CotU is a star-spanning epic. Enjoy this snippet about the evolution of the Empire and the formation of the Star League.
The Empress Astorada, Negus's great-granddaughter, would be the undoing of the Empire. Expanding the power of the Imperial bureaucracy at the expense of the Senate, and eroding reigional control of the client worlds in favor of Imperial governership created great friction between the Empress and the Senate. Under her patronage, the Knights of Dikai relocated their order to Astropolis, the newly completed Imperial capital, and purged the heretic Maltheans from all positions of influence in the Empire. She survived several assassination attempts, only to be killed by members of the Imperial security forces, wary of the Knights. Her nephew, Andreas I, served briefly, before being deposed by a series of riots. The Empire lacked a legitimate government.
Out of the chaos, a new political force emerged. The Second Republic placed an emergency Council of Three in place and set about restoring the Senate. The Second Republic was able to regaain a majority of the old Imperial worlds. As the Council of Three handed over their powers, one of the three died suddenly in an attack by a mentally unstable assassin. His secretary, Victor Serpiens, took on some of his duties as a temporary measure, before resigning to become the first elected leader of a newly independent Senate. Serpiens quickly amassed tremendous popularity for his effective leadership. As friction with old Imperial worlds increased, and the Empire faced increasingly dangerous external threats, Serpiens announced a second War of Unification. As the war went on for several years, the reach of his powers was gradually extended.
In the year 401 Imperium, the Senate elected Victor the first Emperor in decades, charging him with victory over the Empire's enemies, restoration of free trade, and an end to governmental corruption. He took the name Invictus I. In a suprising move, he announced the disbanding of the Dikai Knights, a group that had operated autonomously during the period of anarchy as well as during the Second Republic, when they had gradually re-entered galactic politics and thrown their weight behind restoring order. The Knights officially assented to the command, but many seemingly scattered to the edges of the galaxy rather than accept posts within the new Imperial government. In time, some would make a disturbing discovery: that within the Imperial Office of Security and Control, the Empire's secret police service, the Empire had somehow gained the allegiance of a group calling themselves the Knights of Maltheus. These knights seemed to be followers of the schismatic knight, Sir Maldeas, whose followers had been expelled from the Empire generations ago. Although a few former Dikai Knights joined these Knights of Maltheus, most turned away from the Empire in bitterness.
In the year 421, after two decades of constant war, some of the Imperial worlds issued formal protests against the increasingly tyrannical control of the Emperor. The response was swift and brutal. Rather than ending dissent, however, the so-called Days of Suppression ignited a rebellion. Hundres of Imperial worlds declared their independence, including majorities of several provinces. Not long after, the rebels announced the formation of a third Star League, joining with a number of friendly worlds outside Imperial control. What began as a civil war turned into a regional conflict, centered on the Galactic Empire but conflagorating other galaxies in the local group as well. In the year 425, a large contingent of Knights of Dikai pledged their loyalty to the Star League and founded a new base of operations, while many remained unaligned and suspicious.
