Zorgolis of Gevanni
Zorgolis of Gevanni was a human lawyer, orator, senator, and historian of the late Razani Empire. He was trained in his home city of Gevanni and became a senator of some renown through force of will and public speaking.
Senator and Critic¶
Gevanni was officially governed by its senate, but in practice the Zanic governor and foreign Eagelian nobility held the real power. Zorgolis opposed this arrangement and tried to rally the people against the governor's autocratic authority.
His criticism fit a wider late Razani anxiety: the empire claimed descent from Zanis, but many subjects believed imperial law had become a mask for arbitrary power. One speech attributed to Zorgolis argued that the people had to secure their rights by law before they were battered by the whims of Razani emperors.
Tales from the Zanic Age¶
Zorgolis was condemned as a criminal and executed in Durobaereste. On the night before his execution, he completed the manuscript now known as Tales from the Zanic Age, recording the rise and fall of the Zani Empire, the Incident, the Great Collapse, and the unstable world that followed.
He bribed a guard with four gold coins sewn into his robe and entrusted the manuscript to his faithful servant Arbogasto. The framing of the text makes Zorgolis both narrator and political martyr: an old man trying to preserve truth before the state silenced him.
Death and Aftermath¶
Zorgolis's execution sparked riots and fires in the Razani capital, dividing common people and landed aristocrats. His death became a symbol of the conflict between civic law, senatorial dignity, and imperial violence.
See also: Gevanni, Tales from the Zanic Age, Razani Empire, Zani Empire, Recent Events, and Important Characters.