Lorenzo Furlan

Lorenzo Furlan was a Ragusan-born fisherman, and later the second Captain & Defender of the Ambrosian Republic of Milan (later Lombardy). Between 1523 and 1533, he used the name Giano Loredan to hide his true identity, as he played a key role in the long quest to bring down the Italic Union. Much of his story comes from the writings of his friend Giovanni Morosini, who was already a respected writer in Milan before he befriended Lorenzo.
== The First Guardian of the Truth ==
Sometime in early June 1523, Lorenzo was out fishing in the Adriatic Sea, when he noticed a dead body floating in the water, and rowed to it, to find that there was a box chained to him. He opened said box, and read the documents. Lorenzo discovered that this was a Venetian envoy, sent out in the last days of the Republic, and that the body had been floating for 6 years in the Adriatic, likely unnoticed until now. The documents declared that Lorenzo was the "guardian of the truth", but as the Adriatic tides became more aggressive, an Italic galley collided with his rowboat, and the crew was furious. As Lorenzo offered his apologies, the Italic crew sailed back towards the Italian mainland, as he took the box and the body back to Ragusa. 
Upon reaching land, the body was taken to a nearby hospital to be examined and identified, and the next day, Lorenzo went to the rector's palace to state his case. The two decided that the papers were to be copied, but just as they started, a minister burst into the palace, explaining that Italic troops from Dalmatia and Zeta were entering the Ragusan Republic from both sides. The rector returned the original papers to Lorenzo, who hid them in his clothes and returned to his boat. Thankfully, he was not seen escaping by the Italic troops who had just reached the city. 
To avoid suspicion, Lorenzo made sure to gather more fish before returning to any land. The next 4 years were spent working in Italic ports, whilst trying in vain to spread his story. After these four years, in 1527, Lorenzo moved to Ravenna, in Romagna. The governors of the city believed his story and sent him to Urbino to talk with the duke, who wore an "odd expression of sorrow" due to Urbino's part in the demise of Venice. 
== Meeting Machiavelli ==
Due to Urbino's previous affiliation with Italia, Lorenzo went into hiding, walking westward with no goal, until he reached Florence. When an old man granted him a place to stay, Lorenzo told him his story, and the old man apologised for everything that happened - revealing himself as Niccolò Machiavelli before reciting his own story (as an abridged quote):
During the Third Lombard War, Machiavelli was sent to Naples as a Florentine diplomat, and King Ferrante of Naples was so impressed by him that he hired him into his court. The two of them came up with the plan to destroy Venice, using Romagna and Urbino to bribe Venice's merchants, diplomats and agents. At the same time, Ferrante wanted to bring the Mamluk caliph to his good side, and Machiavelli's vehement objections cost him his place in the Neapolitan court. When Ferrante executed both plans, Machiavelli decided not to expose them, since people wouldn't have believed him.
Machiavelli trained Lorenzo to do what he couldn't, by teaching him everything he knew about political science, until his health declined beyond a point of no return. He told Lorenzo to go to his friend, the (first) Captain & Defender of Milan, when he passed. The last thing Machiavelli learned before his passing was the beginning of the First Italian War, and he said "Lorenzo, go and defeat them."
== Revenge for Ragusa ==
Still in hiding, Lorenzo left Florence and travelled north to Milan, meeting the Captain & Defender and adopting the alias Giano Loredan.
{Second Italian War TBA}
== Final Days ==
{TBA}