the navy, this newly-reshuffled Triumvirate was tasked with navigating the Empire into the future.

Though no longer in dire straits, the failures of the Imperial war machine during the Winter Contingency, coupled with the growing elements of sedition brewing discreetly from within, meant that the tentatively achieved stability of the present would be hard-pressed to maintain internally. Meanwhile the escalation of hostilities with the Galactic Alliance, and the continuous hazard of the cancer that was the Maw to its flank, would put further external pressure on the Imperials moving forward.

For the loyal sons and daughters of the Empire, the worst of the tribulations have yet to come to pass, and it would be up to all collectively to persevere through this coming Age of Strife.