Ronal Bonate - wip

Name: Ronal Bonate

Race: Ffawe Naplian

Physical Description: 3.5 meters tall, slender, fair gray skin

Demeanor: Terse, aggressive, melancholic

Lifespan:

Empire of Origin: Naplia

Career: Co-regent Emperor with Reffet Benaltep

Ronal Bonate (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a Ffawe Naplian military commander and political leader who rose to prominence during the Ffawe Revolution and led successful campaigns during the Emperors’ War. He was the leader of the Naplian Co-Regency from 1799 to 1804, then of the Naplian Empire as Emperor of the Onwey Naplia and Ffawe Naplia from 1804 until 1814. Bonate was a celebrated and controversial leader. He initiated many liberal reforms and was considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. An incalculable number of military and civilian souls were lost in the Ffawe Revolution, the Emperors’ War, and the Cyber rebellion that followed.

A Ffawe aristocrat, and the son of a Cannian plantation owner, Ronal Bonte’s background was agricultural. The child of a native family descending from Ffawe nobility. His mother was the daughter of a Ffawe Naplian starship captain, and the most notable ancestor was Rason Pultik, a Ffawe marine officer who was killed in action during the reign of Ceral the XVI. Pultik, with a company of marines, had boarded an Audrian troop transport and detonated a satchel charge in the forward magazine, killing himself and the entire ship’s complement of twelve thousand Audrians.

Bonate was resentful of the Naplian Onwey monarchy and supported the Ffawe Revolution in ------- while serving in the Naplian army, even going so far as to try and spread its ideals to his native Cannia. He rose rapidly in the ranks after defeating the loyalist forces of Admiral Endemere after joining forces with Reffet Benaltep, the Admiral of the Home Fleet. In ---------, he began a military campaign against the Audrians and their Dresch allies, scoring decisive victories, and became a national hero. In --------------, to consolidate and expand his power, he crowned himself and Reffet Benaltep Co-regents and, later, Co-Emperor of greater Naplia, alongside Benaltep’s nephew ________.

Differences with the Briddarri Kingdom resulted in war with the Grand Alliance in ---------. Bonate split the Audrian and Dresch frontier forces with victories in the Potalla campaign and at the Battle of Cutt, which led to the dissolution of the Audro-Dresch Empire. In _______, Bonate defeated Dulte Kingdom forces at the battles of Oder and Ivera, sailed the Imperial Fleet into the Pressak Corridor, and defeated the Qomiti in __________at Quien, forcing the Grand Alliance to accept the Treaty of Ganz. Two years later, the Audrians challenged the Naplians again, but Bonate increased the salient dividing Audria and the Dresch Kingdom after triumphing at the Battle of the Cyriac Starfields.

Hoping to expand Naplian influence, Bonate and Benaltep supported the Svenisch blockade against the Patagase and the Briddarri colonial powers to the galactic north. Bonate invaded the Terran Empire at Baedecker starsystem after the Briddarri raid on the serjaum facilities at Eission. The Terran Republic and its colonies joined the Grand Alliance in response. The conflict spread, engulfing many coreward empires as Naplia expanded eastward.

The Naplians considered Bonate to be their greatest leader. Some generals and admirals held him in the highest regard. Bonate's closest supporters were his family members, military advisors, and a few scientists. Bonate was married and had two children. Bonate had two brothers and two sisters, three brothers-in-law, and one sister-in-law in his family. He was a member of a minority clan, the Ffawe.

The Grand Council was divided in their support of Bonate. Many members were secretly jealous of his authority and popularity in the empire. A few key leaders viewed him as a dangerous enemy. Others thought he was outrageous in his arrogance and questioned whether his actions were those of a rational being. Bonate had often gone to extreme lengths to keep the Council mollified, but his popularity with the masses kept the Council in line.

Bonate knew the Rutak emperor well and had met with the Audrian and Dresch leaders at various times. Bonate hated the Briddarri monarch, although they had never met. The Patagase were allies of the Briddarri and were a constant nuisance to Bonate.

The conquest of Baedeker in Terran space was a critical turning point for Bonate. He needed Terran Serjaum deposits to continue his campaign across the great rift and into the heart of human space. It marked the first contact with cybernetic life forms and the beginning of the end of Naplian dominance of the Rimward systems because it triggered the Briddarri decision to introduce cybernetics into the war.