The Valkyrie Edict is a Reydovan Imperial contingency plan created by Emperor Kiran Joshmaul, to be put into effect in the event of his death. His son, Prince Azrael - while officially declared the heir to Joshmaul's throne - has expressed his lack of interest in succeeding his father, instead continuing his studies of archaeology and the history of the "Predecessors" - the Gorak'nar, whose artifacts have been found on Reydovan worlds since 2305.