A Thorough Analysis of the Imperial Defeat during the Second Voidwar

A Thorough Analysis is a part of Tales of Arkain, focusing on a letter by the new Grand Marshal of the Imperial Army sent to Arkain.

## Synopsis

An unnamed Imperial Army Grand Marshal writes a letter while on a journey to fight those who betrayed the Empire of Rodan, namely Kingdoms and Zyainor.

## Story

About twenty years ago, the Second Voidwar ended. About twenty years before that, the first war had ended. Both times, the Empire had not reached its goals, though the conclusion of the second war had been by far more severe. The Empire lost not only a great amount of forces but also some of its best military minds along with the vassalized Kingdoms. While our nation remained powerful in spite of this defeat, calling it a slight on our honor was a massive understatement. It comes to no surprise that many citizens of the Empire, especially those who had lost family and friends in this war, screamed for justice. The uprising of the Kingdoms only made it worse. It is easy to blame the betrayal of the Kingdoms and Gardon Bloodclaw for this defeat. Easy... but wrong. Blindly believing the words of the Emperor's propaganda makes one blind to the facts. The "rebellion of the Kingdoms", if you can even call it that, was inevitable. Its seeds were planted already when the Empire first arrived on the continent of Arkain. Some royals always mistrusted the Imperials - and one cannot blame them, the Empire took control of their lands in exchange for its protection. However, those doubts could have been washed aside, not completely of course but still for the most part, if the Empire had succeeded in completely taking out the demonic threat, as they had wanted to. Sadly, they were betrayed and therefore unable to destroy the Demons. However, many people of the Kingdoms still saw the Empire as saviour. Only some thought otherwise. And yet, the seeds had now found their soil. Still, this could have been salvaged. Even if rebellions might have occured, they could have been put to a minimum. The irrevocable events that led to the defeat of the Imperial Army started in the Second Voidwar. It did not start with the betrayal of Bloodclaw and the Kingdoms. Or with the evacuation of the Elves. Or with the arrival of the Golden Guard. Not even with the death of General Cleavehand or the betrayal of Genethas. No, it began the moment the Empire sent its forces over the Great Sea once more. The Imperial Army is a well disciplined, loyal and powerful tool. Both fresh, eager recruits and battle-hardened, experienced veterans of many battles fill its numerous ranks. The might of the Imperial Army, in theory, might have been enough to win the war. They had the numbers, the discipline, the strategic minds and the arcane support to accomplish all of their goals. So what was it that weakened this giant of pure military strength to the point that it fell and not only lost the war but an entire continent? The answer is complex, as one might already suspect, but, as trivial as it sounds, it all began with the logistics. Rather than choosing a single military leader to be in charge of the entire Imperial Army, the several generals should cooperate and work together on their own - just like in the First Voidwar. The inofficial reasoning behind this was that it would prevent one of the generals getting any ideas about setting up his own realm in the Kingdoms and seperating the continent from the Empire - which quite obviously did not work out as planned - due to being "controlled" by the other generals. It goes without saying that those who made this decision are no longer in a position of power and therefore unable to repeat this fatal mistake.
Sure, General Selior Cleavehand was chosen as the leader of the defensive efforts on Arkain but this title was more formality than anything else. If a soldier had to choose between an order from his direct general and an order from General Cleavehand, they would always follow the order of their own general instead. This would by no means have been the fault of General Cleavehand himself, it was only the logical conclusion of the decision not to put someone above the other generals. While the generals all answered to the Imperial Command, it was far away - an entire, massive ocean away. This led to factionalism, soldiers felt bound to their own leaders rather than their far-away Empire or the Kingdoms that weren't even their home. Conflicts were inevitable in such a situation.
It wasn't just betrayal, it was politics, intrigues, infighting and dissent that broke the Imperial Army apart from the inside. The legions of Demons were a threat to be taken seriously, I am not claiming that they could have been beaten easily or that the Orcs were not another reason of instability within its ranks, but without the inner conflicts and the terrible decisions made both by command and other individuals within their ranks, the Imperial Army could have stood a chance.

This is just a selection of the reasons, there are of course more reasons. The Imperial Army could have won the Second Voidwar if it wasn't for the hubris, ignorance, incompetence and mismanagement of those who made most decisions before the war had even properly begun. But now... they are all gone. Replaced by experienced leaders and politicians that work in cooperation rather than against each other. The machine of the Imperial Army has been tweaked and repaired. The war machine has been put back on the move. It sails once more towards the Kingdoms - though the orders are different than the last time. This time, under the leadership of a single person with absolute authority over all its forces, the Imperial Army will do what it does best: War.

My orders are clear, but the Emperor knows that I am not just a puppet of his will. He knows that I am no fool or fanatic. Duty calls and I follow - my men do not know of the true extend of our attack yet, believing that we are just here to retake the Kingdoms. I will let them believe that. They will only be told what they need to know. Let them think that we are on a mission for justice, honor, revenge and taking back what is ours if they want. War is dirty business.
I guess ignorance is bliss sometimes.

Name illegible, First Grandmarshal of the Imperial Army, 6th April, 552 E. F./20 Z.R.