Madara

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Madara (玛达拉)
Alias(es)	Undead Empire; Dead Moon Empire; Black Rose of Bromanto/Bramanto
Affiliation	The Mercury Staff; Moonless Sanctuary 1227 1250
Occupation/Role	Undead kingdom and major military power of the Dead Moon regions
Ruler	Queen Madara, the Supreme One who wields the Mercury Staff 1227 1229
Status	Active; its capital was devastated following the Goddess of the Dead Moon's descent, prompting an undead migration north 1273
First Appearance	Chapter 3: “Act III: The Undead”

Background / History

Madara began as a fragmented undead realm rather than a centralized state. Its major powers included the Vampires and Black Knights of the Land of Eternal Death, the Undead sequence, Dark Lords south of the Sea of Dead Moons, and the Liches of Balakirevo. 1238

The Land of Eternal Death formed the Mercury Staff’s original power base and the homeland of Black Knights and Vampires such as Instaron and Tagus. These nobles were among the earliest supporters of the Staff’s rise and later benefited greatly from Madara’s expansion. 1238

The Supreme One’s unification effort relied on the Mercury Staff, military reforms, and negotiated interests with the Dark Lords. Though the Emperor’s will came to cover Madara’s core regions, its political and economic structures remained shaped by its older decentralized system. 1227 1237

The First Black Rose War served as a war of elimination against rival Undead Lords. Cabes, Blood Staff, and other traditional powers were destroyed or weakened, while the resulting military gains strengthened the Queen’s position and rewarded her followers. 1227

By Year 376, Madara had achieved de facto unification: Wight Lords west of the Sea of Dead Moons had sworn allegiance to the Supreme One, resources were being consolidated, and the first “New Madara” army was prepared for war. 796

Political Structure and Territories

Component	Role in Madara
Mercury Staff	The central symbol and source of the Supreme One’s authority; it underpins Madara’s unity but also leaves the state dependent on a single ruler. 1227 1237
Land of Eternal Death / Everdark Land	Core territory of the Mercury Staff, Vampires, and Black Knights. 1238
Dark Nobles	Powerful undead aristocrats who control vast numbers of lower undead and retain significant political influence. 1227
Moonless Sanctuary	Religious institution supporting the Queen’s rise; Arch-Priest Philip devoted his life to establishing the Mercury Staff’s rule. 1250
Undead sequence	One of Madara’s major historic factions and among the fiercest opponents of the Mercury Staff’s authority. 1238
Liches of Balakirevo	A major regional power whose eventual incorporation was part of the historical vision of a unified Madara. 1238

Madara’s lower undead generally lack intelligence or political demands, allowing a small number of Dark Lords to command the lives and deaths of immense undead populations. This structure historically hindered lasting centralization. 1227

The Queen’s reforms created a stronger military unity than political unity. Her rule depends on the Mercury Staff’s authority, agreements among elite factions, and the continuing loyalty of the core Dark Nobles. 1237

Military

Force / Formation	Known Characteristics
Skeletons and Zombies	Madara’s traditional basic troops; individually weaker than human soldiers but numerous, tireless, fearless, and unaffected by losses. 812
Skeleton Swordsmen	Numerous infantry resistant to ordinary arrows; holy-infused arrows are substantially more effective. 812
Skeleton Cavalry	Mobile undead cavalry used in large-scale offensives; vulnerable to terrain restrictions but dangerous in open warfare. 810 812
Fear Spirits	Higher undead capable of projecting fear auras and conducting reconnaissance. 808 810
Black Knights and Dark Crusaders	Core regular-army units, each at least mid-Silver tier. 461
Vampires and High Wights	Major components of Madara’s regular military sequence and command structure. 461
Bone Dragons, Banshees, and Blood Seat Lords	High-tier combatants fielded by Madara. 461
Imperial Chosen Regiments	More than a thousand reformed Madaran regiments; unlike older forces, they possess complete junior and mid-level officer systems. 818

Doctrine and Operational Strengths

• Madara uses layered deployments that permit flexible movement, broad territorial control, and mutual support between frontline and rear formations. 69
• Its armies exploit numerical superiority and accept casualties without hesitation, trading undead losses for human exhaustion and collapsing morale. 69 812
• Undead soldiers do not fear, tire, or retreat, making prolonged battles especially punishing for living armies. 797 812
• Madara’s reformed armies are designed to continue functioning even when senior commanders are lost, rather than collapsing into disorder. 818
• The Black Array technique, developed by undead alchemist Tamar and others, could directly transform corpses into Skeleton Soldiers and was said to have doubled Madara’s military strength. 66

Weaknesses

• Traditional skeleton troops are individually weaker than trained adult human soldiers. 3 812
• Low-level undead turn slowly and possess exploitable blind spots in close combat. 8
• Ordinary arrows have limited effect against skeleton formations, but holy-infused attacks can inflict meaningful damage. 812
• Madara’s older command systems could be disrupted by the loss of upper leadership; the newer Imperial Chosen structure was intended to correct this flaw. 818

