Daniel Fidalgo

Daniel Fidalgo was a King of Gonarundu. He is known for his participation in the War of Revenge when he was a Prince. As King he is remembered for increasing the military might of Gonarundu and helping usher them into the next age.

## Early Life

Daniel Fidalgo was born in **551PR** in Ralom, Gonarundu with his twin sister, Ainara. He was the son of King Miguel Fidalgo and Abril Maria, the couple later trying for a third child but it ended in miscarriage.

As a child, Daniel got along very well with his sister, and the two quickly became influential in their own sphere. By the time they could talk they were already showing signs of a higher intellect, with Miguel hiring some of the best tutors for them.

By their teenage years, Daniel and Ainara were already working directly for the crown, Daniel personally doing inspections of troops and attending military meetings where he could learn.

For a year, Daniel was given permission to join the Lucent guild, becoming a temporary adventurer and getting a wealth of experience. Within the guild he was taught how to properly fight, adding to his already good military training. The experience helped him get distance from his sister in some aspects, making some personal friends of his own. At the end, he was happy to return to political life.

At the age of 19, just after he returned from the Lucent Guild, Daniel and Ainara enrolled in Carreiro College, the prime institute for learning in Gonarundu. Again the twins specialised in different topics, Ainara’s curriculum based around supporting the future monarch in Daniel, while Daniel’s was all about leading and international relations. Despite being separated most of the time, the twins continued to wreak havoc whenever they wanted, keeping their strong bond. One report states that the twins got some of the students expelled after they discovered they were spies from Hashin. Whether it is true or not, the twins influence and skill were not to be denied.

## Military Career

After the twins completed their education in **573PR** they decided to travel different paths. Daniel would take the military route, still the intended heir of their father, Miguel. On the opposite end, Ainara would become an adventurer for the Barktree Lions, wishing to make a name in her own right.

Leaving his twin sister and closest friend to her own path, Daniel joined the military on the lower spectrum, deciding the best way to learn how to lead would be understanding each position. There, he found that the Gonarundun military was severely lacking in many departments. This was because of two reasons, something Daniel was able to identify quickly: King Miguel had no real ambitions to conquer any new land and, while Ilaka and Hashin were credible military threats, there was no inclination they would invade in the coming century.

Frustrated, Daniel began making small changes to the army here and there, specifically with their training. At a lower level he began increasing the difficulty to join the army, making it so only the driven would become the regular forces, while the rest would be conscripted if needed. For the regular forces, their training regime changed dramatically, producing fit and active soldiers rather than lazy individuals built to simply garrison.

After 8 years within the military, Prince Fidalgo managed to rise through the ranks, becoming a prominent general and building his own fame after many victories fighting tribal Elves in the Shahi Forest and various tribes and monsters to the North. As for the army, it had become fashioned to be a suitable fighting force, strong in both their ranged capabilities and cavalry.

In **581PR** at the age of 30, Daniel helped his father, Miguel negotiate a military alliance with the Carto Empire, led by Emperor Adonis Carto. This gave him more time to build the experience of his soldiers, leading better supported military campaigns in the North, bringing in some revenue from looting the various villages. .

## War of Revenge

*See: War of Revenge*

In **583PR** Prince Daniel and the Gonarundun forces crossed the Kunan River into the Carto Empire. Once they met up with Adonis and his troops, they both crossed into Ilakan lands, beginning the War of Revenge.

During the start of the war Daniel proved himself a worthy commander, taking advice from the other generals and drawing on his own experience himself. However, he almost died when his unchecked flaw of aggression got the better of him as he charged into the Ilakan harassers. While he managed to break through and bring Ilakan King Aetios’s initial defensive strategy to an end, it almost cost his life.

After the allied defeat in the Battle of Kulak, they realised another flaw that had to be fixed, the two armies synergy. Previously, they would just fight on two fronts, but after their failure they had to work on it. Thankfully the respect between Adonis and Daniel helped boost this side, and they worked together well enough to win the Battle of Lonan, forcing Aetios to resort to his tribal attack strategy again.

