Victor Damius

## Victor Damius  (Varcos Daemeios)

A portrait of Victor Damius as the Premier of Lavos, commissioned 277 AC

### Most known for

Making his mark as an incredibly influential and charismatic diplomat; establishing the Premiership form of government and the Dealing system; living to the age of 112

### Influences

Marcus Develan, Tyno Greeves, Haerys of Eukylon, Alaric Dyonesus, Yosepher Mallatin, Madele Netwick

### Influenced

Practically every diplomat and politician following him, including notable figures such as Michael Avleston, Veddel Markwell, Malos Tregello, Sulyefel Dzaeyron, Dominic Pavellan, Malveus II Karthmere

- Maregor II Dragomyr, 229 AC

- Veddel Markwell, 321 AC

The man who trumped the world and balk'd
Lost in a sea of endless faces
Damius still rings true to all the races

- Michael Avleston, in his poem 'On Twylyt Shores", 330 AC

**Victor Damius**, born **Varcos Daemeios**, was a politician, writer, poet, diplomat, theorist, astrologist, and visionary who was mostly known for establishing the Dealing system in the City-States of Doras Edrossi and the Kingdom of Andoras, and holding office as the 1st Premier of Lavos from 239 AC, to his death on 316 AC. During his life he accomplished establishing and restoring the state of a national republic in Lavos, and encouraging other city-states to do the same; by the time of his death, most city-states, if not all, were republics and elected their officials. This bled over to the denizens of Andoras, and eventually, influenced other aspects of life, almost creating a fairer world. His writings and thought process influenced a revived con-crownism movement in Andoras, and inspired the two men, Veddel Markwell and Michael Avleston (particularly the latter), to create the Farrowhalt Freehold and begin the Farmers' Revolution in 326 AC, ten years after his death.

Damius died in 316 AC at age 112, an inherently venerable age. His incredibly long life span was noted by many, and eventually became the main source of his fame by the time of his 90th birthday. Some of this longevity can be granted to Drakonian genetics, who, if he was of a pure bloodline, could live even longer than Victor did. Though he had grown old and physically frail as he approached the twilight of his life, Damius remained mentally sharp right up to the day of his death, as many people close to him claimed. Victor is cited as one of the most influential people in the modern era, with his changes able to be felt in nearly every aspect of life throughout the world. Almost all modern diplomats, if not every single one entirely, cite Victor Damius as a prime influence in their method of negotiating, including Veddel Markwell and Michael Avleston above, but also Markwell's brother Malric, the late prodigy Dominic Pavellan, magister of Ceryne Malos Tregello, and countless others.

## Early life: 204 AC

Victor was born Varcos Daemeios on May 13th, 204 AC, to his parents Merykei Daemeios (179 - 213 AC), a minor patrician in the court of Lavos, and Valleia (177 - 255 AC) (nee Neryaeon). The Daemeios line was primarily Lavosi, and by extension, Low Drakonian. The line had gone back until at least the Fifth Era, but was obscure until Victor was born. Most Daemeios family members were either diplomats or foreign dignitaries, and it seemed Victor was born into his position.

Victor was noted for his strong jawline and cheekbones, even at a young age, and was sometimes called **The Little Paramour** growing up. As any other patrician's son, his father was almost never home, leaving Valleia to be the main parent of Varcos. He was born in Ceryne due to his family being escorted there -- Lavos, at the time, was embroiled in a siege that stemmed from the Inferno Wars, and no one was allowed in or out of the city. Varcos lived the first few months of his life in Ceryne, before the Wars ended with a Lavosian loss. With the spirit of Lavos broken, Varcos and his mother moved back to the city, with a heavy cloud of smog still covering the air above them. The city was little better than a ruin, with Lavos being, at the time, the smallest city-state. Returning to the villa that Merykei had inherited as part of his nobility, they came to find that it was little better than a ruin. At once, Merykei resigned from his position of patrician -- by then only an honorary title rather than a true one -- and gathered all of the family's possessions.

- Merykei Daemeios, 204 AC

With those words, Merykei made it his goal to find a way out of Lavos and a way somewhere else, preferably distant Andoras, where he would use his diplomacy and intrigue there as a courtier in the companionship of the Dragomyrs. Before year's end, a transport ship came to the ruined dock and the Daemeios narrowly fit on, off to sail where the winds took them.