Relations

• Queen Madara / Supreme One — Madara’s ruling monarch and wielder of the Mercury Staff; she drove its military unification and centralization. 1227 1229
• Arch-Priest Philip — Arch-Priest of the Moonless Sanctuary and a long-standing supporter of the Mercury Staff’s rise. 1250
• Instaron — Black Knight, Dark Lord, and celebrated Madaran general; originally intended to command the Second Black Rose War. 1143 1144
• Tagus — Instaron’s deputy and military partner; a prominent commander from the Vampire nobility of the Land of Eternal Death. 1234 1238
• Blood Staff — Powerful but unruly Dark Lord faction; not a direct subordinate of the Supreme One and ultimately treated as a rival to be eliminated. 796 818
• Eluin — Historic enemy and target of the Black Rose Wars; Queen Madara later states that the Undead are not invading Eluin and proposes cooperation against Twilight. 1261 1259
• Cruz Empire — Reached a secret agreement with Madara that could have allowed a third of Cruzian territory to become the new nation of Maldos. 945
• Ghost Chariot — Suspected of colluding with Madara’s eastern undead through the authority of the Mercury Staff. 1138

Story Role / Major Arcs

Black Rose War and the Bucci Offensive

Madara’s forces attack Buchi with a vanguard of more than one hundred undead, likely controlled by a Wizard Apprentice. The offensive places Brando, Romane, Freya, and the Buchi militia in immediate danger. 3 4

The army operating around Buchi is commanded by the future Black Baron Instaron, whose talent begins to emerge during the campaign. Tagus leads Madaran generals in coordinating the wider invasion of Ridenburg. 7 11

Madara’s troops overwhelm human formations through numbers, tirelessness, and coordinated deployment, forcing Buchi’s refugees into a prolonged retreat and resistance campaign. 65 69 74

First Black Rose War Aftermath

Madara’s invasion of Eluin is later revealed to have been driven partly by internal disputes and unequal distribution of interests among undead factions. Instaron’s campaign also served his personal rise within Madaran politics. 461

The war eliminates or weakens several traditional Undead Lords, including Cabes and Blood Staff, while supplying the Queen with an elite army and greater prestige. 1227

Blood Staff’s Invasion

Following Madara’s de facto unification, Blood Staff launches a new offensive against Eluin. Its forces include Skeleton Cavalry, Dread Knights, Skeleton Archers, Fear Spirits, and Dark Mercenaries from the Sea of Dead Moons. 796 801

Blood Staff’s army routs Viero’s left flank through dark magic and fear tactics, but Brando’s coordinated use of mages, cavalry, infantry, and Wind Archers defeats the invasion force. 808 813 816 817

Brando later warns that Blood Staff’s defeat does not represent Madara’s true strength, describing it as an outdated and politically isolated force rather than a regular Imperial Chosen army. 818

The Mercury Staff and Madara’s Unification

The recovery of the Mercury Staff makes Madara’s rise increasingly unavoidable. Its Supreme One gains prestige, consolidates resources, and moves toward the integration of the ancient undead kingdom. 630 796

Madara’s expansion threatens Eluin, Saint Osore, Cruz, and potentially Jiufeng. Brando suspects that the Staff’s authority has already reached Madara’s eastern border and enabled cooperation with Ghost Chariot. 630 945 1138

War of Sages and the Queen’s Capture

Madara’s Undead Army fights Crystal Cluster Abominations, with the Queen remaining focused on commanding her forces. Brando aids the undead counterattack by immobilizing twenty-nine crystal monsters. 1221

Brando subsequently defeats Madara’s legion and captures both the Queen and the Mercury Staff, leaving him with roughly a third of Madara’s military strength and no prepared solution for the consequences. 1237 1238

Delphine proposes splitting Madara into two political entities, while the Queen calmly considers the proposal and prioritizes recovery of the Mercury Staff. 1238 1239

Alliance Against Twilight

Queen Madara reveals that Madara is not at war with Saint Osore and that the Undead are not invading Eluin. She advocates an alliance—or a broader empire—uniting the Civilized World against Twilight’s forces. 1259

After the Goddess of the Dead Moon’s descent devastates Madara’s capital, the Undead begin evacuating and migrating north. Possible routes include Eluin, Cruz, and Saint Osore. 1273

Trivia

• Madara’s “Black Rose” is called the Black Rose of Bromanto in some accounts and the Black Rose of Bramanto in others. 630 796
• Madara’s craftsmen can forge steel with soul fire, producing weapons such as the Black Nether Sword. 64
• Dark Nobles executed for political reasons may be granted a single opportunity to undergo undead transformation and serve Madara again, except in cases of blasphemy against the gods. 1253