The Senate desperate to put an end to the chaos that Hannibal is causing on the Roman Peninsula, has sent out a rag tag army of new recruits and the shattered remnants of the disaster of Cannae. The newly formed Meridian armies are to engage Hannibal at all costs. The battle hardened Veterans of Cannae, led by Lt. General Cornelius Scipio, begin to assassinate the politicians who glorify the causes of war, and slowly through negotiation, barter, blackmail and murder seize control of the Meridian Army for themselves. The allegiances of these great families will put an end to the squabbling politicians and forge an empire the world will not soon forget.