## Youth in Andoras: 205 - 220 AC

The boat stopped at many locations around Doras Edrossi, before finally reaching Dragonspire City in the spring of 205 AC. The first thing that was noticed by most people on the boat was the Dragonspire itself; it towered above the rest of the city as a proud reminder of the Dragomyr invasion of Andoras, already two centuries ago. They were able to find comfortable abode in the city due to several contacts also boarding the ship with them, and lived in relative obscurity. Merykei eventually became a diplomat in the service of Maregor I Dragomyr, before being assassinated in office after supporting a judgement ruling that went against a local noble's life in 213 AC. Only seven years old and fatherless, Varcos was thrust into the wide spectrum of the world rather quickly. It was decided that Varcos would become a diplomat like his father, to keep the Daemeios tradition true to heart. His mother raised him from thereon, and Varcos was assigned a local tutor hailing from Frostfall, named Marcus Develan, a man who Victor would later come to call 'my greatest influence'. Varcos was trained in the arts of penmanship, writing, negotiation, and delegation -- all of which he seemed to catch onto naturally. Many said he would follow his father's footsteps.

- Marcus Develan, 213 AC

Later on, Varcos was taught military skills by a commander who was friends with his father. He learned how to ride a horse and how to wield a sword properly, and accomplished all of this before his sixteenth birthday, when he would reach the age of majority in Dragonspire and become an adult. Varcos was competent at martiality, but it was clear he had another calling. Never one to forget those who aided them, however, he always returned to Mayrkus for advice and counsel. Varcos grew up with Mayrkus by his side. Mayrkus, though middle-aged at the time of his tutorship, remained with Varcos until his death from natural causes in 228 AC.

Already, at a young age, Varcos showed promise that many before him hadn't in years. He was martially competent, perhaps, but his mind was well, well above average intelligence. He applied for a page's position at the Council of the King's Hand in 218 AC, and was accepted at age fourteen, tending to the needs of the members during meetings and meeting with them individually to learn from them and their craft. He attended his first diplomatic meeting some days after he turned fifteen, but only as an observer -- the debate was over cruelty to peasants and the general disparity between the peasantry, the middlemen class, and the nobility. While the debate had little effect on a political scale, it was a thesis that Varcos toyed with over the course of his life, and would eventually lead to the creation of the first national republic.

## Beginning of political career: 220 - 226 AC

In 220 AC, Varcos was now old enough to participate in the Council of the King's Hand as one of the diplomats, being voted in by the other members by a narrow margin. He was only sixteen at the time, and had virtually no experience in real diplomacy. He was easily the youngest and most idealistic one at the table; some nobles were generously in their middle ages, with a few reaching their 60s and 70s.

- Maderec Keswyck

If Varcos felt intimidated, he was stalwart in hiding it, remaining stone-faced for most of the debate. The discussion rarely came to him, and many nobles felt he was not competent to be at the table. He was determined to prove himself, however, and often spoke up in times of silence or times of thought. For the first few years of his career, Varcos was still overshadowed by older, more experienced diplomats, a few of which he would later claim were influences of him, such as Alaric Dyonesus, Madele Netwick, Yosepher Mallatin, and more. This continued for some time.

### Rise to notability

Varcos's first big break was a year later in early 222 AC, when he was seventeen. There was a rather heated debate over a case in the village of Corcivaetas, in which a noble's son was accused of sleeping with a farmer's daughter unprovoked and without warning. There was an apparent outdated law that permitted this kind of behavior, but had been mainly written out of existence by the 2nd century AC. It was never officially abolished, however, and many in the council argued that the law was the law. Varcos felt differently about this, as he believed that the law was not always morally correct, and was certainly not guaranteed to be so. He spoke the most in this debate; a sharp contrast to his behavior in all of the others before. Despite mounting offense against his side of the argument, Varcos managed to win, almost singlehandedly, after convincing the King himself of his point of view.

This changed the opinions of many of Varcos's peers around him. He began to be seen in another light by many, although there were still many personal doubters of him, particularly some of the more veteran members of the council. However, over the course of several cases and debates, general opinion on the council for Varcos changed from a mostly negative one to a positive one. The rest of the members admired him and appreciated his presence there; he was a fresh contrast to many of the older councilmen, who were rooted in tradition and subject to stubbornness and monotony. As time went on, Varcos got older, and so did many of the councilmen. Some died in office, while others merely retired, and the more this happened, the higher in the chain of command rose Varcos. Sometime in 225 AC, he started calling himself Victor, finding it a more Andorasi-esque name than Varcos. He officially changed his name to Victor Damius not long after, appealing to many of his western-cultured colleagues who often mocked him for his name.

Varcos, now Victor, was poised to sit at head of the council; and that meant that he would be in direct review by King Maregor II for the position of King's Hand itself. It would take a lot of convincing to reach that step, as he was from Lavos and almost all King's Hands had been Andorasi up until this point.

WIP