2035 - First man-made craft crewed by sentients leaves the Solar System. (U.N.S Unity)

2067 - United Nations absolved due to Nuclear Strike upon New York by unknown terrorists. Passing of the Racial Profiling Bill.

2068 - Racial Profiling Bill passed. All humans required to carry electronic ID Cards with them at all times.

2095 - The nations of Europe merge into one singular nation, aptly named the Euro-Confederation

2104 - Euro-Confederation invades and annexes Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Kazakhstan

2124 - The Russian Bloc officially absorbed into the Euro-Confederation. South, North, and Central Americas merge into the Coalition of Americas.

2167 - The faster-than-light barrier is broken by Euro-ConFed scientists. The E.C.N.S Mankind is launched for the Alpha Centauri system, carrying 1,000,000 Human Colonists

2175 - Nuclear War breaks out between Africa and Australia. Australia allies with Southeast Asian nations. Euro-ConFed and American Coalition step in to break the conflict. Africa launches a Nuclear Salvo at Euro-ConFed capitol of Paris

2176 - Euro-ConFed invades Africa after destruction of Paris and irradiation of France. The Atlantic Treaty forces the American Coalition to invade Africa along side European forces. The Southeastern Asian Nations and Australia form into the Asian Alliance and for reasons unknown invade South America. The American Coalition responds by dropping multiple Nuclear Warheads on Australia. Australia cleansed of all life

2177 - Africa overrun by American and European forces. The two superpowers merge into the Coalition of Earth, summarily invading Southeast Asia. The Asian Alliance capitol of Beijing falls after 4 months of Coalition advances

2178 - All remaining nations non-aligned with the Coalition declare war on the superpower. Nuclear Warfare leads to the destruction of: New York II, Chicago, London, Manchester, Dallas, Los Angeles, Saint Louis, Berlin, Paris II, Delhi, Brasilia, Rio Dejanero, New Antarctica Station, and Cairo

2179 - The Coalition of Earth formally declares itself the World Government, many minor nations protest but do not formally speak out for fear of Nuclear Reprisal

2194 - All nations of Earth annexed by Coalition of Earth

2200 - E.C.N.S. Mankind arrives at Alpha Centauri. Human population landed upon the world.

2205 - Alpha Centauri establishes Contact with Earth. European colonists dismayed at the Nuclear Devastation.

2207 - The Alpha Centauri system, using materials from the Mankind, begins construction of an orbital shipyard facility. Centaurian Governor Melnibone draws up plans for a new breed of warship: Space vessels.

2209 - Centauri Dock completed. Construction begins on five new Sol-class FTL Destroyers.

2210 - Earth experiences melting of Polar Icecaps from dangerously high radiation levels. First self-sustaining colony established on Mars

2212 - FTL Sensor Station established by Coalition of Earth on Pluto

2213 - 5 Centaurian Warships completed. (Hyperion, Endymion, Plato, Aristotle, Sun-Tzu)

2214 - The Alpha Centauri system launches their five FTL Destroyers on an Earth-bound course. Their maximum speed was 50c

2215 - Centaurian Warships arrive in the Sol System. Alpha Centauri system officially secedes from the Coalition of Earth. Coalition Sublight warships armed with low-yield Nuclear Weapons prepare to engage Centaurian Forces over Jupiter.

2216 - Battle of Io, 25 Earth monitors utterly demolished by superior Centaurian Technology. First use of energy beam weapons. Centaurian Governor Melnibone dissolves the Coalition of Earth and announces formation of the Interstellar Solarian Federation.

2217 - Solarian Federation begins production of an exploration/defense fleet to expand throughout the Galaxy. Construction of orbital platforms over Earth, Mars, and Centauri

2234 - After many years of prosperity as chairman of the Federation, President Melnibone dies. Chairmanship passes to Shen-Jing Zhaou of Asia Minor

2276 - Humanity successfully colonizes it’s fifth planet since Alpha Centauri. (Alpha Tucane, Tau Ceti, Sigma Draconis, Mu Arae, Beta Andromeda)

3002 - First contact with extraterrestrial beings. The FTL Cruiser I.S.F.S New York meets the Proctarian Destroyer H’minee in orbit of Star G-23423. The Proctarians are bipedal winged creatures similar to prehistoric pterodactyls. After many hours of attempted communications the H’minee fires upon the New York, causing a human retaliation. Proctarian Craft destroyed by energy beam barrage. No contact with the Proctarians since

