Dark Empire War

The Dark Empire War, sometimes called the Spherus Magna Civil War, was a massive, large-scale conflict fought between a small band of resistance fighters and the united armies of the Corpse Empire, Shadow of Ages, and Empire of Shadows, who had banded together to form the Dark Empire and conquer Spherus Magna.

Prelude
Shortly after the Dark Empire established itself as the ruling power of Spherus Magna, the group's leaders were forced to enforce a number of operations in order to continue maintaining discipline over the planet. Whilst not all of these events are known, the ones listed below are the ones known to have had significant impacts on the fate of Spherus Magna.

Skrall Degradations
The Skrall Degradations were a series of efforts to infiltrate the remnants of the Rock Tribe, the goal being to completely shatter the structure of the Skrall's society in order to ensure they would not oppose the Empire's rule. At first, everything played their course, though when a Skrall warrior named Korzor discovered the Empire's plans, Eostra Nihiltian was forced to take drastic measures, and nearly completely wiped out the Skrall race. The few Skrall who survived either joined up with a number of newly-formed resistances, or scattered themselves to avoid detection.

Sacking of Creep Canyon
The Sacking of Creep Canyon was the first known effort by the Empire to crush existing rebellions. The Empire had managed to gain intelligence on a small, yet threatening group of resistance fighters whom had learned of the Dark Empire's true schemes. In order to prevent them from being exposed, the Empire ordered a Makuta named Vicoran to lead a unit of soldiers into the resistance's base in Creep Canyon to wipe them out. This mission proved highly successful, and much of the stolen information was recovered in the process. The leader of the opposing resistance, Toa Tahu, was also killed during the raid, along with most of the Toa Nuva, and his Golden Armor was placed in Eostra's vault as a trophy. Because of his victory, Vicoran was assigned command over an entire legion of soldiers. The only known survivor of this event was Toa Nalek, who would hide in the wastelands for a time before joining up with another resistance.

Deity Purge
During their first year in control of Spherus Magna, the Empire became aware of the existence of the powerful Deities, beings with powerful control over a certain aspect of reality. This campaign, headed by Millennium, took him to both the Space Dimension and the Time Dimension, where Millennium and his forces were brought into conflict with the Deity of Space and the Deity of Time respectively. After many months of fighting, both deities surrendered to the Empire, and were put into a coma to prevent them from interfering with Millennium's conquests. Soon after, other deities, such as the Deity of Nothingness, were eliminated, though at least one, a being named Shadowhawk, joined the Empire itself.

Invasion of the Gigas Magna Empire
Shortly prior to the Empire's total conquest of Spherus Magna, the Great Being Brominax discovered the Empire's existence, and fearing their potential threat, returned to Gigas Magna to assemble an army to deal with the group. Allying the forces of the Gigas Magna Resistance with the Gigas Magna Empire, and the Bounty Hunters' Guild, Brominax, Tetrack Nui, and Slicer led the armies of Gigas Magna down onto Spherus Magna with the intention of wiping out the Empire. Arriving just as the Empire had cemented their control over the planet, Brominax's army was met with fierce resistance from the Empire, whose defenses were directed by the Dark Lord.

With his fleets ravaged, and unable to return to Gigas Magna, Tetrack went into hiding; eventually joining up with a small resistance led by a Ko-Matoran named Ixtil and his lieutenant, Toa Jareroden. Brominax himself traveled off-world to parts unknown in order to find the Great Beings and bring the threat of the Dark Empire to their attention. Meanwhile, Slicer mustered his remaining forces together, and continued to battle the Empire. During this time, Toa Fairon, an ally of Brominax, was captured by Eostra, who suspected the Toa had important knowledge regarding her plans, and placed in a Stasis Tube within the depths of her underground vault.

Fall of the Guild
After two long months of fighting, Slicer was slain in combat, and the Bounty Hunters' Guild surrendered not long after his death. Weakened and without the support of Tetrack or Brominax, the Bounty Hunters' Guild was dissolved, with many of its former members either being executed or striking out on their own as individual mercenaries, lending out their services to both the numerous resistances active and the Empire. This event also saw the destruction of the Hunters' Brigade, which had sided with the Guild in order to aid them. Many bounty hunters of both factions were killed in the process of the Empire's retaliation, though known survivors of the conflict include Janneus and Lethal. Another effect to this conflict was the expansion of the relatively small crime group known as the Blood Vines, with many mercenaries who had fought for the Guild and Brigade joining up with the Blood Vines, allowing the gang to gradually increase in size and power.

