The war officially stemmed from an assassination attempt on Syndic Admiral Mordaph'eh'nuroudo by a group of Chiss nobles. Phehn and the other target, the Shadow child Lukas Iktotchon, survived these attempts and prepared to strike back at the Ascendancy. Mordaph'eh'nuroudo was equally, if not more skilled than Ruinn. He had won many victories and had the combined military knowledge of the Chiss and the Imperials. In the first days of 63 ABY the Imperials attacked out of Lostar.