Vicario Venzi

**Vicario Venzi** [*vee-CAH-ree-ow VEN-tsee*] is a coreshti ruler from Altea, an island group in the Narrow Sea. He is the current leader of Mercate, a city that lies on island near the location where the Narrow Sea meets the Bay of Illis and is often overlooked when talking about Altea.

## Description

### General information

The young Vicario Venzi, who until recently worked as a banking assistant for his current rival Celso Di Benedetto, is highly intelligent and has been described as "wonder kid"- with various connotations to that term. Venzi is often completely absorbed in his work, which causes him to sometimes lose contact with reality. Despite of that, Venzi is one of the few Altean leaders who have kept their cities relatively safe and prosperous, though with other tactics than Safira of Summerhold and Theosal Baltris of Espetor. Another factor that plays a role is the fact that Venzi has tightened relations with the Merchant Republic of Qandar, a nation on the nearby Nydulean Peninsula that shares the capitalistic, profit-driven society of the Mercatians. Thanks to the strengthening of contacts between the states, many people have been observing for quite some time that Mercate is increasingly falling under the shadow of Qandar. Another problem Venzi has to deal with is the shear economic power of Celso Di Benedetto and his family, who control most of the city's wealth and are a serious opponent for him. People have accused the aristocrats of trying to undermine the rule of the well-meaning Venzi, who does not at all feel at ease with political intrigue.

### Personality and rule

Vicario Venzi is a highly intelligent person whose smarts often come in handy, but sometimes get in the way of him getting things done. The ruler can sometimes lose his touch with reality. Venzi is quite sensitive and emotional, is somewhat shy and is reluctant to assert his power, which has caused his rivals to gain influence. Some people think his sensitive nature makes him incompetent and unable to rule, but Vicario has proven this is not true. He supports the capitalistic nature of Mercate and has stimulated and financed all kinds of technological improvements. This has brought wealth to the city, which is one of the only places in Altea that has actually economically grown since the Invasion of 513 5E.

### Criticism and discussion

Despite of keeping Mercate stable and prosperous, Vicario Venzi has been subject to quite some criticism through the course of his reign. This criticism often talks about his inabilty to take control and his tendency to rule the city according to stiff theories instead of looking at the reality. However, it more often focusses on Venzi's willingness to co-operate with neighbouring Qandar, a state that in the eyes of some people has been actively and intentionally taking over Mercate step by step. Vicario Venzi has often come under heavy fire because of this, but stiffly maintains that his decisions are good for the Mercatian economy. His unwillingness to compromise or consider different opinions on this issue is considered one of the weakest points of his rule, and an important factor explaining the subtle but aggresive financial war the mighty Benedetto banking family have been waging against Venzi, who is incompetent in their eyes.

### Conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theorists speculate that Venzi's many communications with Hildebrand Vaine, the President of Qandar and leader of the conservative Traditionalist Party, are part of a secret master plan by Qandar to incorporate the financially stable Mercate in anticipation of future conflicts and to finance their expensive military apparatus, the highly modernised industrial machine and the countless inventors living in the country. These same people also like to suggest that Vicario Venzi was not born in Mercate, but instead is a Qandarese agent sent by the rulers of Thelos to take over Mercate. The fact that Venzi does not dare to take strong action against these theorists seeking to undermine his rule does not make his position any stronger. However, the conspiracy thinkers are a very small minority; most Mercatians do not believe their lies and think Venzi is a good leader who has done much for the prosperity of Mercate and its people.