3045 - Construction begins on the first FTL Craft to ever exceed 500 meters in length. The I.S.F.S Tempest is schelduled to be launched in mid 3050

3047 - The extraterrestrial race calling themselves the Yzhan Intaru launch an unforeseen invasion of the Sol System. Of the original 60 Intaru ships, the Earth Defense Force destroys 47. The orbital defense nets of Mars and Earth further reduce their number by 51 before the Intaru achieve Earth Orbit. Earth is cleansed of all life, and the Intaru summarily proceed towards Alpha Centauri

3048 - 80 Intaru ships invade the Centauri System and are destroyed by the 60 strong Centauri Defense force in a battle above Hercules. Interrogation of captured Intaru reveal the motive of the attack to be fear, and that they had been manipulating mankind since the 19th century. It was them who caused the non-Coalition-aligned nations of Earth to begin full-scale nuclear warfare. The location of the Intaru home world is pried from Intaru crewmen by strenuous Interrogation. A fleet is massed for an assault.

3049 - A 100-ship strong invasion fleet begins its attack on the 5 Yzhan Intaru controlled systems known to humans. A loss of 84 ships is taken before the Yzhan Intaru fleet is eliminated

3050 - Bombardment begins of Intaru worlds. After near-constant bombardment of their worlds, the Intaru race is proclaimed extinct

4000 - Human Colonization achieves 700 light year distances from Earth. An unparalleled human golden age begins. Earth is re-inhabited and terraformed

20,000 - Remarkable and unthought of advances are made in technology and science. The Human golden age is brought to an abrupt end by the return of the Yzhan Intaru. A 1,000 ship strong fleet engages Centauri defense forces at the system’s outer boundary. A running battle is fought all the way to Centauri orbit before the Intaru fleet is finally destroyed.

20,001 - Civil reforms are brought about as the populace of the Federation fears further Intaru advances. Martial law is formulated in many cities across the galaxy. Civil unrest levels continue to rise

20,030 - A revolt springs up on Beta Andromeda, and extremists overrun the planet. The Federation looses faith in its government, and the reformists take the Centauri System

20,031 - Formation of the First Terran Empire, founded on the principles of expansion and the elimination of all threats to mankind. Active war fleets are sent out to hunt down and destroy the Yzhan Intaru

20,215 - Massive Yzhan Intaru war fleets invade Terran space, and the Empire is reduced to a mere 20 systems. Tooth and nail fighting between Intaru and Human forces is enacted for dozens of years.

20,310 - The Intaru are beaten back, and the Empire renames itself the Second Terran Imperium, in personal recognition for overcoming it’s darkest hour.

20,502 - Civil reforms bring about the Third Terran Imperium

25,000 - The Imperial armada is mothballed and scrapped due to centuries of no threats to human existence

35,000 - Genetic Impure, Retarded, and all manner of imperfects exiled from Imperial space upon several sleeper ships loaded with stasis cells. These ships crash landed upon the world known by our Astronomers as 'The Eye of Terror'. First known human contact with omnipotent powers. Genetic Impure tainted by the forces of Chaos, given massive military machine by the Chaos Gods. Massive armada begins construction

35,023 - The First Imperial Xenos-class Heavy Dreadnaught comissioned. ( HIMS Asguard )

37,067 - Chaos Armada begins Slower-Than-Light journey towards Imperial Space

40,000 - Chaos Armada smashes Imperial Fleet base at Sarasota, Imperial Warp-hyperdrive captured. Chaos Armada begins FTL Advance Towards Earth. The Imperial Fleet is still mostly in Mothbals.