Onslaught of Iconox
The Onslaught of Iconox was an underground effort attempted by the Hand of Mata Nui to claim the ice village of Iconox as a base. With the Empire temporarily distracted by the war efforts of Slicer and Tetrack, the Hand was able to strike out numerous times at Eostra's forces, slowly numbering down her Corpsian soldiers one by one. Upon discovering the Hand's involvement with attacks, Eostra assigned a commander named Raptrix to eliminate the Hand, only to encounter heavy resistance from the Hand's forces commandeered by Toa Shardak and Blast.

The battle was fought for many days, with neither the side being able to gain an edge. After a week more of fighting, Raptrix withdrew his forces from Iconox to resupply and receive reinforcements. The Hand did the same, though when confronted by a fresh new wave of attackers, were swiftly decimated. The Hand's backbone was shattered in the conflict, forcing Shardak and Blast to flee Iconox and meet up with Jareroden's resistance, whom Shardak and Blast then joined. Around this time, Makuta Serrakaan began stalking the streets of the city of Tajun, murdering a number of beings for unknown purposes, yet leaving no evidence behind to suggest his involvement with the deaths.

Great Being Rebellion
Returning to Spherus Magna, Brominax brought with him the surviving Great Beings, who attempted to attack and defeat the Empire. Little is known of what happened during this event other than the Empire successfully defeated the Great Beings, and any remnants of their forces were utterly destroyed. Though it has been speculated they were executed personally by Millennium, the fate of the Great Beings remains a mystery.

Noctian Negotiations
As the Dark Empire's military began stabilizing it's position on Spherus Magna, the Noctian species (who had joined Brominax's army and traveled to Spherus Magna during his war efforts) attempted to resist enslavement, and began actively opposing their command. Whilst no battle was ever publicly fought during period, the Enforcers of Noctian Reign sent their troops to blockade the borderlines of their territory, which sat right on top of a major Exsidian mine. This political stand-off by the Noctians began encouraging numerous other races to start their own. Glatorian, Toa, Skakdi, Matoran, and Agori alike began making their own stands against the Empire, inspired by the Noctian's bold move.

Fearing an uprising, Millennium entered heavy negotiations with the Noctian's representative, Leviathos, whilst at the same time, having an elite task force of warriors led by the veteran bounty hunter Lethal to infiltrate the Noctian's territory. There, in a brutal show of ferocity, Lethal and the Empire attacked a number of Noctian settlements; wiping out a large number of their kind. Fearful of any more causalities, the Noctians quickly submitted, and their political discussions were brought to an abrupt end. Unwilling to bow before Millennium's forces, Leviathos led the remnants of the Enforcers of Noctian Reign into the wastelands, eventually coming across Jareroden's growing resistance, and swiftly joining him.

Kodax Massacre
With Jareroden's resistance expanding increasingly, Tetrack went on a private mission to find any other Kodax and convince them to act against the Empire. Gathering Kodax such as Fyxan, Velnax, and Mordrax, Tetrack held a private meeting with his kind, and attempted to convince them to join the resistance. Unfortunately, a traitor from within the resistance's ranks, Iruka, leaked information to the Dark Lord who sent an entire legion of his best troops lead by his general Sovnoron and a Makuta named Spinorak to wipe them out. Taken by surprise, a majority of the Kodax were either killed or taken hostage, with Tetrack being the only Kodax being able to escape the massacre.

Conquest of New Atero
In the city of New Atero, a representative of the mysterious Society of Guardians named Ignika Nui formed an alliance with the elusive Artakha Fighters, represented by a Makuta named Tryx. Vowing to stop the Empire, both groups agreed to establish a base in New Atero. There, they began launching countless attacks against the Empire, with Conqueror and Hydros leading a majority of these raids. For roughly a year, neither the Society or the Artakha Fighters were discovered, until the Society's old enemies, the Legion of Shadows and a treacherous Artakha Fighter named Garras, informed the Empire on the whereabouts of their hidden base, prompting Eostra to send a battalion led by Flareus, Purberax, and Krakanus to deal with them.

