By the late 9th century, the Empire’s golden age began to tarnish. A series of natural disasters on several planets strained imperial resources and slowed trade routes, leading to widespread supply shortages on many worlds. As the Guardians sent their best to remedy the crises, a new bacterial infection on Arbora devastated its flora and its populations. A series of scandals within The Order of The Light – all involving adherents who had fallen to the temptation of their Shadows – abruptly threw the immaculate reputation of the Order into question. Though the guilty parties were expelled, the scandals highlighted a growing ambivalence among the Guardians toward the threats The Shadows posed.

Across the Empire, sizable uprisings began to protest the Guardian’s exhausted responses to each of these matters. Peaceful protests began across many worlds, calling for reform and action within the Empire. When these pleas went unanswered, some turned to violence. The most extreme voices called for the removal of The Guardian Order from interplanetary politics altogether.

For the first time, the Vindori leadership began to realize that the continuation of the Empire could only come with widespread change. Setting aside their beloved traditions, the highest-ranking Vindori masters began to call for sweeping reforms in order to preserve the Empire and its stability. Chief among the changes was the demand for greater political participation by those outside the Order. They further recommended greater influence of the Senate, pulling power away from the Dominari.

As a collective whole, the Dominari staunchly disagreed, arguing that the resolution of the Empire’s concerns could only be remedied by an expansion of the emperor’s power and trust in the longstanding Dominari leadership. The Emperor — Lucius II — accused the Vindori of abandoning their own principles, forsaking centuries of tradition for the whims of the public. The two political factions quickly entrenched themselves in their positions, hampering further efforts to resolve the problems that still plagued the common people.

In 895, the emperor attempted to seize the opportunity for greater power. He issued an imperial decree which gave him and his successors absolute power and subsequently stripped the Senate of its own. The Vindori leaders – rallying much of the Senate behind them – vetoed the decree almost immediately. Ignoring the emperor, and with a firm majority of support behind them, the Vindori countered with a series of new laws. They asserted the emperor’s constitutional responsibilities, elevated the status of the Congress of Planets, and demanded the election of any future monarchs by the Senate itself. Lucius II was furious, but ultimately powerless to resist. While Dominari senators attempted to denounce the moves, their calls were widely ignored by all but their most devout allies.

When Lucius II died in 898, the first Imperial Election was held. The Dominari nominated Lucius’s chosen successor and former right-hand – Grand Master Ra’Vana – and expected the Vindori-led coalition to offer their support for the sake of historical tradition. They did not.

The Vindori instead nominated one of their own, Master Decius Sophia, a well-respected human with a strong history of service to the Guardians and the Empire. Decius was wildly popular both within the Order and outside of it. When the election was finally held, Decius controlled nearly two-thirds of the Senate’s votes. The first Vindori emperor had been elected.

The Dominari were furious, immediately withdrawing their participation in the Senate and demanding that every member of the Sect denounce the new regime. Across the Empire, Dominari knights abandoned their posts while masters and students left their academies. The remaining Sects of the Order called an immediate meeting of the Master Council, concluding that the Ordo Dominari had – en masse – succumbed to their own Shadow of ambition and lust for power. They condemned the Dominari for their selfishness but still offered them the opportunity to make amends and return.

The Dominari leadership refused, instead seizing control of the human planet of Titus and its rich supply of resources. Master Ra’Vana quickly declared himself to be the First Emperor of the Dominari Empire and reorganized his supporters into legions of protectors. Needing to act, Decius summoned the five loyal Sects to Sellonae to prepare for a war unlike anything before it.

Maintaining patience proved valuable for Emperor Decius as the time for a bold counterattack soon presented itself. Having repaired the bulk of the Imperial Navy, the Vindori-led forces planet-hopped to strike at the heart of Dominari space – the planet of Titus. Ousting the invaders and restoring imperial leadership, they cut off key supply lines and arrested top Dominiari leaders. Though Ra’Vana managed to escape, the liberation of Titus proved a decisive turning point.

Almost immediately, Decius turned his attention to the other planets of Human Space, reconquering them with relative ease. Despite the initial speed of their attack, the Dominari had overextended themselves considerably, leaving their defensive resources grossly outmatched by the united Imperial front. When the human systems were safely under Imperial control once again, they continued to push back Dominari borders, taking back planets one by one. Slowly but surely, the might of the enemy wore thin.

In the final month of 899, the Imperial Fleet engaged the remainder of the Rebel armada over Myssryn. Though both sides were virtually matched in strength and numbers, the Dominari and Bellati warships were well-protected by the planet’s defensive orbital stations.

As both sides readied for open combat, Supreme Master Arn Tavar led a collection of Venefari mystics to reach deep into the power of The Light. The largest cruiser and flagship of the rebel fleet – The Inevitable — was commanded by the Bellati Admiral Lora Fa, a former Imperial hero. Concentrating on Fa’s own connection to The Light, the mystics were able to conjure an apparition of Master Arn aboard The Inevitable’s command bridge. Speaking as though the two stood beside each other, Arn encouraged Fa to abandon the Shadow that now engulfed her and regain her honor. The Supreme Master encouraged the Admiral to recall her oaths and beckoned her to once more defend the rightful Empire. As several of the mystics succumbed to exhaustion, the connection was severed. The results of Master Arn’s ploy seemed questionable at best.

Yet as the opposing fleets began to move toward each other, The Inevitable stood its ground. While Dominari ships continued to accelerate, the Bellati vessels slowed to match the flagship. Moments later, all of the Bellati vessels began to fire their weapons. To the surprise of both sides, their missiles and plasma fire rained down on the closest Dominari vessels, destroying them within moments. The rebel fleet was thrown into instant chaos. With the Imperial Fleet before them and the Bellati cruisers behind them, the Dominari ships realized the futility of their position and moved to retreat. As quickly as they could, they began to jump away, leaving The Sellonian Empire in full control of the planet and the galaxy itself. The Battle of Myssryn was over, and the Dominari Rebellion had been utterly crushed.

Now in full control of a re-united Empire, the Vindori-led government could turn its attention to mending the wounds the Rebellion had opened. The Bellati were welcomed back into The Light with open arms, though a great number of their highest officials had resigned and exiled themselves in disgrace. An air of distrust would still be felt for a generation. Ouiori defectors were similarly welcomed back, instantly turning their attention to repairing the flora and fauna of war-torn worlds. Healing Arbora was of particular concern; despite promises to the contrary, the Dominari had never made any efforts to seek out a solution for the blight. With the return to peace, Medicari scientists successfully developed an effective cure, saving millions of lives and billions of acres of Arboran forest.