The Imperator War Chronicles — Ten Legendary Campaigns
A biography compiled by the scribe Prudentia after extensive research, detailing ten of the most iconic battles in Imperator's military career.
Volume I
History Investigator, Prudentia's Manuscripts
She stormed through the annals of history like a gale, reshaping the destiny and form of Amphoreus with fire and strategy. Known to the world as "Imperator," Cerydra wore the crown of flame and commanded legions across the Oleinus Highlands, the plains of Styxia, and the mountains of Epos. Driven by near-delusional ambition and greed, she overthrew even the Titans from their divine thrones.
Her chessboard was all-encompassing. Her tactics extended beyond formations to hearts, time, and destiny itself. From the deadlocked siege of Okhema's double ramparts to the do-or-die gambit on the Tretos Plain, the Imperator transformed every narrow victory into a cornerstone of her power. And in turn, forged that power into a blade that knew no equal.
It was in Okhema that she sparked a new era, where the edge of her sword no longer pointed at the Flame-Chasing frontiers, but toward the horizon cradling the dawn.
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From her first emergence in Light Calendar 3851 to the capture of Janusopolis in 3980, the Imperator launched more than twenty campaigns and personally led over eighty critical battles. Her defeats were so rare they could be counted on a single hand. An awe-inspiring record. Among them, ten battles stand out for their far-reaching historical impact, encapsulating the Imperator's military doctrine and her mastery of warfare. The following pages recount these battles, to honor her legacy, and to serve as a beacon for those who will lead armies in the future.
During the War for the Crown
From Light Calendar 3851 to 3910, the Imperator rose from an obscure leader to gathering talents from every corner, expanding her forces, laying siege to strongholds, and tightening her grip on military might. History would see her ascend to the very apex of authority not only in Okhema, but across all of Amphoreus. This decades-long military career, for clarity and to distinguish it from the Flame-Chase Journey, is referred to herein as the War for the Crown.
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1. The Liberation of Loukas Time: Light Calendar 3851. Location: Loukas Plains. Key General: Cerydra
Before the Liberation of Loukas, the world knew only that Hyperborea had a young princess, but knew not the name of Cerydra. Early in 3850, Okhema's spies in the northern territories reported that Hyperborea was faltering as a country, its people in despair. The royal court had emptied its treasury to raise a host of mercenaries, intending to send with the princess southward to launch an assault on the holy city. Okhema braced for impact, stationing forces at two major choke points. But the Hyperborean army never came.
Meanwhile, in the northeastern reaches of Amphoreus, the land of Loukas was gripped by a sweeping rebellion. The uprising sought to overthrow the brutal tyrant and reclaim freedom for its people. But the tyrant's enforcer, a ruthless golden-blooded general named Fortunado, led 50,000 elite troops and crushed the rebels like waves swallowing sparks. As the resistance was driven onto a peninsula with no escape, an elite force descended upon the battlefield from the west. A young girl, calling herself the Imperator, led the charge and came to set Loukas free.
At the time, the Imperator's forces numbered barely 20,000. After two brutal clashes with Fortunado's army, her left flank exposed a fatal weakness. Sensing his moment, Fortunado personally led his superior forces in a direct assault on her exposed flank, unaware it was a trap designed to lure him away from his main formation. Three thousand hidden troops surged from Fortunado's rear like a storm from the heavens, raining fire-tipped arrows to throw his ranks into chaos. The Imperator's right wing seized the breach, coordinating a lethal thrust that split the Loukas army at its core. Thus, victory followed like a falling banner.
After the battle, Fortunado was captured and beheaded without delay. The tyrant of Loukas escaped by sea to Hattusili, a small kingdom southeast of Styxia, while the rebel forces throughout the land rallied under the Imperator's banner. Back then, no one in Amphoreus suspected that the Imperator was actually Hyperborea's puppet princess. Who would believe a young woman would dare lead an army across the Epos mountains from Hyperborea to Loukas, just to gamble on gaining her first troops?
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2. The First Siege of Okhema Time: Light Calendar 3867. Location: Okhema. Key Generals: Cerydra, Hysilens
In Light Calendar 3867, malicious plots led to the unjust execution of three Okhema generals. The military descended into chaos outside the walls while panic spread among citizens within. The tyrant of Loukas, leading combined forces from Icaria and Corinth, raided the holy city. Their ranks included formidable Chrysos Heirs who breached five defensive positions effortlessly. Even the typically honorable Kremnoan army couldn't resist the opportunity, their mobile fortresses positioned nearby like predators watching wounded prey. The holy city's fate hung by a thread.
The most dramatic event unfolded at this pivotal moment — The tyrant of Loukas's worst nightmare returned. A strike force entered the city from the west, led by a young woman who introduced herself as Cerydra. Unlike their encounter more than a decade before, the Imperator now commanded tremendous respect throughout Amphoreus with legendary generals at her command: "Dux Fragoris" Labienus, "Dux Brumalis" Seneca, and most formidable of all, "Dux Gladiorum" Hysilens. Hysilens created bloody tides through enemy formations with just a single sword while softly humming the funeral march.
The siege of the holy city ended in just half a day. The Loukas and Icaria tyrants fell into captivity, while the Corinth tyrant fled with his battered forces south of the Dolos plains. From her vantage in the majestic Marmoreal Palace, the Imperator surveyed the mountains of fallen soldiers and rivers of blood in the city below, and whispered words that would echo through history:
Around Light Calendar 3865, Aquila's unpredictable climate threw Amphoreus into chaos, with alternating floods and droughts devastating harvests continent-wide. While most nations watched their power diminish, the Imperator, having heeded Tribios's prophecies, was fully prepared. She expanded her control over the territories surrounding Okhema in those years, intending to establish her authority throughout Amphoreus. Soon, all states pledged fealty to her except the proud Castrum Kremnos and Skyfolk, leaving the Imperator of the Marmoreal Palace without equal in power or prestige.
