Argono Vivaldi

Formative Years

"Strategic Thought: Argono Vivaldi, absent." - Naval War College Rolls

Second son of the Vivaldi family, the Plankholders of Caletta, Argono seemed destined for mediocrity. Many Litoric Islanders wish that had stayed the case.

With his elder brother set to follow in their father's footsteps as the next Prince, Argono was confined to a life of typical naval advancement. As to be expected of a leading family, he would pass the merit-based tests with flying colors and go on to a career of moderate success followed by an honorable retirement. Argono's education as well as his attitude towards it was formed around that central tenant of life in the Litoric Islands, and from that expectation developed a combination of traits most unfortunate for the nation.

"A second-year student, one Signor Argono Vivaldi, was detained along with elder Ripplers and promptly released this evening after disassembling and then reassembling a catapult on a hotel roof." - The Evening Bos'n

Often absconding from his studies at the Naval War College to walk the streets of the capital, Sandressi, when not participating in the revelries of The Ripples Club, Argono developed relationships with the average Islander that would last his lifetime. Many leaders in the Admiralty who rise to high ranks of governance come from a background of close association with sailors and high society. Due to how ingrained naval life is in the lives of every citizen, sailor or otherwise, this was a perfectly adequate system, until Argono came along. The abilities he developed by dipping outside both his class and occupational expectation led to an inane desire to appeal to those he viewed as unrepresented.

Political Life

"A.V. spoke to me after dinner, suggested the Admiralty Board had been talking behind my back.. said he was my only defender. I'll have to look into this." - Commodore Emilio Baliani, Diaries

After graduation from the Naval Colleges at Sandressi, thoroughly in the middle of his class, Argono Vivaldi led a life of never going beyond expectations. Desk-bound by his thirties, this allowed Argono to begin to put into practice a more negative trait associated with his love for the underrepresented. His ability to weasel into the good graces of both his superiors and underlings was constantly obvious, but never frowned upon. Central to this seeming contradiction was the underlying genuineness of all young Vivaldi's comments. Compliments were honest, hints of intrigue carried kernels of truth, and the slander of other always seemed justified.

By the age of forty three, he became Rear Admiral Vivaldi, and was setting age records across the governmental spectrum. However impressive this was on the surface, any dive into the murky depths of Argono's work, policies, or strategic planning in his new capacities showed an immense lack of knowledge. Bold ideas dashed off hastily as he thought of them, broad assumptions connecting disparate dots of thought, Admiral Vivaldi was a masterclass in failure of leadership. However, he would soon outdo even himself.

Election of High Admiral Vivaldi

"Argono? As in... Argono Vivaldi? His career has been kissing up and down the ladder, we're doomed." - Admiral Iane de Auria before the election of High Admiral Vivaldi.

Frequent readers of history will note a surprising lack of background information, private writings, or even general activity for large swathes of Vivaldi's career. This is not due to a lack of effort on the part of historians, but rather the simple lack of noteworthy occurrences throughout his life. All that changed with the election of 96AM.

With the previous High Admiral dead, the Admiralty Board convened in Sandressi to select from the muster rolls of flag officers and naval notables a new Head of State for the Litoric Islands. Unexpected to observers, from this meeting came the name Argono Vivaldi. Casual observers of Litoric politics were confused, thinking perhaps a more accomplished Vivaldi was chosen and his name mistakenly changed by messengers. More involved members of high society and the navy were less confused, and more thoroughly floored. The farmland around Coldharbor, crucial to the food supply of the Litoric Islands was seeing raids by a more and more hostile group of Northern Tribes from the Boreal North, a potentially disastrous situation. Despite all this, wondered observers, the Admiralty Board selected someone so lacking in depth of leadership and breadth of knowledge?

The First Frozen War

For a more military focused history, see The Frozen Wars.

Wasting no time upon his ascension to office, the new High Admiral cast his attention upon the troubles brewing to the north. Coldharbor is in a difficult but crucial strategic position for a seagoing nation, surrounded by flat farmlands and on the bank of a river, it has supplied crucial food since the Unification War. Its one advantage is its solitude, far south from the grasses the Northern Tribes feed their herds upon, left alone since the defeat the Islanders handed to them as the archipelago unified. However, to properly garrison it against an organised assault rather than occasional raids, a force far in excess of the current land forces of the Islands would be needed. Rather than take time to bolster the nation's marines while simultaneously attempting diplomatic outreach, Argono took a less orthodox route. The High Admiral attempted to attack tribal natives, who may not have been directly tied to the raids, in their home forests... with ships.