New Atero fell quickly before the Empire's forces, and the Artakha Fighters were forced to abandon the Society and go into hiding. Having located the Society's base within the Black Void, the Dark Lord himself arrived to deal with the Society, with Makuta Verahk as his temporary ally. During the battle that followed, the Empire received severe beatings from the Society, and were forced to retreat. Furious at this outcome, the Dark Lord blamed Verahk for the failure, despite the Makuta having previously objected against a full-on assault against the Society. After having the Legion disbanded, with Verahk and Kylla disappearing to unknown whereabouts, the Dark Lord launched a second attack on the Fortress of Ages, and succeeded in destroying it. Meanwhile, New Atero was purged of all resistance, and was placed under strict law following its conquest. Only Tryx, Hydros, and Conqueror are known escaped this event alive, though a number of other fighters of both organizations were known to have survived.

Skakdi Uprising
The Skakdi, having become bitter with their treatment by the Empire since the start of their reign, eventually initiated a full uprising; uniting together to wipe out all opposing Imperial forces in their settlements. At first, Millennium only regarded this as a minor catastrophe, one which he believed would quickly cease. However, as the Empire began to pay less and less attention to the matter, the Skakdi succeeded in completely freeing themselves from the Empire's control, and began conquering some of their outposts.

Taken by surprise, the Empire tried desperately to stop the Skakdi, though all efforts failed, and the Skakdi refused to back down from their rampage. Fearing that the Skakdi would fall into the same patterns as the Noctians had previously, the Dark Lord, Millennium, and Eostra tried desperately to negotiate with the Skakdi, though failed to do reach a reasonable agreement. Feeling threatened, the Empire made an uneasy alliance with the Skakdi, granting them better rights, and recruiting a number of them into their forces. Some Skakdi, however, still wished to oppose the Empire, and as such, a large number of Skakdi lead by Freztrak allied with Jareroden's resistance. Other Skakdi, such as Serhaktem, became wanderers for a time, allying themselves with no one.

Founding at Atero
With an army now powerful enough to challenge the Empire, the resistance that had been founded by Ixtil and Jareroden felt it was time to reorganize the group into a fully-fledged war party. Abandoning their old base, the resistance leaders searched long and hard for a new base, until Shardak discovered the long-forgotten city of Atero. There, five of the most powerful warriors within the resistance came together to form their new group. These warriors, consisting of Leviathos, Shardak, Conqueror, Freztrak, and Ixtil, officially founded their new resistance, and with the support of the rest of the resistance, managed to rebuild Atero, and modify it to suit their needs. This event would eventually become known as the Founding at Atero.

Warfare
After the resistance was officially founded, it began opposing the Empire. Whilst battles broke out between the two factions, the Empire officially declared to the population that they were merely in "heated political discussions" with the resistance, rather than actively fighting them. Behind the scenes, however, the Empire's generals, Dredzek, Skorpix, and Sovnoron were actively sending their forces out to terminate the resistance under the guise they carrying out "further law enforcement." For many years, the resistance would oppose the Empire, though no major battles would break out until later.

Fourth Occupation of Vulcanus
The Fourth Occupation of Vulcanus was a large-scale operation to purge the fire village of the Empire's presence roughly a decade ago. With the aid of the Agori informant Kyry, a battalion of freedom fighters led by Jareroden succeeded in entering Vulcanus, and challenged the Empire's control over the village. A massive, four day conflict was drawn, and Jareroden personally lead his troops on the front lines of the battle. For a long time, the opposing forces were evenly matched, though the possibility of Jareroden gaining a victory became increasingly scarcer, as his supplies and troops began to number. Eventually, Jareroden was forced to abandon the mission, and grant the Empire a victory, though the battle proved to have had a significant effect on the Empire's opinion of the resistance. However, due to his bold efforts during the occupation, Jareroden was appointed a fully-fledged member of the resistance's ruling council, therefore making him the group's sixth leader. Also, following the occupation, the Empire established a trading post in Vulcanus, ensuring goods delivered from Iconox could be converted into weapons.

Wishing to weaken the resistance's morale, particularly Jareroden's, Makuta Benjarmin, a high-ranking commander in the Empire, dispatched an elite squad, consisting of Kental, Metrados, Milode, Rahkan, and Sawrall, to capture Jareroden's Toa team. Succeeding, the squad took the captive Toa to an underground cavern within the White Quartz Mountains, where Benjarmin personally executed them. Due to their disappearance, Jareroden had memorial statues of Taro, Korasaunt, Treedaka, and Sayna erected in Atero.

