Century of Anarchy

Was a devastating almost continuous state of civil war that plagued the Empire of Chikago and all of Maruka for nearly a century. It all started when the death of Quentun, the last Emperor of the Wabash dynasty, which had ruled the Empire since the ascension of Abe Wabash in 2950AF. Quentun was killed when his army was defeated while defending Californya from an Aztlani invasion at the Battle of Palm Springs. He was very young and had not yet had any children, so he had no successor. After being ruled by the same Dynasty for the past 500 years the Empire crumbled into chaos.

Various military strongmen and generals began declaring themselves rightful successor to the throne with the support of their Legions. In Chikago, during the first 50 years of the century, there were over 40 different Emperors, all being killed in treacherous plots or by their bodyguards. Meanwhile, in the far east and west the provinces grew tired of the central government not caring for their needs, their widely stretched Legions were now too busy fighting civil wars to attend to defending the far frontiers of the Empire. This led provincial governors Lucile of Californya and Evanic of N'York to declare themselves Emperor and Empress, directly challenging Chikago's authority with their breakaway Pacifik and Atlantik Empires.

By the middle of the Century Lucile and Evanic had managed to either gain the loyalty of or subjugate all of the other usurpers in the East and West. They now posed a direct threat to the areas around the Mississippi Sea that remained loyal to Chikago. The Usurpers planned to either conquer or gain the support of the people of Chikago and be crowned ruler of the entire Empire. Meanwhile, the loyalists in Chikago finally managed to get a stable Emperor, when the General Gordun deposed the weak Emperor Karl, exiling him to the hills of Ozarka. Once Emperor he was in a very paranoid state, barely appearing in the public eye in fear of assassination, like the many Emperors before him. Gordun desperately consulted with whatever tacticians or pagan priests who could give advice at his court, but none of them were of any use. Then one day a strange guest appeared in the Imperial Palace, the leader of the Archivist Sect in Chikago, Seth.

Seth showed Gordun the ancient book known as ''The Art of War. ''Gordun was fascinated by the book and began to meet with Seth on the regular, who would bring him books and give him advice on how to restore order to the Empire. He taught him of the Archivist goals of re-enlightenment, and how educating the people of the Empire could create a better and more productive society. Each day, Gordun grew more and more inclined to Archivism, and he allowed many Archivist priests to attend his court. Archivism had recently been experiencing massive growth among the intellectuals of Chikago, and many people converted daily. Archivist Library-Temples began popping up around New Chikago, frightening the Pagan Rust Cultists, who felt threatened by the emerging religion.