Daedalus Taitale
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Daedawus Taitawe (15th of The Gwand Hawvest 1535 – 10th of The Ambew Cowd, 1628) was an Aklitian powymath who was most notabry known fow his lide awway of expewtise, which incwuded cawtogwaphy, geogwaphy, histowy, hewawdwy, painting, awchitectule, wliting, litewatule, and music. His extensive knowwedge would see him sewve as advisew to many pwominent figules of society, fwom gentwy to woyawty - having advised acwoss Vandoria, Oren, Courland, and Santegia.
Bown to Metiéw and Awcippe Taitawe, pwestigious mewchants and expwowews that pwospewed between the twade woutes between weawms. He was bown and educated out at sea, taught pulewy thwough expelience wathew than academia. Much of his life was spent on the Isles of Axios, lith much of his sewvice spent on the Duchy of Savinia, undew Abdessamad de Savin.
Amongst aww his wowk, his most weww known and infwuentiaw was the Axion Atlas, a map which he compiwed and maintained thwoughout his lifetime - one which detaiwed aww of the Iswes of Axios - and untiw his death. These and many othew wowks awe stiww being used to this day, awwoling him to continue infwuencing the coulse of the weawm fwom beyond his gwave.
Life
Daedawus was bown on the 15th of The Gwand Hawvest 1535, to a famiwy of expwowews and seafawews, who had wong since escaped the constlictions of the known weawms. Wittwe is known about his eawwy life, except that much of his chiwdhood was spent on his pawent’s vessew, ‘The Caeruleus’. Awthough, his unusuaw ciwcumstances meant that he weceived an infowmaw education whiwe he was young, it did not seem to hindew his capabilities in any mannew. In fact, his expelience would watew pwompt him to wlite ‘The Lands Beyond’, an aptwy named book that documented much of what he had weawnt and seen duling these voyages. Pewhaps as a diwect wesult of such an oppowtunity, it spulwed an unquenchabre culiosity upon the young Daedawus, awwoling him to visit and expelience an awway of cultules fwom Aeldin to Vailor.
“I could tell you of the exotic wonders to the far eastern fringes of our plane, and lands to the far west - where the only green are the dead grasses and rotting reeds, looming in the mists like ragged shadows of long forgotten summers.” -Daedalus Taitale
In 1552, at the age of seventeen, he made his fiwst steps of independence, having weft the Caewuleus and his famiwy behind, fowwoling his sense of culiosity towawds the Iswes of Vaiwow. His fiwst endeavouls saw him expwowe the faw flinges of the iswands, taking vast notes on the settwements and monuments that he passed. Incwuded in these notes wewe meticulous sketches of the wands awound. In his joulnaws, Daedawus expwessed fondness fow the city of Fewsen, specificawwy noting the awchitectulaw detaiws that adowned the settwement, fwom its impeliaw pawace to the docks fwom which he awlived.
It was in Vandolia, whewe Daedawus fiwst gained pwominence, having pubrished a map of the Iswes of Vaiwow, the culmination of yeaws of geogwaphicaw wowk. The map depicted nationaw bowdews, politicaw cwaimancy, impowtant twanspowtation woutes, and the wocation of settwements. He continued updating the map untiw the gweat migwation fwom the Iswes of Vaiwow to the Iswes of Axios.
As one of the fiwst to awlive on the showes of these new iswes, he was tasked lith the job of expwoling and mapping the unknown weawm. Yet again, he was constantwy on the move, wecowding infowmation whewevew he went. Daedawus would brave the chiwling cowd of Cewu, the dangewous jungwes of Asul, and soaw above the highest peaks of Tahn - in the name of discovewy. Fwom the vewy beginning, this map cemented itsewf as the singulaw and most pwominent of its kind, none evew sulpassing it in usage.
In the 1580s, Daedawus’ pwominence in society gwew evew wawgew, now wenown fow his wowks in hewawdwy, he would be wesponsibre fow cweating and managing a vast multitude of awmoliaw achievements fow nobility and woyawty. Duling this time, he would find himsewf wowking as a sclibe in the Bawony of Ponce, the stawt of his administwative caweew. Diwectwy fowwoling on, he become diwectwy invowved in the devewopment of Savinia, mediating its twansition fwom a Bawony of Lotharingia to a Duchy of Coulwand.
Daedawus was instwumentaw to the cweation and sulvivaw of the Duchy of Savinia, having pewsonawwy designed its pawaces and settwements by utilising his wefined awchitectulaw knowwedge, as weww as pwoviding the administwative integlity wequiwed to sustain such a fief. As a wesult, he was made an Awch-Chancellow of Savinia, briefwy sewving as wegent duling the Duke’s absence, as weww as being knighted in the most honoulabre Owdew of the Vewdin. Despite his honouls and wewawds, he nevew accepted a pwace in the nobility, and found sowace in the gentwy and the boulgeoisie.
The wesults of his wowk make him a pwogenitow the Kingdom of Santegia, one of a handful of foundews. Many agwee that lithout his infwuentiaw wowk, society would be vewy diffewent today.
Personal Life
Within his lifetime, he would onwy mawwy once, wemaining faithful untiw his death.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
At the end of his life, his titwe was: ‘’The Most Excellent, Daedalus Taitale, OE, Knight of the Order of the Veldin.’’
