High Pontiff Daniel III
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Daniel III (Common: Daniel III; High Imperial: Daniel III) (17th of Malin's Welcome, 1526 – 12th of the Grand Harvest, 1565) called "the Mad" and "the Blind". Daniel, priorly Prince Charles Francis of the Holy Orenian Empire, was elected Pontiff by a Synod seeking to regain traction, following the previous failure and decline under the High Pontiff Tobias I. His reign was eventful, however dreadfully plagued with issues and corruptions that would continue to harm the Church within.
Before his reign as Pontiff, he briefly took control of the grand castle called Ard Ghorrock, in the Outremer State of Vandoria, following the Qalasheen Spring. Here, briefly, he housed the displaced Faith Militant of the Black Sepulcher, which had fallen out of favor during the reign of Tobias I, and sook a new place to build their power. However, the Prince Charles fell out of favor with the Qalasheen Lord Protector, Nafis Yar and was expelled from the lands. Upon his return to the capital, and following the death of his wife, Charles took the robes during the reign of Tobias.
After the death of Tobias I, Charles had already been placed upon the Synod and gained favor with the other Cardinals, who viewed Tobias as weak and a pawn of the Duke Augustus d'Amaury. This faction pushed for the election of Daniel and he was able to beat out his opponent, Adrian Denims-Therving. The coronation of Daniel seemed in good favor and his early reign was marked with positive progress. He reorganized his Synod, removing the corrupt and money embezzling Bishop Noah of Brelus. In a move that, at the time seemed logical, Daniel would rise the clergymen of Boiendl Denims-Therving and Svatobor Volvakov to the College. The early point of reform in his reign ended around the time he reforged a weak, unsuccesful Faith Militant and unsuccesfuly negotiated for the independence of the entirety of Visiga, under the Papal States, with the Holy Orenian Emperor, John II.
These two failures, alongside an increasing liberal mindset, made enemies of the growing conservative party within his Church. The Ecclesiastical Triumvirate would be secretly formed, a Flamenist Faction based out of the Archdiocese of Courland, in opposition to the growing list of blunders and slights made by Daniel III. The party, at first, lobbied for more conservative and harsh teachings, as well as a more harsh view on heretics and those who worshipped other Saints. This mindset would spike briefly when the Pontiff suffered a fatal assassination attempt by Augustite heretics. Utilizing the Cloud Temple Monkhood as a source of renewed life, the Pontiff would undergo a coma and brief sickness in which he was unable to govern his Church. The conservative party, led by Vice-Chancellor Boiendl of Courland, would gain control of the Augustite Crisis and in a move widely accepted by the conservative clergymen and flamenists of the Church, declared the heretic and rebel Thomas Ruric anathema in the eyes of God.
When the Pontiff Daniel rose from his coma, he had completely lost his ability to see. This issue, as well his inability to see the discontent amongst his College, led to the moniker of "the Blind" being employed by his opponents. Following the first assassination attempt, Daniel returned to a church which had been split among conservative and liberal notions, and had seen the results of his previous inaction. In an attempt to regain control of his College, the Pontiff moved to disband the College and exert totalitarian control. This move did not sit well and following a brief lockout between the College and the Pontiff, he gave in and reassembled the College of Cardinals at Holofernes. However, he would treat his enemies within the Church with a much more iron fist.
The tension between the Pontiff and his opposing faction climaxed on the day of his second assassination, in which Aeldenic Assassins, in the employ of Boiendl Denims-Therving, struck down the Pontiff in the streets of countryside of the crownlands. Following his death, the Triumvirate, now lacking the original Pontifical Candidate of Stephen de Beaufort, launched a campaign to place Boiendl Denims-Therving as Pontiff. However, the College was interupted when a revived, once more by Cloud Temple Monks, Daniel III returned and, with the aid of his Holy Knights, forcefully excommunicated the Cardinals Svatobor and Boiendl. Following the removal of his enemies, the Pontiff driven mad by his many resurrections and horrid blindness, declared himself a Prophet and issued a series of Revelations which completely eradicated the College of Cardinals, placed the Church under Imperial Control, established a Designated Inheritance system for the Pontificate, and elevated Man above the other races (a move seemingly against his previous liberal persona).
In response, the Cardinals Boiendl and Svatobor fled to the Imperial Court to plea with the Emperor to take action against the mad Pontiff. However, at the sight and betrayal of their once ally Stephen de Beaufort, Boiendl gave up hope and cast himself in a doomed assassination attempt upon the Emperor. Following this scuffle, and the death of Boiendl, Theodosius I would rise to inherit the Pontificate as Daniel I would step down and designate his own heir, never before done in the history of the Church. These events would lead to the Council of Pruvia, in which Theodosius I and his Church would convene, alongside the Imperial Estate, to discern the Revelations that had been issued. Daniel III died of lingering sickness, some say his mind deteriorated from madness, in his bed on the 12th of the Grand Harvest, 1565.
= Issue
Charles Henry, Count of Visiga
