Arzhelico

Arzhelico of Pytaa, known more commonly as simply Arzhelico, is a Duscadorian admiral and naval commander who served as the Supreme Commander of the Duscador Navy from 677 to 704 A.S. He is known primarily for playing a crucial role as part of the Duscadorian navy's victory in the First Duscadorian-Sevician War and then for commanding the combined Duscadorian fleet in the second war 40 years later.
Born to a family of farmers on the outskirts of the city of Pytaa in southern Duscador in 627, Arzhelico was known locally as a natural-born leader. He joined the Duscadorian navy at the age of sixteen as a marine and by the age of 21 had seen action in three separate skirmishes against pirates in the region of the South Lothor Sea and had gained a reputation as a leader of men. At the onset of the First Duscadorian-Sevician War, Arzhelico (at the age of 21) was placed in command of a fleet of 32 twodeckers, his first role as admiral of a fleet. A decisive victory against numerically superior Sevician forces at the Battle of Kyoptra, tactically using the weather to his advantage, earned Arzhelico his first commendation from the Duscadorian government. He was assigned co-command of the combined fleet that fought at the Battle of Narrow Strait Island and routed the Sevician navy from the South Lothor Sea. Arzhelico's fearless command of the left flank of the fleet earned him his second commendation, and he was officially awarded the Rose of Duscador immediately following the war's end.
He spent the next four decades commanding various missions in the Duscadorian navy, and spent much of that time training new marines and overseeing fleet logistics. He was officially appointed to the position of Supreme Commander of the Duscador Navy in 677, a role he would keep for almost 30 years. His next taste of action came in the Second Duscadorian-Sevician War, where, at the age of 64, Arzhelico was given command over the entire Duscadorian navy. Despite early success in minor skirmishes, Arzhelico's greatest test came in the Battle of Cartesium in 694, which proved to be the defining battle of the entire war. With the command of an enormous fleet, Arzhelico saw combat in the waters off the coast of the settlement of Cartesium. In what would prove to be a key engagement not only for the war effort but for Duscador's future as a naval power in general, the Sevician fleet inflicted a decisive defeat on Arzhelico and the Duscadorian navy.
Following the failure in the war Arzhelico retired from public life and spent the next ten years training naval battalions for what remained of Duscador's navy. He never commanded a fleet on the waters again and in 704, at the age of 77, he retired from his position as Supreme Commander of the Duscadorian navy. For his half-century of efforts in service he was awarded the Jade Star of Duscador, the highest possible military honour in Duscadorian society.
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