Deximus Meridius Maximus

Story
Yes, his name is a botched reference to Gladiator. No, he is not a gladiator. Deximus is of Imperial lineage, even though he didn't know it until during the War of the Ring. His father is the infamous "Mad Emperor" Sextus Ultimus Caesar, and his mother was the prostitute daughter of a poor member of the Praetorians. Sextus never claimed Deximus as his own, so when he turned six he was sent off to the training camps. He rarely saw his family again. His instructors singled him out as the best material, and as such, pushed him the hardest. At twenty-one he graduated into the military. For two years, he served, still ignorant of his father's identity. He helped put down a rebellion of the groups of ethnic Moredain who lived in the northwestern areas of the Empire. Then Sextus abruptly banished him, having discovered that old loose end. After a period of wandering around Middle-Earth, he eventually discovered the reason his Emperor had forsaken him. He snuck into the Empire under a forged identity, and made contact with the rest of his old Praetorian squad mates. Eventually they managed to link him up with a patrician named Diocletian Tiberius Brutus. From there, it was a matter of choosing the right people to ask for help. Anybody who Sextus had royally screwed over- who were plentiful- he asked. Anybody who owed the Emperor favors- which were fewer, though more powerful- he didn't. And that's how he began his war of succession.

Early Life
There isn't much to tell about Maximus' early life, save that at the beginning of training he stood out in his lack of skill and physical prowess. Thus, the instructors naturally pushed him about nine times as hard as everyone else. Their unofficial motto after all being "The hardest stone makes the best statues". Most boys would crack under the pressure, but the saying is suprisingly true.