Infiltration of Eostra's Fortress
As the Empire's power continued to grow, Freztrak authorized a daring mission to infiltrate Eostra's territory, and steal supplies and information. Prior to the discovery of the infiltration, Freztrak ordered Hydros to lead a team consisting of Nalek, Galika, Tryx, Shika, Crystallus, Bomonga, and Lesovikk on a mission to capture intelligence from Eostra's archives. The infiltration was successful, and the information they had set out to recover (information on a possible traitor amongst the resistance's ranks) was collected. Shortly after they left, Freztrak led his own group of warriors into Eostra's kingdom in an effort to smuggle a large supply of Water Stones out of her city.

Though they succeeded, their operations were discovered and noted by Eostra, who hired the famed bounty hunter Nightwatcher to eliminate them. Nightwatcher succeeded in catching up with Freztrak, and killed many of his allies, and was able to recover most of the Water Stones, though was unable to stop them escaping when a Mersion named Mersery offered to stay behind and battle Nightwatcher, using himself as a distraction to give Freztrak time to return to Atero before being killed. Nightwatcher then returned to Eostra's fortress, and was re-hired to hunt down Hydros' team and recover the information they had stolen.

Northern Frost Campaign
The Northern Frost campaign was an attempt by the rebels to gain a foothold in the Northern Frost, and occured contemporaneously with the Razing of Tesara, the Battle Near the Skrall River, and the First Battle in the Wastelands. This series of battles was an attempt by Jareroden and others under his command to subdue Imperial forces in the Northern Frost, and eventually move on to capture a weapons manufacturing post in the White Quartz Mountains. Jareroden was able to capture four outposts with relative ease, but was attacked by an Imperial army led by Makuta Treix. During this battle, Jareroden was able to kill Treix and eliminate his forces, and having learned that his ancient enemy Benjarmin had set up a fortress in the Black Spike Mountains, turned his army around and led them into the Black Spike Mountains, ending the campaign.

Infiltration of the Vault
The Infiltration of the Vault was a mission led by Tetrack, Blast, and Kaluu that was contemporaneous with the Razing of Tesara, The Northern Frost Campaign, the Battle Near the Skrall River, and the First Battle in the Wastelands, their aim to sneak into Eostra's vault, a top secret location where records of Imperial deals and prisoners were kept. After sneaking through a passageway in Eostra's fortress, the three rebels managed to rescue Fairon from stasis below the fortress. They were leaving the fortress when they were confronted by an Imperial patrol led by Sawrall, and after a battle, Sawrall and Gardorax were both killed, but not before Blast was teleported to the Cold One's Pocket Dimension by a specialized Olmak Projector.

Razing of Tesara
Shortly after Freztrak's mission, the Jungle city of Tesara was destroyed. For many decades, Tesara had served as a major hideaway for rebels and resistance fighters, and as the years passed, was drawn to unwanted attention by the Empire. Investigations and operations were carried out numerous times to cement evidence of Tesara's involvement with other rebellion factions, though no real evidence was ever discovered. Because of this, the Empire was unable to act against Tesara's operations. However, when two resistance fighters, Invek and Crodak, were spotted taking refuge in Tesara, Eostra and Millennium instructed Varkanax to lead the bulk of their respective forces on a full-out attack on the village. Varkanax complied, and after launching a surprise assault around the back of Tesara, Varkanax had Millennium's larger army enter Tesara and decimate the remaining defenders, whilst having his own legions continue their attacks.

Eventually, Tesara was completely razed, and all villagers suspected of being involved with the resistance were executed. Despite this, Varkanax was unable to locate any actual rebel warriors other than Invek and Crodak, both of whom were killed. Intending to search the wastelands for any other resistance fighters, Varkanax led his forces into the deserts. Meanwhile, the Dark Lord had the surviving members of the Jungle Tribe relocated to a new settlement, publicly declaring it a form of "compensation" for the attack.

Tajun Campaign
The Tajun Campaign was an attempt by the resistance to end the Empire's presence in Tajun temporarily to buy time for Jareroden to complete the Northern Frost Campaign. It occurred contemporaneously with the Razing of Tesara, The Northern Frost Campaign, the Battle Near the Skrall River, and the First Battle in the Wastelands.

The rebels approached a Glatorian exile known as Malum and his pack of Vorox, and the Glatorian agreed to cause trouble for the Empire in that area. Malum and the Vorox were rounded up and dispatched by the Empire before they could do any significant damage to the Empire, but this small campaign brought time for Jareroden to win several victories in the Northern Frost by distracting the main Imperial Army and preventing them from reinforcing Treix.

