Viltrum Empire

The Viltrum Empire is the principal antagonistic force of the series, known also as the Viltrumite Empire or simply the Empire. Emperor Argall raised it into being and set its warriors on a single course, the endless spread of Viltrumite rule outward until the entire universe answered to them. Its soldiers trace their loyalty to that founding vision, treating conquest as both duty and destiny.

Across its long reign the Empire has overrun thousands of worlds and pushed its campaigns over immense stretches of space, assembling the largest dominion any civilization has ever known. Its maxim, handed down from Argall, is captured in three words the Viltrumites recite together, a claim that all things belong to them.

Power within the Empire follows a rigid ladder. At its summit sits the Emperor, a title bound to Argall's royal bloodline and carrying absolute command over government, army, and every affair of state. Below that rank, a Grand Regent may rule when no Emperor or acknowledged heir remains, holding sovereign-level authority and chosen from among the mightiest Viltrumites, a role Thragg came to define. Regents serve directly under the sovereign, while Councilors of the Viltrumite Council shape policy, their numbers cut to a handful after the Scourge Virus.

The military side descends from Generals, who direct large campaigns, through the rank-and-file Soldiers who execute the conquests, with Physicians tending the wounded through advanced Viltrumite medicine. An elite detachment, the Imperial Royal Guard, once shielded the ruler in hooded crimson regalia before falling into disuse after the virus. Standing within society is signaled through insignia, more elaborate emblems marking prominent figures rather than any formal grade.

The Empire arms its forces with specialized gear, including elongated silver staves from the Argall era, stretchers and hazard suits for treating the sick, spacesuits, utility belts, and high-tech shackles built to restrain even rogue Viltrumites. Injuries beyond healing are answered with cybernetic replacements, as when Kregg received an artificial eye and Conquest a mechanical arm. For travel and warfare it relies on its fleet of Viltrumite Cruisers, of which one lone ship survived to shelter the remnant of the species.

Grand Regent Thragg leads the present Empire, following the founding reign of Emperor Argall, with an alternate Stripevincible counted among past rulers. Its ranks have included General Kregg, a once-loyal Nolan, Anissa, Lucan, Thula, and Elix, along with the departed Conquest and councilors such as Thaedus before his defection.

Arrayed against the Empire stand the Coalition of Planets, the Global Defense Agency, and the Guardians of the Globe, together with numerous subjugated alien races. Its most damaging losses have been defectors, Thaedus, Nolan, Invincible, and Oliver Grayson among them, while humanity aids the Empire's revival without ever realizing it.