Gaius Antony Calzatto

Photograph of King Gaius, c. 2021

> "*I see beloved Mallano as my home of luxury, which is why I could never take up arms on the streets of Nice. What man would spill blood on his own carpet, and be forced to clean it, when instead he could simply let his dogs off chain to expel the threat through fear? Is it not better to be hated and feared, than to be loved and seen as weak by my enemies who will surely come to kill me? However, when my enemies beckon me from across Skoda's savannah to fight, then I will answer their call, like any soldier called to defend their banner.*"
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> - **King Gaius**, 2021
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King Gaius Antony Calzatto, known by his popular nickname Scarpona, is the king of Mallano. The youngest male of the royal family under former King Gaius Scodis Adriono Calzatto. In mid-2014, he quickly earned the title "The Young King" after he ordered the deaths of his brothers, in a legendary event known as Three Knife Saturday, in a successful attempt to steal the throne.

On the morning of June 11, 2021, King Gaius Antony Calzatto signed a pact with King Xavier Sovrano Cisco of Adrionis. This pact became known as "The Sabre."

## History

Gaius Antony Calzatto was born on October 24, 2000. He was born to King Gaius Scodis Adriono Calzatto, and while his biological mother is unknown, his adoptive mother was Queen Natalia Macchia Calzatta. Gaius was raised on the small and remote island of Nerra, the second-southernmost Subtopian child island directly east of the large island of Stivera. It was here where he was taught how to be king, along with his older brothers.

Gaius was a prodigy at political and royal affairs, and quickly learned the inner workings of the Mallanian government. In late-2013, his mother Natlia died of syphilis, and his father fell into depression, and later was stricken with a hastily mutating terminal cancer that had shown up previously. Knowing a new king was on the horizon, Gaius stole family funds and contacted a corrupt politician on mainland Mallano to assemble a hitman squad and assassinate Gaius' brothers. This plan succeeded, and the event became known as Three Knife Saturday.

Following the murder of his brothers and the death of his father by cancer, King Gaius Antony Calzatto began his kingship at the age of 14, and adopted principles of moderation, self conservation, and humbleness towards his subjects. However, following the violent murder of his sister Livia Mercatta by a mob of rioters in August 2014, King Calzatto spiraled downward. He returned to the island of Nerra and isolated himself there.

Following his return from the island in mid-November, he began to act more like a tyrant than a humble leader. Reports claim that he would feed infants to sharks off the coast of Mallano, chop down street-side trees and bushes at night, force young boys to bathe with him, made a sheepdog a member of parliament, host live execution shows, line one private room in his orgy ship walls with the foreskins of peasants, and he even claimed to be a god.

Many notable Subtopian figures have admitted to attending orgies hosted by King Calzatto, mostly onboard his palatial personal ship docked on Lake Jupiter. Some individuals close to King Calzatto have claimed he would have sex with other men's wives and brag about it. In 2018, King Calzatto also erected a golden statue of himself in the courtyard of the Holy Church of Mallano, before having military forcefully remove the priests and turn the church into a brothel.

## Accusations of Incest

A popular theory, based on the testimonies of those who worked with King Gaius Antony Calzatto on the island of Nerra, suggests the reasoning behind his descent into insanity could have been the potential sexual relationships he had with his sisters, particularly Livia Mercatta, whom he saw as a wife, who was violently murdered by a mob. Many believe King Gaius' return to Nerra could have also been because of the island's connection to Livia Mercatta.