Battle Near the Skrall River
Around the same time the razing of Tesara took place, a large group of rebels attacked an army led by Makuta Vicoran. The army was taken by surprise and defeated, however, Skorpix attacked the surviving rebel soldiers, killing many of them, however, Tenork and Neocrax escaped, with Rando and Gurren being rendered unconscious and taken prisoner.

Skirmish Aboard the Shadow Dominion
Following the Battle Near the Skrall River, Rando and Gurren. were placed aboard an Airship, the Shadow Dominion, to be delivered to Eostra Nihilitian, whilst Skorpix attempted to learn of their knowledge of the resistance's workings through torture. The two pulled through, and when Skorpix left to discuss matters with Millennium's personal general, Dredzek, the two broke free of their restraints and crippled the Dominion's steering systems, resulting in the airship descending for a crash landing. The two Toa escaped the doomed vessel by breaking through one of the glass windows, though then found themselves spiralling in a 100 meter plummet to the ground. The two landed in the wooded area Tenork and Neocrax were resting in, and after recovering and forming a plan, headed off for the Northern Frost. Unknown to them, however, Skorpix and Dredzek had survived the Airship's crash.

Battle in the Wastelands
After the Razing of Tesara, many resistance fighters hiding in the village were forced to flee, among them Galika, Tryx, Shika, Nalek, and Crystallus, and Hydros. Knowing that warriors of the Empire of Shadows would be on their way to investigate, Hydros proposed to split up, with himself and two other Toa heading off to the west, intending to circle round and arrive at Vulcanus, whilst Nalek and the rest of the team had agreed to head off in the intended direction. The plan was to leave two sets of separate trails behind in order to confuse the Dark Lord's soldiers, forcing them to split up into smaller, much more manageable groups in order to track them down.

While Hydros reached Vulcanus, Nalek's team was attacked by a large patrol of Corpsians led by Varkanax, and the resistance was soon overrun. Galika and Crystallus were captured by the Empire and taken to the Dark Lord, however, the other members of the resistance team escaped Varkanax, fleeing into the wastelands.

Battle of Vulcanus
The Battle of Vulcanus was an attack on the village for harboring Hydros, who the Empire claimed was a criminal and surrounded the city. The battle was fought on the outskirts of the fire village between the rebels and Nightwatcher, as well as a legion of Veiled Ones under the command of Varkanax. The Empire was moments away from victory when Nightwatcher released a massive shockwave that obliterated the Veiled One legions and some of the rebels, allowing Hydros to escape. Nightwatcher was later brought before the Emperors, who interrogated him and, after learning he was responsible for the loss of the battle, attacked him. His humiliation contributed his decision to join the rebels after the Invasion of Atero.

Invasion of Atero
Realizing the resistance would not be crushed by the early Imperial victories, after the First Battle in the Wastelands (But before the completion of the Infiltration of the Vault and the Northern Frost Campaign), the Empire hired a large number of Skakdi mercenaries, as well as former Blood Vines, to sneak into Atero during a resistance training session. The Empire placed this army under the command of an alternate Zaktan, who had been plucked from his native universe (in which he was neither mutated nor killed) by the Empire and convinced to join them.

The real purpose for this attack, however, was to provide cover for a large group of hired bounty hunters (consisting of Proto-Beast, Lethal, Skorr, Janneus, and Raduke) and an Imperial commander named Shadowhawk to sneak into Atero to steal the Ignika. Zaktan was able to capture Shardak, and an agent of the Empire known as Makuta Harponok took him to Benjarmin's fortress in the Black Spike Mountains. After four battles within Atero, the Skakdi were all destroyed or captured with the exception of Zaktan, however, the Bounty Hunters were successful in their mission, and took the Ignika to the Emperors. The fact that the Skakdi and Blood Vines had so much inside knowledge of Atero's defenses led Conqueror to believe there was a traitor among the rebels, and this was later revealed to be Iruka, the former leader of the Fallen Six.

Avohkii Raid
The Avohkii Raid was a small attack on a rebel island in the Great Sea led by Sovnoron, that occurred contemporaneously with the Razing of Tesara, The Northern Frost Campaign, the Battle Near the Skrall River, the First Battle in the Wastelands, and the Invasion of Atero. Sovnoron was easily able to overwhelm the Toa Mahri who were guarding the rebel base on the island and was able to steal the Kanohi Avohkii. He then took it to Eostra's fortress and turned it over to her. The Emperors then began to make their plans for open war with the resistance after the rebel's victory in the Black Spike Mountains.