"After two days of sailing we had accomplished firing upon a number of icebergs and an, admittedly suspicious, seal." - Marcolo Matei, Wide Blue Beyond

Those who have never left the idyllic waters the Hewn Sea would be forgiven for underestimating the seemingly sudden change in climate north of the Litoric Islands. Past a thin line of farmland around Coldharbor, slightly further than the ring of chilly pines and grasslands north of that Litoric foothold lies an inhospitable sea of white known only to its inhabitants. Truly cursed by Mistra, goddess of weather, the Boreal North is a bone-chillingly frigid sea that will swallow whole armies into snowbanks and break fleets of ships against a cavalcade of icebergs. The waters are rough, violent, and obscured by flurries and the mirage of white along the horizon. Into this frozen hell Argono Vivaldi, in his strategic brilliance, sent fifty ships with little experience in cold conditions.


Historians and the average Islander alike have long agreed that, based on his few personal writings and interviews with associates, the intentions of the High Admiral were pure. Argono truly wished to secure his north as quickly as possible and to turn his attention to far-reaching social programs at home. However, whatever desires were there ended up buried deep beneath the results. To avoid the listing of repetitive battles, the general theme of the war was bad from the start. Any landings made were picked off from the dense trees, any attempts to find the tribal villages were ended swiftly by perilously shifting snows and disastrous avalanches. Naval combat was non-existent, as the tribes' ships, not that they were in any way an organised fleet, fished far to the north. Thus, the navy failed to even execute a successful blockade or interruption of the food supply, in an ironic twist on the Unification War.

By the end of what could only be described as a slaughter rather than a war, approximately 450 men were killed in action. In contrast, 4760 were dead as a result of weather related incidents, from the ramming of icebergs, exposure, and more. Beyond this, the return home saw over 700 men discharged on medical grounds following amputations resultant from frostbite.


From all this, Argolo Vivaldi took the honorable exit, for which he has been commended, and resigned. He cited poor health, but the nation knew he nursed a broken spirit.

Death & Legacy

"Public records will never protect from honeyed words." - High Admiral Iane de Auria

Following his resignation a healthy and spirited debate took place within the policy and leadership circles of the Litoric Islands. From this sprung a number of conclusions, some beneficial and some ignorant. The new High Admiral, longtime Vivaldi detractor Iane de Auria, oversaw the introduction of a scribe to the meeting to select the next High Admiral, a tradition continued from then on. Beyond this, the Litoric Fleet introduced a Northern Squadron to both train in and patrol the rough water of the Boreal North, as well as dedicated diplomats stationed alongside squadron commodores to combat the undertones of ignorance prevalent in strategic thinking towards the Northern Tribes. However, the immediate ramifications of the first of the Frozen Wars was not truly felt until the second and beyond, as the Litoric Islands began to change their stance from that of a navy based around home defense, to that of a far-reaching system of mercantilism.

In the alabaster halls of the Naval War Colleges of Sandressi, the changes were swift. Where previously students could not be kicked out, now strict standards must be upheld to even continue in one's studies, let alone graduate. Criteria for automatic entry was reduced to only the children of recipients of medals of valor, rather than the descendants of Plankholders and the aristocracy.

In the quarters of the Admiralty Board, reform took a more self-deprecating turn. Praise was earned as the Board introduced yearly meetings with the Princes at Port to gauge local matters, as well as the tacit agreement that future High Admirals who go off the deep end would face "mandatory retirement."

"I distinctly remember when I first started to regain feeling in my legs after our return from the North, but I never once thought the Admiral had lost his feelings for any of us." - Marcolo Matei, Wide Blue Beyond

High Admiral Vivaldi, ret. carried on in silence from his home island of Caletta until the age of 70 in 115AM. Following his disappearance from the public eye, the general population seemed split over what exactly to do with their collective memory. Should he receive the benefit of the doubt for his actions? Should he get credit for trying? While this discussion was more heated in the immediate aftermath of the First Frozen War, time has led to a more level-headed debate. Today, Argono Vivaldi is seen as the deserved product of a system that tried to bridge the gap between its monarchical past and meritorious present, and this put the past more firmly behind it.

Previously Held Ranks & Titles

• High Admiral

Age

70 at Death

Life

45 AM 115 AM 70 years old

Circumstances of Death

Natural

Gender

Male

Eyes

Gray, squinty

Hair

Brown, curly, receding

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Lightly Tanned

Height

5'11

Weight

163