BIOGRAPHY
During the Age of Marvels, the ancient mutant called Apocalypse continued to do what he had done for over five thousand years: survive. However, while his strength was prodigious and his powers nigh unstoppable, the preceding millennia had caused Apocalypse to burn out his body, forcing him to regenerate during periods of hibernation and, at times, literally robbing the strength of others who were among "the strong." Sensing Nathan Christopher Charles Summers (the child of Scott and Madelyne Summers) to be one such mutant, Apocalypse directed his recently acquired followers, the Riders of the Storm, to kidnap the infant and bring him to Apocalypse's fortress in the "Blue Area" of the Moon.
The original X-Factor followed Apocalypse to the Moon in order to rescue Nathan. They were joined by the Inhumans of Attilan, who wished the forces of Apocalypse off of their territory. Though they succeeded in defeating Apocalypse, the damage was done and young Nathan had been infected with a techno-organic virus. Fortuitously, aid arrived in the form of a woman calling herself Askani, who claimed to be sent from the future to save "the Chosen.” By returning to her distant timeline with the boy, Askani believed she could keep him alive. Faced with the choice of either the imminent death of his son or giving him to a stranger who might be able to save him, Cyclops chanced on the latter and gave Nathan to Askani, who disappeared into the beyond. [X-Factor (1st series) #65-68]
What Askani had withheld from Cyclops, no doubt due to its utter implausibility, was that she was from the far future, nearly two thousand years hence in the 39th century. More surprisingly for Cyclops would have been that Askani was actually but one of a group of psychics of the same name, led by a future version of Cyclops' other child, Rachel Summers. Known as Mother Askani in this era, Rachel had sent Askani back in time to save her brother from Apocalypse, believing him to be the Chosen One who would save the world from the Apocalypse of that era. Askani, meaning “outsider,” were the future equivalent of the X-Men aiding Rachel against the Canaanite rule of Apocalypse, who dominated society in that timeline.
Using their medical technology of the day, Mother Askani successfully halted the spread of the virus in her brother but, as a precaution, ordered the creation of a genetically perfect clone in case the treatment proved to be a failure. The procedure of the medical cyborg Boak was a success and the clone was healthier by far than its cellular template, with the scars of the techno-organic virus barely manifesting themselves. Delightfully, the original infected infant, Nathan himself, also did not die as expected.
Unfortunately for the Askani, they had no time to rejoice in their good fortune, as the arrival of the infant Nathan had not gone undetected. Apocalypse himself sensed the infant mutant of true potential and ordered the troops of his Canaanite regime to attack the Askani base. Mother Askani and her clan did their best to evacuate their sanctum but Boak was only able to recover one of the two infants, the original Nathan. Left behind, the clone was recovered and claimed by a jubilant Apocalypse, who welcomed the child to a "world of strife." [Cable (1st series) #7-8]
Completely unaware that the child was a clone or that its original template lived on elsewhere, Apocalypse brought the infant back to his seat of power. He named the child Stryfe, after an ancient enemy of his, and then turned him over to the Paladin Ch'Vayre to raise. Though overall Ch'Vayre was honorable in his own way and tried to instruct the boy as well as he could, Apocalypse ordered the growing youth's education at the hands of his dog soldiers, whose abusive training and emotional and psychological torture hardened the child. Under their tutelage, the young Stryfe became prone to violence and murder, a fact made worse as Apocalypse worked to accelerate the youth's mutant powers. As a result of his ever-increasing power and violent tendencies, Stryfe earned the moniker of "Chaos-Bringer."
To Apocalypse, Stryfe was perfect - the personification of the tenet of survival of the fittest and everything that Apocalypse himself ever wanted to be. In this, Apocalypse held close a secret. As 
far as the world (and Stryfe himself) knew, Apocalypse was preparing the youth to be his heir. However, in reality, Apocalypse intended Stryfe to become a host to sustain his essence, an act Apocalypse had tried to accomplish almost two thousand years before with Nathan, whom Apocalypse believed this child to be. Having already needed periodic regeneration two thousand years before, in the two millennia since Apocalypse's situation had grown worse and he had been forced to take a new form every few years and spent less and less time in each new manifestation, as if burning them out. He'd been looking for a frame that could accommodate his power and he believed he had found it in Stryfe.
After more than a decade of preparation, the day arrived when Apocalypse was ready for the transfer of his essence to Stryfe's body. To Apocalypse's surprise, he found himself betrayed by Ch'Vayre, who strongly disagreed with Apocalypse's violation of his own tenet of survival of the fittest by this action. To do so, he aided in the infiltration of Apocalypse's citadel by the rebels Slym and Redd, who were in actuality the mentally and temporally displaced Scott and Jean Summers, who had been brought into the future and placed into cloned bodies by Mother Askani to raise Nathan.