Battle in the Black Spike Mountains
After the end of the Northern Frost Campaign, Jareroden, who had learned of the capture of Shardak, Galika, and Crystallus, led an attack on Benjarmin's fortress in the Black Spike Mountains. While Benjarmin escaped, the battle was a decisive victory for the rebels. After this battle, the Empire dropped all public pretenses of having "heated political discussions" with the rebels and began open assaults on rebel outposts. After Jareroden returned to Atero with Galika and Shardak, the resistance officially declared war on the Dark Empire, and formulated a plan to attack headed by the bounty hunter Nightwatcher, who had changed sides after his humiliation at the hands of the Emperors for failing to capture the rebel commander Hydros at the Battle of Vulcanus and destroying Varkanax's Corpsian army.

Fifth Battle in the Northern Frost
The Fifth Battle in the Northern Frost was an engagement contemporaneous with the Battle in the Black Spike mountains and the Avohkii Raid between a large group of Imperial elite and a small band of rebels. Despite the similar name, this battle took place after the Northern Frost Campaign. The battle ended in victory for the rebels, though most of the Imperial elite escaped. The surviving rebels rejoined the leaders of the resistance in Atero, and officially declared war upon the Dark Empire.

Battle of Iron Canyon
The Battle of Iron Canyon was a major engagement between the Imperial Army and the Army of Toa Stradax during the Dark Empire War. After the rebels declared open war on the Empire, they realized the Imperial Army was simply too large to defeat, and ordered Stradax to decoy the Imperial Army away from Eostra's Fortress, the Empire's capitol. The plan succeeded, and nearly the entire army of Veiled Ones was sent to Creep Canyon to crush the rebel army. The battle raged back and forth for hours, with neither side able to claim victory. Finally Stradax retreated, and sent a large portion of his army to the Northern Frost led by Makuta Darvath to pave the way for the rebels who comprised the force that would attack Eostra's fortress.

It is notable that just prior to this battle, Iron Canyon was the sight of a small skirmish between the bounty hunters Raduke and Skorr, both of whom having been hired by the resistance and the Empire respectively. The battle ended in a draw when both combatants rendered each other unconscious. Raduke was later recovered by Stradax and his forces, though by this time, Skorr had disappeared, and was assumed to have fled and retreated.

Sixth Battle in the Northern Frost
The Sixth Battle in the Northern Frost was a major engagement between the forces Eostra had left to guard her territory against the invasion of the rebels, contemporaneous with the Battle of Iron Canyon. Despite the similuar name, this battle was long after the end of the Northern Frost Campaign. The battle began as a series of skirmishes on the edge of the Northern Frost, and finally the two armies clashed on the edge of the Great Jungle. The Empire was defeated, however, Makuta Darvath was killed by Shadowbringer during the conflict, though Shadowbringer was also killed. Nevox became the commander of the army after this, and led the army deeper into the Great Jungle to reinforce the rebel army during the Battle of Bota Magna.

Battle of Creep Canyon
The Battle of Creep Canyon was a massive engagement between the army of Toa Stradax and the Imperial Army, contemporaneous with the Battle of Bota Magna, and was one of the final blows to the Empire's power. The battle raged back and forth with no clear victor, however, the Imperial Army eventually gained the upper hand. The battle raged long into the night, and at that time, the resistance was challenging the Emperors in Eostra's Fortress on Bota Magna. Eventually, when all seemed lost for the rebels, Eostra and the two other Emperors were defeated by Nightwatcher, causing the Corpsians to scatter or disintegrate, for their power was bound to that of Eostra. The remaining Imperial soldiers managed to escape the battle and rendezvous with another group of Imperial soldiers near Roxtus, but Stradax had won a decisive victory that dealt a major blow to the Empire. Three days later, his victory near Roxtus would break the power of the Imperial Army completely.

Battle of Bota Magna
The Battle of Bota Magna was the climatic battle between the leaders of the resistance and the leaders of the Empire, contemporaneous with the Battle of Creep Canyon. While the resistance was able to defeat the Imperial guards easily, the main Imperial force nearly destroyed their army. The three Emperors, draining power from the stolen Kanohi Ignika, where able to absorb many of its energies. However, the Dark Lord, seeing the rebels closing in on his allies, betrayed his allies and caused them to fall into a hidden pit of Energized Protodermis. With the Ignika's power in his hand, the Dark Lord was about to annihilate the resistance when Nightwatcher defeated him, causing the treacherous emperor to fall into the pit as well. The remainder of the Dark Lord's soldiers, who had lost the support of the remaining Shadow of Ages soldiers after the Dark Lord's betrayal, scattered, and the Shadow of Ages were forced to surrender soon after.