In Light Calendar 3870, Seliose slayed Aquila, causing the last sky fortress to vanish into the clouds and marking the Skyfolk's decline. Without their main adversary, Castrum Kremnos turned its blade to Okhema, forcing the Imperator to concentrate on this threat, which weakened her control over other regions. By Light Calendar 3874, Campa, relying on its remote location and the Campa Mountains as its stronghold, openly rebelled against the Okhema Alliance. Watching other states grow increasingly restless, the Imperator kept resisting the Kremnoans while secretly sending "Dux Brumalis" Seneca with 30,000 elite troops into the Campa Mountains. Okhema had already formed a secret alliance with Ladon, Campa's ancient enemy. With Ladonian guides who knew the terrain intimately, the mountain barriers that the Campanians considered impregnable proved no more substantial than paper walls.
In just one night, Dux Brumalis, unfazed by the bitter northern cold, captured the Campanian capital with her forces. That same evening, the Ladonian leader predictably turned traitor, only to be immediately subdued by the well-prepared Dux Brumalis. The Imperator had foreseen that the Ladonians, fearing they would be next to fall, would inevitably betray their temporary allies after victory. She had planned for this treachery from the start, eliminating two threats with a single move.
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4. The Great Battle of Tretos Plains Time: Light Calendar 3903. Location: Tretos Plains. Key General: Labienus
The war between Okhema and the Kremnoans stretched on without end. Though the Imperator was a master tactician, military strategy had its limits. The Kremnoans, with their exceptional individual fighting skills and remarkable cohesion, bolstered by virtually invulnerable Titankin shock troops, often lost smaller engagements to clever tactics yet successfully kept Okhema's forces from making meaningful advances in the war itself.
By Light Calendar 3903, after dozens of battles large and small, the main armies of Okhema and Castrum Kremnos finally clashed on the Tretos Plains. This would be the decisive confrontation between these powers, a battle where tactics meant little and retreat was unthinkable. The Tretos Plains held historic significance as the lion-hunting grounds of Gorgo, founder of Castrum Kremnos. If Okhema's forces faltered here, Kremnoan morale would surge, potentially allowing them to march directly to Okhema's gates. The Imperator took the field personally, raising her crown to inspire her troops and marking their armor with fiery emblems of courage.
The Great Battle of Tretos Plains raged for three full months. Throughout this period, the Imperator maintained defensive positions while dispatching "Dux Fragoris" Labienus to attack the Kremnoan command at any cost, and succeeded brilliantly. Sacrificing a hundred warriors and suffering multiple wounds himself, he disrupted the Kremnoan command structure for just half a quint. In that brief window, the Imperator identified a tiny weakness in the Kremnoan formation that ultimately decided the outcome. She later described this as the most treacherous battle of her life, but its impact proved far-reaching. The Kremnoans, their military might severely diminish, suffered three consecutive defeats afterward. They were forced to swear by Nikador's honor to a fifty-year peace treaty with Okhema, giving the Imperator invaluable time to fully consolidate her authority.
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5. The Second Siege of Okhema Time: Light Calendar 3910. Location: Okhema. Key Generals: Cerydra, Hysilens, Labienus, Seneca
After the First Siege of Okhema, the Imperator had not yet secured absolute control over Okhema's governance. Some Council Elders, seeing which way the wind blew, pledged false loyalty while harboring treacherous intentions. To temporarily stabilize the political landscape, the Imperator allowed these seemingly loyal Elders to retain some authority. However, these Elders members had long been plotting rebellion, secretly training private armies in Dawncloud while establishing connections with Okhema's enemies abroad. Finally, in Light Calendar 3910, they joined forces with resurgent Corinthian armies to launch a coup, coordinating internal and external forces to try driving the Imperator in Marmoreal Palace into a corner.
Faced with this crisis, the Imperator revealed her foresight. For decades, she had gathered craftsmen from various city-states and displaced Mountain Dwellers, providing them with homes and workshops in the Marmoreal Market. While publicly presented as social welfare, her true intentions were strategic. When the Council of Elders remnants launched their coup, the Imperator issued a single command, and thousands of craftsmen worked through the night to construct two massive walls — one trapping the Elders' army in Dawncloud, the other blocking the Corinthian forces outside the city. This brilliant tactic of besieging her would-be besiegers became known as the Second Siege of Okhema.
After just one month under siege, the Council army broke and surrendered. This time, the Imperator showed no mercy. She executed all the Elders and their families, disposing of their bodies in a lake, thus completely eliminating all threats to her authority. She then turned her attention to the Corinthian forces who, growing frustrated after their long, unsuccessful siege, were becoming restless. First, she sent Labienus and Seneca to cut off their supply lines, then ordered Hysilens to launch a surprise attack against the Corinthian capital.
Soon after, news reached Okhema that the Corinthian tyrant had taken his own life by jumping from a window. With their leader dead, the Corinthian army lost all will to fight and surrendered without resistance.
The Second Siege of Okhema cemented the Imperator's absolute control over the city. From this point forward, her ambitions faced no opposition, whether she aspired to rule all city-states, wage war against the Titans, or even... to conquer worlds beyond their own.