40,001 - Chaos Armada intercepted by Imperial 18th Fleet at the edge of the Sigma Draconiis sector. Fierce 16 day running battle ensues. Imperial Fleet destroyed at the edges of the Beta Andromeda sector. Imperial Fleet brung out of mothballs. Chaos Armada pushes towards Earth. Intercepted at the edges of the Solarian Sector by Imperial 3rd and 6th fleets. Running battle ensues, Imperial fleets broken and routed over Jupiter. Imperial 1st Fleet arrives from Alpha Centauri just as Chaos Armada passes Mars. Luna is knocked out of orbit in the subsequent crossfire and impacts on Sol. High economic reprocussions. Chaos Armada subsequently destroyed by Imperial 1st Fleet and Lord Chaos Xar'tan the Iron killed

40,024 - Imperial 1st and 2nd Fleets engage the remnants of the Chaos Armada at Tau Ceti. Heavy casualties ensue, but Imperial forces victorious at the end. Ulic Nyteblade crowned Lord Chaos

40,034 - Lord Chaos Ulic Nyteblade begins construction of a 'Proton Torpedo' designed to destabilize the gasses in Jupiter's atmosphere. First Major offensive launched by Chaos in 20 years. Imperial 5th Fleet engages and stalemates Chaos Armada outside the Alpha Centauri Sector. Chaos Armada Retreats

40,054 - Jupiter and all planets beyond the Solarian Asteroid belt destroyed by Nyteblade's Proton Torpedo. Three Imperial Fleets destroyed in resulting explosion, aswell as Lord Chaos Nyteblade

40,123 - Chaos Forces finally retreat from Imperial Space. Unknown to the current Imperials it was to construct an even larger Armada

41,000 - Lord Chaos Xarath Hellstryker invades the 3rd Imperium at the helm of a Chaos fleet numbering almost One Million vessels. Imperial 7th, 9th, and 18th Fleets destroyed to the last ship in the opening engagement outside the Beta Andromeda sector. Chaos forces invade Mu Arae and destroy the 11th, 12th, and 19th Fleets. Chaos Armada pauses to effect repairs. Seven Imperial fleets marshalled at the Alpha Centauri Fleet Base

41,001 - Third Battle of the Sol System. Almost Eight Hundred Thousand Chaos warships stream into the Solar System to be met by an odd four thousand Imperial warships. Imperial fleet demolished, Earth bombarded to a barren rock. Chaos Armada engages the Centauri Fleet base. 2 Million Imperial ships destroyed before Emperor Erekose DeVries orders a retreat.

41,021 - The Third Imperium, now reduced to a scant three sectors and a puny one million warships launches a bold offensive into the Sigma Draconiis Sector which by a stroke of luck kills Lord Chaos Xarath. Imperial advances secures Sigma Draconiis and Beta Antares sectors. Some 2 million warships are captured as Imperial forces overrun Draconiis and Antares fleet bases

41,034 - After nearly 20 years of Chaos anarchy following Xarath's death, Elric Nightblayde is granted Lord Chaos title. A force of 2 million Chaos ships pushes into Imperial territory and is met by the Imperial Fleet and Emperor DeVries. In At the end of the battle the Empire is victorious and Nightblayde is captured and placed in statis on a long forgotten prison asteroid. The Fourth Imperium is formed

41,035 - The next Lord Chaos, Caviar Buffton approves use of Cyclonic Bombs on Imperial space. Six systems are erased before the Imperials counterattack with their own Cyclonic Bombs. Galaxy wide devastation as whole fleets are erased in mere moments

41,036 - Galaxy is fought to a standstill. Chaos forces have fought too long and hard and their morale has broken, The Imperium lacks the numbers to press on. Elric Nightblayde's asteroid is lost from the records

41,923 - After nine centuries of an tense stalemate between Chaos and Humanity, the Imperials stumble across Nightblayde's stasis cell. Reviving him it is learned that the stasis killed his Chaos taint. Realizing what a virtue a fully human allied Chaos spawn could be, Emperor Wyvern places him in command of the Imperial battlefleet.

42,021 - The Fourth Imperium invades Chaos space. Elric Nightblayde's knowledge of Chaos tactics and mentality dooms any Chaos force that stands against the Imperium. Sol and Alpha Centauri are retaken. Both of Nightblayde's legs are replaced by biotechnic enhancements after they were shattered during a battle

42,043 - Chaos is driven from the Galaxy as a whole. The human race begins the long task of resettling it's lost planets. After the death of Wyvern, Elric Nightblayde is proclaimed Emperor Nightblayde I, Defender of Humanity, Guardian of the 5th Imperium

42,056 – 5th Imperium Galactic Battlefleet is christened. The re-colonization of former Imperial begins. 5th Imperium expands to encompass 25 systems

42,058 – 100 systems Re-colonized

42,060 – Contact with the Alien Prytarians. Prytarians are an offshoot of the earlier encountered Proctarian race. Unable to make more than limited negotiations with the Prytarians. Hostilities begin. 1st Fleet under Emperor Nightblayde’s personal command enters Prytarian space.