Then, out of the pit rose a terrible fusion with all the power of the three emperors and the Ignika. After realizing the resistance would never surrender, the fusion attacked the rebels, as did the remaining Shadow of Ages soldiers. Most of the Dark Lord's soldiers fled after the fusion emerged from the pit. In this final battle, many resistance fighters lost their lives. Finally, the fusion managed to defeat Nightwatcher, burying the bounty hunter beneath the rubble of the fortress. With Nightwatcher seemingly killed, the resistance was forced toward the exit by Imperial warriors.

Nightwatcher, however, was alive, and rose from the ruins, locking his power and that of the fusion's into an unbreakable struggle. Hydros killed Vezon in the battle that followed, and the Empire's soldiers were all killed or forced to flee. Nightwatcher's power finally destroyed the fusion, and the Emperors were defused. Their powers all exhausted, they were exiled by the leaders of the resistance to the Confusion Dimension soon after. The same day, the last Imperial soldiers in Bota Magna surrendered. Nightwatcher was believed to have been killed in the final battle, but in reality survived and escaped.

The Battle of Bota Magna was a crushing blow to the Empire, and the government only remained banded together by the Emperors' servants in the Valley of the Maze. A remnent of the Imperial Army survived as well, but was defeated by Toa Stradax three days after, ending any hope for a retaliation from the Empire's remaining strongholds. However, unknown to both the Empire and the resistance, the generals of the Empire, Skorpix, Sovnoron, and Dredzek, escaped death at the Battle of Bota Magna as well, and planned to rebuild the Empire in secret with a small group of surviving Imperial commanders.

Battle Outside Roxtus
The Battle outside Roxtus was the final major engagement between the rebels and the Imperial Army. Following the defeat of the Emperors and the destruction of the Veiled Ones, the Empire's senior commanders in Roxtus had lost a majority of their field commanders and most of their army, but still had enough military power to defeat the resistance. The remainder of the Shadow of Ages and the Empire of Shadows attacked Stradax's army three days after the Battle of Bota Magna, and the armies finally met just outside Roxtus.

The Empire nearly managed to triumph over Stradax's armies, but the morale of the rebel army held, and eventually they forced the Empire of Shadows to completely surrender control of Roxtus. The Shadow of Ages retreated to the Valley of Maze, and other Imperial warlords and warriors began establishing new kingdoms for themselves in the power vacuum the collapse of the Empire left behind. Ultimately, without the support of the Veiled Ones and the emperors, the Empire was unable to win the battle and the Imperial Army was disbanded, thus leading to the near total collapse of the Dark Empire.

Aftermath
Following the collapse of the Empire, the resistance established itself as the ruling government of Spherus Magna in the power vacuum left behind by the Empire. This resulted in their reformation into Collectives of Light. However, due to the chaos wrought during the war, the planet's entire economy crashed, and thousands of beings, regardless of whether they were Toa or mercenaries, were rendered homeless, and became refugees, whilst entire cities were left damaged and ruined due to the battles between the Empire and the resistance. This resulted in a slow and painful time of rebuilding, restoration, rehabilitation, and turmoil. Poverty became a common sight in most major cities, which severely stretched and tested the Collectives' limited resources. With both the cities of Spherus Magna and the factions that governed them weakened by the fall of the Empire, the six leaders that made up the Collectives' ruling council became divided whilst attending to important matters, leaving only Ixtil to command the fractured world.

Unknown to the Collectives', a mysterious conqueror from another universe known as the Cold One had traveled to their reality through the use of the Scythe of Creation (who's owner, Toa Blast, had been executed by the Cold One following his transportation to the dictator's realm). The Cold One then proceeded to lead his armies into the wastelands, where he began planning to expand his conquests into this reality.

Meanwhile, the remnants of the Dark Empire continued to challenge both the Collectives' and each other, with numerous, Imperial kingdoms being formed by ambitious warlords.

Battle of Taera
The Battle of Taera took place a month after the defeat of the Empire at Roxtus, and was an attempt by the resistance to break the Empire's power in Aqua Magna. Led by war hero Toa Stradax, a large command of warriors from the resistance, led his troops to the Empire's capitol in Aqua Magna, Taera on the northern continent of the region. The Empire was easily defeated by the resistance in Taera, and scattered. Stradax led his forces across the northern continent, but following the defeat at Taera, the Empire put up very little resistance, instead trying to consolidate their forces in the Valley of the Maze. Within a month, with only two more minor skirmishes, the Empire's presence in the northern continent was over. Stradax did not try to defeat the Imperial warlords in the southern continent, however, considering it a useless waste of troops when the Empire was already fighting itself.