Daniel again rode out to meet them, using his horse archers from range before charging in to the thick of it. Sometimes it worked, other times he had more casualties, drawing criticism from his men. Eventually it was Adonis who stopped the harassment, placing soldiers in defence of the supply lines.

The final part of the war was the Battle of Ayteran, with Daniel personally participating on the left flank with his cavalry. Despite being on the harder front, he was able to win in the melee, slowly pushing them back before the enemy retreated thanks to Adonis in the centre.

Yet at the end in **586PR**, the war was still relatively even, the allies holding some ground but unable to maintain an army for so long. Devising a plan, Adonis and Daniel presented a treaty to Aetios, offering him large sums of money for him to cede his lands lost, including the city of Ayteran. When he returned, he argued the issue with his father, presenting him as an arrogant officer.

## Reign

In **588PR** King Miguel Fidalgo had a stroke while tending the garden, passing away before any of his servants could arrive. With the sudden death many suspicions arose, forcing the council to employ the Aliquam Guild to investigate. Eventually they confirmed it was just a stroke, allowing the process of succession to return to normal.

As the obvious heir, Daniel was able to become King without any issues, no claimants brave enough to stake their claim against Daniel’s military influence and might.

With the crown on his head, Daniel’s life changed completely. Rather than enjoy his military life, dealing with various commanders in the same mindset, he was bored with constant council meetings about ruling the nation. Still, he remained a good King, listening to advice when necessary and making tough decisions.

### Domestic Policy

Daniel’s domestic policy was interesting, even with a stable economy, he made a series of reforms, aided by the council, that removed their focus from raiding the northern tribes. One of these reforms was taxation, removing the relatively high taxes on different products, allowing them to sell more and gain the same income for the government in the end anyways.

Another, more expensive policy that Daniel personally introduced was upgrading the roads passing through their lands, including their own personal roads. This ended up paying for itself quite quickly, increasing trade and transportation dramatically. Within 5 years, new villages were created, capitalising on various popular trade routes and providing supplies and comfort for the wealthy merchants.

#### Healthcare

With a growing economy, Daniel focused on the health department. Rather than focus on the help from the various churches, he instead used whatever there was to help heal, using both magical, religious and formal means. His first trial was in the city of Deyver, becoming a resounding success in only a few years. The only problem was the cost. Still, with the help of the council he managed to keep a small aspect of it, rolling it out in the major 3 cities, and some towns.

### International Relations

After their military relationship came to an end, Daniel and Adonis became very close, understanding one another because of their unique positions. This benefitted both nations greatly, creating free trade agreements on all major items, allowing free immigration and a discounted use of one anothers port cities. Their relationship was later solidified with marriage between their children. Externally, the alliance allowed them to negotiate better deals with other nations, such as better trade with Ilaka and Hashin, using the threat of their combined force.

#### Neighbours

Other changes came to the Northern tribes. Despite the fact he had raided them only a decade earlier, Daniel decided to make peace with many of them, making various peace treaties and trade agreements. Of the tribes that denied, he ensured he could keep his military force active and experienced, trialling different tactics and strategies against them. Over time, more and more came to their side, even being hired to help give shortcuts to official merchants.

For the E’themar Elves and any from the Shahi Forest, Daniel made a radical change and formally recognised their rights to some of the land, making it illegal for Gonarunduns to cross it without permission from the Elves. He even invited King Balvin for a stay in his castle, along with giving him a tour of the city.

### Leadership Challenge

In **602PR** Daniel had his leadership challenged by the incumbent council. The challenge came as a surprise to the monarch, who had been willing to work with them in the past. Rather than the past when councils would use military force, the current council, led by the Treasurer Marti Malillos, decided to position themselves politically.

This all came to a front when King Daniel scheduled his normal walk into town, except he was instead confronted by a protesting crowd, blaming Daniel for a financial downturn. Yet, when supporters of Daniel heard about the protest, they came in droves to contest, turning the noble area into a large riot.