42,061 – 1st Fleet engages Prytarian fleets at the system G-324123. The battle is an utter rout. Flagship HIMS Tempest is destroyed. Emperor Nightblayde escapes in a shuttle. The entire 1st Fleet destroyed. Nightblayde looses both his legs. Soon replaced by biogenetics.

42,062 – Imperial 2nd and 3rd Fleets proceed into Prytarian space. They are successful in destroying the Prytarian Armada. However 70% of their combined strength is destroyed. Imperial Fleet numbers only almost one hundred thousand warships. Emperor Nightblayde begins to go insane from the stress and loss of life in battle

42,063 – A single Prytarian Battleship manages to sneak into the Centauri system and slip into Centauri orbit. Imperial capitol complex is demolished. Emperor Nightblayde absolves the Imperial Council. Mass-genocide begins on all Prytarian Planets. BattleFleet Initiative Ninety Four is established. It directs any fleet unit that discovers a Prytarian world to go through any means necessary to destroy it’s population. Emperor Nightblayde initiates the legendary Masanyan Campaign. Massive Imperial Fleet buildup. Nightblayde begins to turn the Imperium into a dictatorship for all purposes.

42,080 – Imperial Buildup finished. No contact with Prytarians since 42,063. Nightblayde launches the Masanyan Campaign. The new Imperial 1st Fleet, consisting of nearly 100,000 warships, plunges into the Masanyan Sector, which human theorists have deduced is the capital of the Prytarian Hegemony. Several skirmishes with Prytarian vessels on the edges of the sector

42,081 – Imperial Fleet begins conquest of Masanyan Sector. Successions of local defense fleets are obliterated piecemeal. BattleFleet Initiative Ninety-Four preformed on over ten worlds. Ratings on Imperial Warships dub the Initiative “The Intaru Option”. Imperial Fleet engages a massive Prytarian armada, the largest seen since 42,061, outside the system now dubbed ‘Deadville’. Two Hundred Thousand Prytarian ships destroyed. Intaru Option preformed on suspected Prytarian capitol. Over three trillion Prytarians killed.

42,082 – Imperial 1st Fleet returns to Imperial space. Nightblayde learns that while he was away a movement against xenocide had sprung up in the Ganymede system. The Emperor, who was slowly going insane, takes this as a final challenge to his right to keep humanity alive. The Intaru Option is performed on Ganymede despite Fleet protests. Multiple open uprisings to Imperial authority occur in several border sectors. At the Alpha Centauri fleet yards several hundred insurrectionists seize a good number of Imperial fleet vessels. The Imperial 1st Fleet at Hercules’ corona smashes this rebel taskforce.

42,083 – After the blatant and utter destruction of the rebels, multiple fleet vessels are seized by Rebel sympathizers in the crew. Rebellious forces summarily seize a full third of Imperial Fleet strength. The outlying sectors of Boothes, Laramie, and Teraine completely defect from the Imperium. The now completely genocidal and power mad Emperor Nightblayde, who is completely hell driven on keeping the Imperium under firm control, moves his remaining Fleet strength to these regions. After a titanic clash near Bethesda in the Boothes sector, the rebel forces are obliterated and the three sectors forcibly pacified.

42,084 – Emperor Nightblayde is diagnosed by Royal physicians as having developed Bahamut disease, an infliction contracted by large exposure to warp energies. Bahamut disease causes the rapid deterioration of human frontal lobe cells. Nightblayde is slowly turning into a ‘vegetable’.

42,085 – Nightblayde firmly resolves to make sure the Imperium will not die with him. BattleFleet begins expansion and colonization of numerous new sectors.

42,092 – Elric Nightblayde dies of Bahamut disease. He is considered the greatest Emperor ever. The Imperium had expanded from the brink of annihilation to over 40 sectors. And six thousand star systems under his reign. BattleFleet was at it’s most powerful state ever. Adam DeVries VIII, the grandson of Erekose DeVries, ascends the throne. A new golden age is entered. The Imperium is not dubbed the sixth, but remains the Fifth in honor of Nightblayde.

