Second Imperial heraldry was marked by the addition of royal crests to flags, as well as their increased compartmentalization into different colors.

The state banner and monarchic crests.

Two Castels Shield

The base of Second Empire heraldry was formed by the Two Castels Shield. It consisted of a heater shield, as knights and adventurers had carried in the early Orc Wars and therefore embodying the Serene value of historical admiration, divided into two halves: the traditional Imperial Trident on top, representing the Cuprien nation, and the two castels on the bottom. These represented the two founding houses, Ameliphe and the Lilith one, that formed the initial coalition led by the Weeping Queen. Later, they were understood to represent the entire nobility and rulers of the Cuprien Empire.

Colours. Traditionally, the shield was gold or yellow, representing the empire's wealth. However, on some versions of the flag, usually on nobles' crests, the Two Castels Shield had different colours. The trident lay on a golden field, representing opulence and wealth; the two castels, however, lied on a white field, representing purity of mind. The castels themselves could be of various colours; however, the "traditional" version had one green and one pink, the original houses' colors.

Versions

The Shield was used on a variety of banners; however, its most common use was on the Imperial State Flag as the Destiny version. In this context, it was always monochrome yellow, and had a ribbon slung around it. Its four loops were understood to represent four historical dialectics, and how they were all bound together around Cuprien. These dialectics were, from top to bottom: piety, war, population, and economy. The topmost and lowest ribbons were the tightest, showing that these dialectics' swinging was considerably reduced, meaning Cuprien had almost reached utopia in these fields.

The monarchic crest did not make use of the dialectic-ribbons. It, too, was monochromatic gold, and had a thick border around the shield to represent strength and stalwartness. The two feathers at the bottom, were those of a golden phoenix, therefore representing Cuprien's rebirth after the Orc Wars into a greater state. Sometimes, they were seen to represent fernbranch twigs, a plant that grew primarily on Litchy and Bao-Mou, the two main continents of the Second Empire. Finally, the crown above the crest, with a blue pillow and golden armatures, was the ceremonial crown of the queen. The five braids each represented one of the five faces of man, and the Serene star above it showed that the ruler and the empire was blessed.

The Monarchy

The queen made use of the monarchic crest, notably by wearing it on a patch on her right breast on uniforms. Her plate armor, mainly used for ritual purposes, had a larger version of the crest stenciled on the front plate. Finally, when wearing sweeping royal robes, she would wear a golden chain with the crest emblazoned on the front. Furthermore, the crest was used by the Royal Guard, who wore it on their left breast or forearm. The royal banner featured a slightly altered version of the crest.

Each monarch after the Weeping Queen additionally had her own crest, usually based on her noble family. Royal banners were always flown with the twin family crest, and the monarch's buildings and throne room usually featured house rather than office heraldry. The queen herself did not have the house crest on any official garments, however.

State Flag

The Imperial State Flag.

The final years of the Orc Wars, and the early years of the imperial rebirth, did not have unified heraldry. Some soldiers waved the old Imperial Flag, while others waved their own house flags, most commonly those of Lilith houses or Ameliphe. When the Two Houses coalition was founded and the imperial officially restored, however, a new, common flag had to be found. Initially, thoughts went to blue a saltire argent, with the Two Castels Shield in the center; however, a blue field saltire argent was already used by the Serene Society. Instead, the decision was made to use a slightly off-balance bicolor flag.

The blue field, much like the old Imperial Flag, represented the vast expanse of the ocean and the open souls of the Cupriens. The white column on the hoist represented Serenity and the people's piety. The Destiny shield was centered in the white column.

Usage and Traditions

The state flag was flown from all imperial institutions. Armed units escorting diplomats, or flotillas escorting royalty, also flew it. Imperial armed forces used a square flag with the motto version of the shield instead.

Citizens or non-imperial buildings, as well as nobility, were not allowed to fly the flag; instead, nobility used their own heraldry, and citizens didn't fly anything.