#### Riot

On Marcu 18, the two sides clashed, fuelled by their political ideals. While Daniel tried to stop the crowd and their violence, he eventually had to be ushered away by his guard as the danger grew too great. By the end of the night the protestors conceded, allowing Daniel’s supporters to claim victory. But, as the group cleared it was discovered that over 146 people had died in the violence, a close split from both sides.

#### Confronting the Council

Angry, Daniel went and confronted the council on Marcu 19, blaming them for the violence and stating the lives were on them. Yet it was another trap for Daniel and he was forced to escape when some of the corrupted guards tried for his life. Thankfully, as a capable fighter himself, he was able to escape unscathed, and alert the people that a coup was under place.

Gathering his supporters, Daniel was able to rally more individual soldiers, some which had even campaigned with him during the War of Revenge. With soldiers by his side and the people supporting him, Daniel entered Lofty Castle and took back over, forcing the council to stand down.

#### Aftermath and Consequences

With another council turning on the monarch, Daniel made a vow that he would remove a lot of their powers, and elect his own. More changes came days later when he implemented a rule that if a new ruler takes over and is of the age of 28, they can happily change the council to members of their own fruition. The age limit of council members was then changed to 35, stating only mature members can lead with that much, ensuring loyalty to their current King however.

For the former council members their punishment was tough, locked away in the dungeons in Lofty Castle to avoid making them martyrs. Only Marti was executed, angering the Malillos family privately but giving them a chance to garner respect again by supporting the King publicly.

The corrupted guards were all executed or enslaved.

### Plague of the 6th Century

*See: Plague of the 6th Century*

During the 6th Century Daniel was unlucky enough to be a monarch when the Plague of the 6th Century spread through South-East Arlec. Through traders in **611PR** Gonarundu was one of the first nations infected. However, using the knowledge from the previous plague, Daniel and his council were able to take control of things quickly.

Once the infection rate began to spread, Daniel called for martial law on his nation, immediately locking everything down. At the same time, he ordered many of the experienced doctors and healers (loyal to him from his healthcare act) to investigate cures or at least prevention methods.

While waiting for some type of vital information, Daniel made sure to hold down the nation, helping them however he could. Thankfully, the discovery didn’t take long and the findings revealed that prevention was the same as last time. Due to the Gonarundun culture of cleanliness, there wasn’t much resistance when Daniel rolled out his plans, keeping the infection rate in the nation incredibly low.

By the end of **611PR** things had returned back to relative normalcy, most of the efforts redirected into watching the border instead.

## Death

In **615PR** Daniel Fidalgo died peacefully in his sleep at his holiday house in Taeyungo, the stress of holding a nation on his back too much for his body. When his body was discovered there was a smile across his face

### Succession

As with normal succession, the crown would pass down to his first son, or named heir. In Daniel’s case, both Lucas and Moises refused to take the crown. With a power vacuum about to take place, the council decided that the crown should pass to Markel Fidalgo, the son of his cousin Aimar.

In order to avoid chaos, Lucas and Moises publicly announced their support of Markel, who kept the council as it was.

## Personal Life

In **579PR** Daniel married a Hashino woman named Choi Su, the two meeting at one the many formal parties that Daniel attended. The two hit it off quickly and in **580PR** they had their first child, a daughter named Seo.

The couple would have three more children, two boys named Lucas and Moises and another daughter named Park Soo. Park Soo was the youngest and born in **583PR** just before Daniel marched off to war.

Due to Daniel’s contribution in the War of Revenge, he missed a lot of formative years of his children, something that he would regret for most of his life. This was only further exacerbated when he became King. Still, he did whatever he could to spend time with them, but despite his efforts they grew only distant.

In **602PR** Daniel’s daughter Seo and Adonis’s child, Aktis II, were married, solidifying the relationship between the two families and nations. It is believed while beneficial to Daniel, he never pressured Seo for the marriage, as she actually fell in love with Aktis II.

Because of Daniel’s distance from his children, it is a belief that Lucas and Moises began to resent the crown, hence why they turned it down in **615PR** when it was offered to them.

While all of his children attended his funeral, it is said not a single one made a speech, having no real love for their father.