Still, their interference was not enough to stop Apocalypse, who prepared to finalize the transfer. 
However, in his moment of victory, Apocalypse realized to his horror that Stryfe was not a true lifeform but a gene-copy and thus an incompatible host. Now at his weakest point, Apocalypse was helpless under the combined attack of Slym, Redd, Ch'Vayre and the young Nathan. Unfortunately, just as Apocalypse succumbed to death, so too did Rachel, ending her decades as Mother Askani and her time maintaining Scott & Jean's connection to their cloned bodies. As she expired, they disappeared, leaving Nathan Dayspring alone. [Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #1-4]
Knowing that the death of Apocalypse would not be the end, that one of En Sabah Nur's followers would wish to inflict harm on the young boy responsible for the fall of the dynasty of Apocalypse, Ch'Vayre fled with the unconscious Stryfe, hoping to raise the youth into a less cruel adult. Unfortunately, as the years passed, Ch'Vayre met with little to no success, as Stryfe remained convinced that, as the sole heir to the throne of Apocalypse, it was his destiny to rebuild his kingdom. Stryfe rejected the idea that he was a mere clone, and willed himself to believe he was the original and Dayspring was the copy. He would dedicate his life to proving his “father” was wrong to reject him. Worse for Ch'Vayre, the years had sapped his will, leaving him subservient to Stryfe's wishes and his powerful telepathic abilities.
With Stryfe in seclusion, the High Lords of New Canaan established themselves as the ruling government of the Nor-Am territories, claiming most of Apocalypse’s old empire. Gathering tools for his eventual return and ascension, Stryfe found and reactivated an android ADAM unit, designated "Zero." With the combined assistance of Ch'Vayre and Zero, Stryfe traveled the globe, attempting to gain control over whatever was left of Apocalypse's weapons. When he could not find any functioning remnant technology, Stryfe embarked on a different plan. Having been made aware that one of the old Askani order named Madame Sanctity still lived, Stryfe set out to learn to further his own powers. On the way, however, Stryfe detected thoughts of betrayal from Ch'Vayre, who feared a more powerful Stryfe. Enraged by the latest betrayal, Stryfe killed the man who had been a mentor his whole life.
Eventually, Stryfe found Madame Sanctity and saved her just as New Canaanite forces struck her 
refuge in Ebonshire. Already a woman of tenuous sanity, Madame Sanctity was intrigued that her savior possessed the same psi-signature as the "Chosen One" and accepted his offer of an alliance. With the world believing her dead from the New Canaanite attack, the two departed to parts unknown. It's not clear what happened to Madame Sanctity after this, as she was never heard from again. However, as Stryfe's powers indeed grew in scope and control, it is no doubt that Stryfe greatly benefited from Madame Sanctity's tutelage. What is unclear, however, is if Madame Sanctity herself survived the alliance with the Chaos Bringer. [Askani'Son #1-4]
The years that followed were a period of consolidation and preparation by various parties across the planet. For the High Lords of New Canaan, they continued to solidify their control over the whole planet, defeating the remaining nation states that opposed them. However, as territory after territory fell, in their place rose small packets of resistance, one being the so-called Clan Chosen, led by Nathan Dayspring and his allies, Aliya and Tetherblood. Their goal was the eventual overthrow of the Canaanite rule. Stryfe too rose as a force against the global hegemony. However, his goals were much less altruistic, as he intended to supplant, rather than overthrow, the planetary dictatorship. Indeed, some Canaanite forces rallied around Apocalypse’s heir. [Cable (1st series) #1]
During this time, Dayspring was completely oblivious to the connection between himself and the Chaos Bringer. Though Stryfe continually operated behind an ornate helmet, Dayspring's visage was well known. Stryfe knew and hated his mirror image. Hidden behind his carefully forged armor, which doubly served as both protection and to bury his human soul within a cold, metal shell, Stryfe became a self-proclaimed anarchist and fomenter of political dissent. Along with his followers, whom he called Scions of the High Lord, he participated in acts of aggression against both the High Lords of New Canaan as well as rebellious forces such as Clan Chosen. During his reign of terror, he leveled cities and firebombed forests, leaving rivers of carnage in his wake. In 
short, he annihilated everything that ever got in his way. [X-Force (1st series) #17, 74] In addition to the Scions, Stryfe also assembled an elite group of mutants as his bodyguards and personal strike force, known as the Mutant Liberation Army. Members of the MLA included Kestle, Triptych, Conduit and Andrei Cutov. They were confidantes and loyalists in his early formative years, though it’s unlikely Stryfe would admit to having ”friends.” [X-Force (5th series) #6]