Elfeni was the nephew of Emperor Morell of the Centauri Republic. In the third year of Morell's rule, Elfeni was secretly part of a conspiracy to initiate a civil war that would see him take Morell's place on the Imperial throne. When the uprising is put down by Morell at the Battle of the Scoria Plains Elfeni attempted to assassinate Morell himself, but was thwarted in his attempt thanks to a warning Morell received from Malia, a prophetess at Tuwain. Prior to his betrayal, Morell considered Elfeni to be very dear to him and so would not have anticipated it without the prophetic warning.