The next hundred years would threaten to destroy the Maxum empire for all eternity. The Era of Conflict, also called the Time of the Generals, was nothing less than total chaos. After Proditus' death, the empire was split up into various territories, all claimed by various powers. Nearly all the Legion commanders attempted to proclaim themselves as rightful Emperor, and many met their deaths by power-hungry sub-commanders.
The powerful Merchant families saw an opportunity to seize power and form a tade oriented empire, and thus hired thousands of northern barbarians in their private armies to help them forge their dreams.
If the nearly 20 legions all fighting for power, and the merchant armies fighting werent enough, various philosophical and religious facitons rose up as well. The local preists of Aurielus and Talzam rose up in attempts to take the people under their enlightened wing in order to form a vast army of the general populous to retake the capitol and force the legions into submission. Unfortunately for the preists neither the people nor the legions cared for their vaunted ideals at this time. Power was up for grabs and someone was going to have it. The temples of Aurielus and Talzam and any other that could be found were toppled, and the clergy killed.
The largest other movement was the Libertas Populas army, or the peoples liberation army. This was formed by a few of Pallatius' surviving ancestors. They attempted to rekindle much of the old spirit of the empire, and found a strong grass roots foundation. By the time of the destruction of the religous faction, the peoples liberation army consisted of some 50,000 citizen soliders, all armed and ready to kill for freedom.
After hearing the IX and VII legions were destroyed, self proclaimed Legate Prius Callus called for a meeting of the commanding officers of the remaining legions. After a week of debate the legions commanders drew up an agreement, forming the council of legates who would speak for each legion and its interests. Out of this council of 16, a Supreme Legate would be elected, who would best direct all the legions intersts. This agreement, while formed in selfish motives, would be the preservation of the Empire. The agreement would be later known as the Callic Pacts, signed by the 17 legates in 73 P.S. Honor among warriors was respected, and Callus-known for his eccentricity but overwhelming genious in battle-was elected Supreme Legate.
During the next 5 years the Legions would turn their sites away from Maxa itself and instead focused upon destroying the small elven nation of Kilthalas, and secure its forested city of Althanas as a base of operations. From their the Legions slowly waited for the Populus and Merchant armies to cripple one another.
In the year of 80 P.S the Populus army layed seige to Pallatio-Maxa (Maxima) that was held by the Merchants, after an effective campaign of destroying the northern barbarians. The severly weakend citizens slowly starved outside the walls as the rich merchants suffered the same inside the city. Prius saw the opportunity to strike, and ordered the legions out to finish off the "peasant army", and then destroy the capitol. Once the legions had eliminated their foes they would rebuild the Empire, stronger than ever, one of supreme military rule and might.
It was only then that the great ancient masters of Ashr'alan made a move against this threat. The Mages of Heazeron had set for centuries in silent fury at the defeat of their troll servents, plotting revenge against the men who had destroyed their enforcers. Having spent those years augmenting the surviving trolls in to monstrous war machines, the Heazeron Mage Zaoth came forward to lead the vile troll army against the bickering Maxums, and destroy the remainder of their military might, and then the rest of their kind.
When the Legions engaged the Citizens army outside the city, ready to surround and destroy them, the suns were blotted out, and the skies mottled over as a hovering figure appeared over the fray, spraying deadly bolts from his fingertips, as the trollish forces flooded over the hills surrounding the capitol rushing like a wave of death down upon the legions. The legions while outnumbering the trolls some 20 to one, were severly devestated, and perhaps would not have survived if the great Mage had not departed in his overconfidence in his troops.
Men fell like wheat from the trollish sickle, as the troll army ploughed through the legions. It was only then that the Maxum's realized their arrogance and divergence from their proud cooperative past, and the Legions, merchents, and citizens fought back together against the trolls. Vastly outnumbered, the Legions saw no other viable option but to abandon the capitol and retreat with as many as they could back to Althanas, while the trolls destroyed their precious Pallatio-Maxa, and rape the countryside.
Upon returning to Althanas it was discovered that Callus had been killed, along with most of the other Legates. The leaders of the citizens army, merchant forces, and the legions all sat down and discussed a viable plan of action. Petty bickering was set aside, as the Maxums saw their destruction looming on the future. The faction leaders decided to trust their fate and place their faith in one honorable man. His name was Julius Maximus, a fairly wealthy man who had been dismissed from military duty quietly by Proditus because he was a distinguished officer, and had chosen to side with the people to fight for the Empire's preservation. This man, all felt, best embodied the spirit of all parties, the self made man who loved his Empire and would give his all to preserve it through any force necessary, and that is exactly what he did.
Julius quickly reorganized the legions. He ran those citizens who could, through a grueling training camps in order to fill the legions back up to half their strength. Recognizing this was not enough, he sought out the elven leaders who survived, and made deep apologizes for his nations atrocities to them, beggin them for help, offering future concessions. The elves sensing he was a man of honor offered their assistance. The time was right to strike, for reports indicated the trolls had no idea that any considerable forces survived.
The date was the 15th of Nativitas 81 P.S, the first day of the Ashr'alan spring, that the Maxum and Elven forces struck the main troll force still inhabiting the now ransacked capitol. The troll forces, bereft of the leadership and power of their ogre mage master, were no match for the lightening fast attack of the Maxum forces. Cries "For Maxima" roared like echoes through the skies as the trample of the armored feet of horses and men thundered across the countryside, slaughtering the trollish forces, forcing them back, back across the countryside into the iron hills, and to the ancient trollish home of Gr'ughkall. There the Legions layed seige to the mountain fortress, firing ballista and boulder at its mighty foundation, in attempts to ferret out the remnants of the troll armies.
As the Legions began to rejoice the air screamed as the shadowy figure appeared once again atop the mountainside. The mage had returned in his wrath, and threw the mountainside down upon those men that surrounded the troll fortress, creating a wall of unpassable stone, and killing some 20,000 men and elves in the process. The horrid cries of Zaoth echoed into the distance as the mage vanished from sight, forcing the reamaining forces home in bittersweet victory.
The Empire was severly wounded, and now only time, deep contrition, and great forgiveness would heal the land. But leading the way was one shining figure, Julius Maxima, the man whose name the capitol would forever bear afterwords, the healer of Maxima.
