Dizyade

“''Hang them from the cranes. Spray the words, ‘We sold out on the Shivvit’ somewhere nearby. They needn’t all be hung by their necks, or dead for that matter.''” –Dizyade

Dizyade–nicknamed "the Shivvit" by enemies–was a male Biosynth of the Shivvit species and a veteran of the Tilbori Scourge and Scattan Wars. He would eventually rise in prominence to become one of the three most powerful warlords during the Scattan Wars, alongside Glisgiss and Skyketh. Dizyade’s forces were eventually defeated by Skyketh’s, and Dizyade loaded what remained of his supplies and followers onto a fleet of ships that he sailed away from the Scattan Islands into the Shimmering Seas.

Early life
Dizyade was born on Shivvitsa in an inland village of Shivvits. He spent most of his childhood and young adult life there.

Tilbori Scourge
When the Tilbor invaded Shivvitsa, Dizyade’s village was one of the last to be attacked. By the time coastal villages had fallen to the Tilbor, word had reached his village that a hostile alien presence was on the island and killing Shivvits. Dizyade encouraged his village to build weapons and defend itself. Many more Shivvits who had lost their villages but were unable to flee Shivvitsa rallied to a growing army Dizyade was leading.

When the Tilbor finally reached Dizyade’s village, his Shivvit army was well-prepared to receive them. Dizyade led a stalwart resistance against the Tilbor, delaying their total conquest of Shivvitsa long enough for armies from the Scattan Islands to arrive and relieve the pressure. Eventually, Dizyade and the Scattan-led armies pushed the Tilbor off of Shivvitsa. Dizyade then accompanied the Scattan armies with a detachment of his own Shivvit soldiers as they sailed to Tilboron. He and the Shivvit force he brought participated alongside the Scattan armies in the Siege of Tilboron, eventually wiping out the Tilbor leadership and ending the Tilbori Scourge. Most of Dizyade’s Shivvit soldiers died in the battle, but Dizyade was brought back to the Scattan Islands, where he was briefly hailed as a hero by the populations there.

=== Scattan Confederation === Dizyade chose to remain on the Scattan Islands rather than return to Shivvitsa, believing the Scattans would continue to reward him for his crucial participation in the Siege of Tilboron. When the Scattan Confederation was formed, Dizyade learned quickly that non-Scattans were treated poorly in comparison to Scattans. This infuriated Dizyade, who thought non-Scattans had earned a place in the Scattan Islands after their contributions to the war against the Tilbor. Dizyade turned then to Scattan nations who were already contemplating seceding from the Confederation.

=== Scattan Wars === When the first Scattan nations began declaring their intent to secede from the Confederation, Dizyade was given command of a militia of one of the nations, and was told to use it to cause as much damage as possible to Confederate forces. His experience leading Shivvit armies helped him win many battles against the Confederation during the beginning phase of the Scattan Wars.

Dizyade was one of the first commanders to notice the value of the so-called “Starved Guns,” and quickly contracted hundreds to fight for his militia.

Over time the nation Dizyade was fighting for appeared to be on the brink of splintering into rival factions. Eventually it did, and the Scattan leaders of his nation never realized Dizyade had assembled his own army large enough to challenge theirs. This poised Dizyade against them for war.

After the Scattan Confederation collapsed, the new Scattan warlords who dominated the Scattan Islands began fighting with one another. Dizyade, who was seen as a threat to Scattan dominance, became a target. Dizyade began fighting with the warlords, winning enough battles and acquiring enough resources and power to be considered a warlord in his own right. Dizyade began fashioning himself as the “counter-Scattan” warlord, who was interested in creating a state that protected the rights of all non-Scattans. This was mostly rhetoric used for recruitment purposes, but the result was that many non-Scattans volunteered to join Dizyade rather than demand pay. The belief of many of Dizyade’s soldiers that he would follow through with his promises once the war was over made Dizyade’s soldiers some of the most blindly loyal of any fighting in the Scattan Wars.

Dizyade was so successful in defeating rival warlords that he eventually became one of the three most powerful warlords in the Scattan Islands. Only Glisgiss and Skyketh possessed spheres of influence large enough to challenge Dizyade’s.

Initially, Glisgiss’s forces were the greater threat to Dizyade’s power, and so Dizyade focused on killing Glisgiss and acquiring his resources. This was done while also defending against attacks from Skyketh. Dizyade employed a record number of Starved Guns during his campaign against Glisgiss, and with them eventually drove Glisgiss back into a single stronghold. He made use of Sadisma’s crew to infiltrate Glisgiss’ final stronghold, and although Glisgiss ultimately escaped, this eliminated Glisgiss’s power base in the Scattan Wars.

Now Dizyade was focused on fighting only Skyketh. But in his fight against Glisgiss, Dizyade had spent much of his resources, and Skyketh’s armies appeared better prepared to fight a prolonged war. Dizyade ordered several failed attacks on Skyketh until Dizyade found himself completely on the defensive.

When Skyketh’s victory appeared inevitable, Dizyade ordered his followers to grab as much of their treasures and resources as they could. Dizyade’s supplies and remaining followers were loaded onto his last fleet of ships. With this fleet, Dizyade sailed the remnants of his once great sphere of influence off of the Scattan Islands and into the Shimmering Seas.

Abilities and traits
Dizyade was unusually disconnected with music or art, which was considered a defining point of Shivvit culture. Instead his impulses were towards violence and war.

Dizyade showed exceptional skill as a combat and political leader, and inspired great loyalty from many of his subjects. Dizyade himself was never above getting involved in fighting, and occasionally fought alongside his own soldiers if a situation demanded it.

Despite this, Dizyade was capable of great cruelty to those who betrayed him. He often tortured, killed, or made examples of traitors to his cause during the Scattan Wars.

Dizyade’s main weapon was a modified Verba-12 submachine gun that he first acquired while commanding a militia for a separatist Scattan nation.