Valley of the Maze Uprisings
Following the collapse of the Empire, the Veiled One Aeriela Kharna, who had foreseen the fall of the Dark Empire, managed to gain control of a large group of Imperial loyalists initially from the Empire of Shadows and the Shadow of Ages. Realizing the Shadow of Ages had broken all allegiance from the Empire and was trying to create an Empire of its own, Aeriela led her troops to the Valley of the Maze about six months after the Battle of Bota Magna.

The battle raged back and forth for hours, until finally a group of Dark Empire warriors loyal to another Imperial warlord attacked Aeriela's forces, driving them back. The Dark Empire managed to force the Shadow of Ages out of the Valley of the Maze, but they continued to fight both rebels and Imperials alike. Finally the resistance, which had become known as the Collectives of Light, sent their own troops into the Valley of the Maze. The Collectives were unable to gain a complete victory over the Dark Empire, and eventually Aeriela's forces were able to drive both the Dark Empire and the Collectives from the valley. The Dark Empire loyalists scattered, but both the Shadow of Ages and the Collectives of Light continued to lay siege to the Valley of the Maze. However, Aeriela's troops, as well as the two other Imperial warlords, were prevented from expanding their empires into the Collectives territory.

Imperial Reform
The Imperial Reform was a turning point in the conflicts following the aftermath of the Battle of Bota Magna. As the Empire continued to crumble and deteriorate, two Imperial warlords, an Empire of Shadows commander named Xaxis and a Shadow of Ages leader known as Kulant, joined their two sizeable factions together to form a large fragment of the Empire which they called the New Dark Empire. Amassing their united forces together, Kulant and Xaxis' forces attacked the Collectives from all sides, and succeeded in retaking several strategic locations in the battles, including Vulcanus following a week-long struggle.

Whilst this occurred, the Imperial remnant attacked the White Quartz Mountains, and retook several fortresses in the neighbouring Black Spike Mountains region. After claiming Iconox, the Imperial force cut off the Collectives from all outside support.

With these early victories complete, Kulant and Xaxis' forces then regrouped at the Great Jungle, and advanced on Lein's Drift, planning to claim the new fortress built there. However, before they could conquer the region, the two commanders received word that the Valley of the Maze had been claimed by another warlord, allowing the Collectives to force the Imperial fragment into retreat. Due to this, the New Dark Empire's army scattered, with ambitious generals from within the military longing to gain command over the new empire. This caused the New Dark Empire to tear itself apart.

The cities the Empire had captured revolted in the wake of their collapse, and swiftly came under the control of the Collectives again. Due to the overwhelmingly successful three victories Kulant and Xaxis had had during this event, the Collectives were deeply shaken, and redoubled their military strength in order to be ready for more Imperial upsurges.

Purge Campaign
In the wake of the Imperial Reform, the Collective leader Jareroden gathered an elite of team of soldiers, that made up roughly a quarter of the Collective's military, and traveled into the dangerous, unknown territories of Spherus Magna still ruled by the numerous fragments of the Empire, in a campaign to to hunt down and wipe out the remnants of the Dark Empire and their kingdoms. This effort became known as the Purge Campaign shortly afterwards. He was also tasked with finding Speewaa and Onika, two soldiers who had gone missing during the pinnacle of the war.

Second Battle in the Wastelands
Eventually, whilst camping in the wastelands, scouts of Jareroden's team detected an advance of Corpsian soldiers, who somehow still existed following Eostra's defeat. The Corpsians brutally attacked, and tore through the Collectives' ranks, though were eventually evened out when Jareroden rallied his troops and regained their footing. During the conflict, Jareroden learned that these Corpsians were not part of the Dark Empire or any of their remnants, but in fact, were acting independently. Eventually, the Corpsians retreated slightly, though only to reveal their captives; Speewaa and Onika.

The leader of the Corpsian force, Aeriela Kharna, who had survived the battles at the Valley of the Maze, then revealed herself, and ordered Jareroden to pass on a message to Shardak: either hand himself over to her forces or cause Speewaa and Onika to be executed. After a short argument, Aeriela and her group departed, threatening to kill their two captives if Shardak wasn't handed over in five days.

Appearances

 * Dark Realities
 * Broken Worlds