43,001 – A radical extremist group opposed to Imperial policies assassinates Adam DeVries. In a stunning and daring attack, the Emperor’s ship is ambushed while passing through the Obatta Nebula. His escort is destroyed along with him and his vessel. Investigation by the Imperial Guard leads to suggestions of possible extraterrestrial involvement. A Guard:SPACE taskforce is mobilized and sent past the Obatta Nebula. A single message buoy declaring, “Send no more ships, for the love of Nightblayde” is received.

43,005 – After four years of being governed by Sky Marshal Sariss, a new Emperor ascends to the throne. Emperor Novasiok Qel’Droma declares boldly that he will lead an expedition past the Obatta Nebula.

43,006 – After a year of being out of contact, the Fleet of Emperor Qel’Droma returns. Qel’Droma reports he has made contact with a new alien race; The Baldourians. He reports that the Baldourians are a highly expansionistic and warlike race that uses a caste system. Qel’Droma declares that coexistence is impossible, as he observed a Baldourian warfleet assembling near the Nebula edge. In a brutal battle that lasts six days, the Baldourian armada destroys The Imperial Expeditionary Fleet.

43,007 – As New Years passes on Earth, the Baldourian Armada continues to encroach upon Centauri and Earth. Sky Marshal Sariss recalls all Imperial sector fleets from the outer sectors while massing the Sol and Centauri Sector Defense fleets. In what is considered the Third Battle of Hercules, Sariss leads a brilliant envelopment tactic that encircles and destroys the Baldourians. Some even advocate she be crowned the first Empress. However Sariss declares she will remain as Sky Marshal and Empress Regent until the late Emperor Qel’Droma’s son comes of age.

43,018 – Emperor Qel’Droma II is crowned and Sariss returns to the role of Sky Marshal. The young Emperor foolishly orders Sariss to take the Laramie and Boothes defense fleets and invade Baldourian space. Despite public outcry for the loved Sky Marshal, Sariss obediently begins the task. Her fleet utterly smashes the outer Baldourian defenses before encountering another race on the fringes of Baldourian space. The Tyrnath Federation is a small vassal state of the Baldourians. Seeing a way to escape their servitude, they eagerly aid the Imperial taskforce. After a long and agonizing battle against superior Baldourian forces near the enemy capital, Sariss is forced to retreat. Upon her return to Imperial space, Qel’Droma has her executed for cowardice. Rumors spread he may have contracted an accelerated form of Bahamut disease.

43,021 – After a further three years of rule by the mad Emperor, he is finally deposed by Wyvern DeVries, and another member of the celebrated dynasty takes the throne. Public joy is offset by a renewed Baldourian invasion. Initial surveys indicate the invasion force is larger than the entire Imperial Fleet, taskforces and sector defense fleets combined. Emperor DeVries IX opts to marshal the entire number of the Sol and Centauri sector fleets, along with Guard:SPACE and supplements from various strike forces. It is said the Emperor spent the night before the enemy’s arrival knelt in the tomb of Elric Nightblayde on Centauri. The following day he personally pilots a Strikefighter into the titanic battle. The battle itself is a massive affair as hundreds of Imperial and Baldourian ships engage over Io. After nearly twelve hours of a constant battle-front, the Imperial forces begin to loose moral and start falling back towards Ceres Station. Emperor DeVries leads his Strikefighter wing into the heart of the enemy fleet. As the Imperial fleet sees this selfless act of bravery, the retreating forces turn and reengage the Baldourians with an unbridled ferocity. Even so, the Imperials fight a loosing battle until the arrival of Emperor DeVries’ trump card. The first Erinyes-class Planetoid, HIMS Tisiphone arrives from the Mu Arae shipyards. The massive battleship turns the tide of the epic battle towards the side of the Imperium, causing the Baldourian fleet to flee Imperial space. Emperor DeVries is found barely alive, drifting in a crippled fighter and rushed to the Imperial Hospital at Centauri.

43,022 – After a long recovery, Emperor DeVries is fit to move freely again, and is deemed to be healthy. No contact has been made with the Baldourians since the recent Fourth Battle of Sol. A delegation is hastily sent to the Tyrnath who inform the Imperials that their massive neighbors have been silent. A small taskforce is assembled, consisting of the newest Erinyes-class, the HIMS Megarea. Taskforce: Fury is dispatched to the Baldourian border. After two months of observation, it is discovered that nearly the entire Baldourian Fleet was destroyed over Io by the tenacious human defense. Not only that, but various smaller neighbors have taken it open themselves to attack the weakened Baldourians, taking chunks out of their territory.

