Maximus Zaphir

Maximus Zaphir (マクシモス・ザフィール, Makushimosu Zafīru) is a supporting character in Genso Suikoden Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki. He is an attendant to Empress Astrid and former Knight Commander of the Holy Imperial Army's elite Order of the Gilded Leaf.

History
"Use your sword to slay all that stand in your way."

- Maximus Zaphir

Maximus Zaphir was a master swordsman who formerly served as the Knight Commander of the Holy Empire of Ionia's Order of the Gilded Leaf. He was considered the founder of the Blue Flash Style. Since retired, he remained an advisor of great influence, serving as an attendant to Empress Astrid following the HIY 100 Teras Pharma conflict.

A stoic man of few words, he did not share Radnin's hostility towards the hero or his claims upon meeting, nor was he quite as willing to embrace the hero's story as Astrid herself was. Although he found some claims regarding the Yggdrasilian Throne's conspiracies hard to believe, he was also not naïve to the realpolitik that Emperor Renefarious IV would be willing to undertake if it were true.

Maximus aided the hero by planting an Era Tree sapling at the Riolta Plains, allowing the hero to meet and receive tutelage from one of the few swordsmen he respected as an equal, Syldis. When he felt the hero was skilled enough, he also fought alongside him personally, fighting a group of Teras Pharma outside the barrier in order to pass down his ultimate technique.

He would fight alongside and protect Astrid as she investigated the Yggdrasilian Throne further, first fighting against Bazarte Lugam and his Grubs at West Mt. Hioni and finally fighting against the Teras Fe Tys in the depths of the Yggdrasilian Palace itself.

Following the defeat of Renefarious, Maximus would continue to escort Astrid. At the same time, he worked with Syldis to perfect the Blue Flash Style for use against the Teras Pharma. He would become the direct ancestor of the Zaphir line, all the way to Machia in HIY 300.

In the branch of the Infinity where the barrier fell and the chains of causality were broken, Maximus would take command of the Steel Branches at Astrid's urging. As commander, he would order over half the troops at his disposal to migrant caravans and escorts, helping to enact Astrid's policies.