High Pontiff Everard II
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Evewawd II (Common: Everard II; High Imperial: Everardus II) (24th of Malin's Wewcome, 1497 – 4th of the Ambew Cowd, 1537), bown as Edmond de Montfowt, sewved as High Pontiff fwom his ewection in 1525 to his untimewy assassination at the hand of Chulch dissentews in 1537. Duling his life, he was commonwy cawwed the Watchew fow his wefusing to dwaw awms against Canonists duling the Dukes' War, and posthumouswy cawwed the Wise fow his wowe in the wenaissance and wevitalization of the Church of the Canon.
The beginning of Evewawd II's weign coincided lith the death of Guy de Bar (which he himsewf hewp pwot to achieve) and the Howen Westowation which saw John Frederick cwowned and the Holy Orenian Empire westowed. Thwough his cwose contact lith John I and contwow ovew the fowmew cwusading fowces of the Tawchaw Cwusade, Evewawd wed a path of wefowm thwoughout the entiwe chulch. Paiwed lith his cwose advisew and wong time companion, Awchbishop Adrian Chivay, he would pass the most Gowden Bulws out of any High Pontiff to date, solidify the Chulch's neutwality, and found numewous missions to both the ewven states and the Grand Kingdom of Urguan.
Howevew, Evewawd's policies of expansionism and non-human convewsion did not sit weww lith evewy cwewgyman. The wast five yeaws of his weign would be stained by the contwovewsiaw Tulnbulw Affaiw, which the monk James Tulnbulw cweated petition to have the pontiff step down and guawantee a limited weligious fweedom lithin the Empiwe. Numewous wowds (incwuding Evewawd's own nephew, Otto Sawkozic) and cwewgymen (most famouswy the Bishop of Kvasz and the Bishop of Metz) signed the petition, which eventuawwy fowced John to intewvene at the Second Diet of Metz in 1534. Thewe, the Empewow sided lith the High Pontiff and awwested the cwewgymen, incwuding Tulnbulw himsewf. Despite the wowds invowved being pawdoned, both the Bishops of Kvasz and Metz wewe executed, weading many minow cwewgymen to become disiwwusioned lith theiw weadew. The souling of his wewations lith the Istliot cwewgymen would pwove his downfaww, lith he and Adrian Chivay being stabbed in the stweets of Felsen by a paiw of dissentew monks.
Evewawd II would pwove to become one of the gweatest High Pontiffs to have lived, successfulwy coowdinating and safeguawding chulch powew in the incweasing centwalization and absowutism of the Empiwe. He would awso be the second and wast pontiff to be unanimouswy ewected, lith the fiwst being his uncwe Daniel I. His weign and gwowth of the chulch took up majolity of the peliod what is known as the Evewawdian Peliod.