43,023 – An uneasy peace settles over the galaxy, as from the chaos of war several major players emerge onto the galactic scale. The first being the Sixth Terran Imperium, the change in number brought about by the Baldourian wars, although the sigil is chained to the Nightblayde Family Eagle in tribute to the fallen Emperor. The Baldourian Concordance, while still weakened, is still the most powerful government in the galaxy. The Tyrnath Federation, liberated from Baldourian control by the Terran Imperium, begins construction of a massive military. From beyond the Baldourian realm dwells the smaller, yet unbelievably powerful Ailthorri Commonwealth, and the rather run-of-the-mill Sorin Federation. Emperor Wyvern DeVries IX orders the Intaru Option preformed on The Eye of Terror to ensure no more threats to Imperial security occur from that avenue. The planet is fragmented by Gravitonic Warheads.

43,026 – Another Baldourian Invasion takes place, a massive armada suddenly looming out of space in the Centauri system with no warning. Emperor DeVries is killed valiantly leading the defense of the planet from the bridge of the HIMS Corvan, a small Lancer-class Frigate. A Baldourian plasma lance blasts right through the Corvan’s bridge, killing nearly everyone on board the ship. However the Emperor’s sacrifice allows valuable time for elements of the Sector Defense Fleet to be recalled, and the Baldourian invasion is easily smashed before more harm could be done to the planet. There is massive public outcry at the death of the most beloved Emperor since Elric Nightblayde, and public pressure causes the newly crowned Emperor MacIntyre I to invade the Baldourian Concordance, despite the behest from his personal and military advisors. Sky Marshal Colin Arae leads the assault which takes a full eighth of the Baldourian border territory, bringing humanity to a fully galactic-scale Empire.

43,034 – After eight years of complete tranquility in the galaxy, the peace is shattered. The Ailthorri Commonwealth suddenly invades the waning Baldourian Concordance. In an absoloutely stunning and awe-inspiring display of power, the Ailthorri Commonwealth vessel Contemplation, one of their Raven-class assault cruisers, vaporizes the Baldourian capitol planet. The Balodourians are likened to a massive elephant set upon by dozens of jackals. Several of their subject races raise up, in what appears to be a coordinated revolt orchestrated by the Ailthorri. The most prominent of these are the Zejii and the Drilians.

43,035 - The Emperor Xantarius DeVries X opts to declare war against the Baldourian Concordance for past crimes against Earth and the galaxy. Hercules rises across Centauri as a massive Imperial battlefleet soars over the home world of the newly proclaimed Sixth Imperium. Thousands of planetoids and billions of fighters, a salute to the majesty of Empire as the Imperial Expeditionary Force jumps to enchanach. Xantarius DeVries leads the fleet himself. In an unprecedented maneuver, an Ailthorri vessel fires upon the IEF Flagship, HIMIS Tisiphone. The massive Fury-class Planetoid easily demolishes the advanced Ailthorri patrol vessel, causing a violent response by nearby Ailthorri forces. The entirety of the sector erupts in total war, as humanity once more mobilizes for conflict.

43,036 - Warfare across the frontier of Imperial and combined Baldourian territory against the Ailthorri is mostly ineffective, with only the largest and most destructive of Imperial planetoids able to destroy the more powerful Commonwealth vessels. A stalemate is essentially in effect, with the waning Baldourians caught between the blood-hungry Ailthorri and Terrans, each unable to make advances of worth against the other. Back on Centauri, Imperial Intelligence is perturbed by the emergence of a new Cult, named the Great Premonition. The Great Premonition focused around the re-discovered works of a well-known Chaos Psychic, whom prophecizied the return of the Intaru themselves. While not unpopular because of support of a Chaos Mystic, it is unpopular because it advocates that humanity's greatest enemy will return. It is known that several high-ranking members of the Terran Imperial Navy are members of this cult, and also preach a full re-armament to Chaos War standards. Those whom know of the Cult see it as a form of idolotry, and also one of sedition. Imperial Intelligence begins a violent purge of the upper hierarchy, even as Ailthorri advances begin to push back the IEF from frontier positions.