Dark Empire War

The Dark Empire 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 ranks 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 Toa named Jareroden and a Ko-Matoran named Ixtil. 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 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.

Atero Founding
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, six of the most powerful warriors within the resistance came together to form their new group. These warriors, consisting of Leviathos, Jareroden, Conqueror, Freztrak, Ixtil, and Shardak, 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 Atero Founding.

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. 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 leading member of the resistance. 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 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 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 the 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 round 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 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 occured 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, but Rando and Gurren were captured and taken to Eostra Nihiltian after the battle.

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 Zaktan.

The real purpose for this attack, however, was to provide cover for a large group of hired Bounty hunters 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 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 simular 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.

Battle in the Northern Frost
The 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 Creep 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.

 More coming soon...

Appearances

 * Dark Realities