Imperians are a faction from the realm of Imperium in the Ninjago toy line and the Ninjago: Dragons Rising animated series.
Background[]
The apparently benevolent rulers of one of the Sixteen Realms, Imperium prospered and developed highly advanced technology powered by the energy of dragons, who willingly contributed it to the efforts of Imperium. Tragically, this would change after Lord Ras of the Wyldness arrived in Imperium seeking help in the capture of one of the Source Dragons. Emperor Levo, then ruler of Imperium, rejected this proposal, but his younger daughter Beatrix welcomed the possibility of adding to Imperium's power and, thus, her own. She and Ras thus worked together to assassinate her father, imprison her older sister Zeatrix, install her as Imperium's Empress, and establish a force of dragon hunters among Imperium's forces.
Beatrix and Ras succeeded in capturing the Source Dragon but finding a way to drain its power proved more difficult than expected. Denied this supposedly limitless source of energy, Beatrix turned to abducting dragons and forcibly extracting the power that they had once offered her people willingly. She also created or corrupted a cult of personality about her station, deceiving the vast majority of Imperium's citizens into believing her to be a wise ruler and the dragons to be unthinking beasts with no better purpose than to have their energy harvested. Beatrix's villainy was assisted by the amoral chief scientist of Imperium's Advanced Systems Lab, Dr. LaRow.
At one point, a brilliant young tech prodigy named Ana emerged among Imperium's youth and was recruited to join the Advanced Systems Lab. However, when she learned that LaRow intended to turn her artificial pet Photac invention into a weapon of war and saw how dragons were mistreated in the person of the Djinjagan dragon later revealed to be named Zanth, Ana refused to be a part of the Empress' machinations. Sabotaging her invention, she later left Imperium after the Sixteen Realms merged, and made her home in the Crossroads. Beatrix, meanwhile, continued to seek a means to expand her influence over the now united realms.
Five years after the Merge, the Claws of Imperium succeeded in capturing Riyu, a young dragon of particular interest. Riyu managed to escape and meet Ana, now going by the name Sora, and her friend Arin before all three of them were captured by Imperium forces. Fortunately, their altercation with the dragon hunters had been seen by Lloyd Garmadon, one of the Ninja of Ninjago. The Green Ninja rescued the three youngsters, and set out to return Riyu to his herd, which were found to reside in the Land of Three Mountains.
However, the Imperium forces tracked them there, leading to a battle with Imperium on one side and the dragons, their matriarch, and Lloyd's team on the other. Though Lloyd's group was successful in freeing most of the dragons, at least one was captured during this engagement or later. Furthermore, Lloyd connected with the Dragon Matriarch during the battle, which Beatrix and Ras had intended to occur in hopes that it would further their quest for the other Source Dragons. Not long thereafter, Lord Ras would rescue Dorama, whom Lloyd and his new students had defeated, from confinement in order to recruit him to Imperium's cause.
Dorama would succeed in getting Ana's original Photac prototype operational again, prompting the young Ninja recruit and her friends to infiltrate Imperium in a bid to sabotage the Empress' plans.
Members
Imperium Royal Family
Emperor Levo
Emperor Levo was the benevolent former ruler of Imperium and a former Elemental Master of unknown power. His abilities were passed on to the elder of his twin daughters, Princess Zeatrix, who was also heir to his throne. Unfortunately, these situations became sources of resentment in his other daughter, Beatrix. After Levo rejected Lord Ras' offer of an alliance to capture a Source Dragon, Beatrix was quick to accept the offer. Turning against her father, she sabotaged his airborne transport and caused it to crash and kill him, making it appear to have been an accident.
Years later, several citizens of Imperium learned the truth about Levo's murder and thus formed a resistance movement against Beatrix.
Trivia
- He was voiced by Ron Halder, who also voiced King Trimaar in Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu.
Zeatrix
Princess Zeatrix is the elder of the twin daughters of Emperor Levo and inherited his Elemental Power to become an Elemental Master. She displayed this ability when dismissing Lord Ras from her father's throne room, where she and her younger sister Beatrix sat beside him at his right and left hand, respectively. Levo praised Zeatrix's performance, an apparently common occurrence, and Beatrix-resenting both their father's favoritism towards Zeatrix and her sister's place as heir to the throne-joined forces with Ras. After killing Levo, the pair recruited at least a handful of Imperium Guards to join them against Zeatrix, whom they subdued and captured. Zeatrix's ensuing fate was left a mystery, though she would apparently be only the first of those who threatened Beatrix's aspirations to disappear.
Empress Beatrix Vespasian-Orus
Advanced Systems Lab
Dr. LaRow
Dr. LaRow is the head scientist of the Advanced Systems Lab under Empress Beatrix and pioneered new technologies while exploiting the powers of captured dragons.
Background
Like her empress, LaRow had no regard for the dragons in her power and cared nothing for their obvious suffering at her hands. She was also a ruthless opportunist, arranging it so that any innovation developed in the lab, regardless of who was responsible for it, became her own legal property. LaRow was not above recognizing the talent of others, however, and took particular interest in the work of a young prodigy named Ana. Ana, for her part, idolized LaRow until she saw the full depth of the doctor's depravity, at which point she refused to aid LaRow in any matter, whether the exploitation of dragons or the development of the Photacs.
Despite her own implied brilliance, LaRow was unable to get the Photac prototype, which Ana had sabotaged, functioning despite five years' worth of attempts. She was also unable to find a means of extracting power from the Source Dragon Imperium had managed to capture, leaving them dependent on extracting lesser dragons' energy in order to fuel their technology.
Later when Empress Beatrix heard about the Dragon Cores, LaRow was sent after one of them managed to snatch it away from the Finders and Ninja.
Photac Beast
Claws of Imperium
Rapton
Imperium Claw General
Imperium Claw Hunter
Armed Forces
Imperium Guard
Imperium Guard Commander
Imperium Droid
Civilians
Ana's Dad
Ana's Mom
Mr. Koenig
Imperium Teen Resistance Force
Percival Tartigrade
Former Citizens/Allies
Ana
Dorama
Dorama is an evil magician and a former entertainer in the Crossroads.