For over a thousand years the Third Imperium stood as a shining beacon of humanity. It survived invasions, civil wars, plagues, and all manner of misfortune, but now it has been torn apart. Some say it was greed and the seduction of power, others say it was crushed under the weight of its bureaucracy and immense size.

Archduke Dulinor, the assassin whose mad lust for power started a new civil war, has crowned himself Emperor and now controls a vast region of worlds that were once among the Imperium’s wealthiest. Lucan, Emperor Strephon’s nephew, murdered his brother and disbanded the Imperial Senate to seize the Iridium Throne for himself. The Vilani, masters of the First Imperium, have withdrawn to their own worlds and declared their sovereignty once again. Archduke Norris has found himself alone and pinned between invading Vargr towards the core and invading Aslan on the rimward edge of his domain. Archduke Brzk turned his back on the crumbling Imperium and declared independence. Duke Craig, and his fellow nobles in Daibai declared their sector neutral in the conflict and now struggle to protect their people from the advancing navy of the Terran Confederation, which has liberated its homeworld and begun conquering hundreds of worlds that Emperor Lucan left undefended along the Imperium’s rimward frontier. The rightful Emperor, Strephon, who survived his assassination only by luck when his double had taken his place on that fateful day, has finally perished trying to protect the few worlds that remained directly loyal to him. Last, but not least, Archduchess Margaret struggles to hold the Sylean worlds, birthplace of the Third Imperium, together against threats on all sides. Many urged her to seek the throne for herself, but she has refused and remains loyal to Strephon, despite being unable to aid him.

For nine years the Imperium hung in twilight while factions struggled; some for dominance, some simply to restore order. But the war destroyed too much. Entire worlds burned under the immense firepower of massive warships. Now the Imperium has fallen into darkness.

…but there is hope and her angels hold a glimmer of light that may yet save humanity.