Dardianazăr Tăndi

Dardianazăr Tăndi (7 May 1531- 21 October 1589) was a Caphiran leader,, and former military commander of the Imperial Legion during the 16th century. Born in the southern border province of Ranaella, Tăndi would join the ranks of The Legion at age 16 and devote 6 lustra (30 total years) of his life fighting primarily against Sarpic barbarians in and around Duranis Lake. During a routine patrol, Tăndi witnessed a pirate group pillage a nearby village and went to intervene. The pirates, however, had paid off most of the legionaries prior and were confused at the lone soldier defying them. Tăndi was surrounded and taken captive by the pirate group, who then tortured him until he agreed to join their ranks. Tăndi would then spend the next decade engaging in all acts of piracy against Caphiria. Tăndi played a pivotal role in starting the so-called Truffle Wars, a series of conflicts between Caphiria and Burgundie to locate, cultivate, and harvest rare truffles around the world.

Capture in Töröm
In 1560, a small naval force led by Észükséges of Volon on behalf of Caphiria found Tăndi and a dozen of his men stationed at Töröm, a port town in the western part of the Duranis controlled by the Duchy of Volonia. In a twisted irony, Tăndi's ship had been disabled by a traitor who had been giving information to Észükséges, who cast molten lead into the links of the chain which controlled the ship's rudder. Tăndi and his crew were captured and brought to the nearby Duchy of Volonia, where they were tried for piracy. According to legend, Tăndi offered a chain of gold long enough to enclose the whole of Volonia in exchange for his life and freedom. The Duke entertained Tăndi by asking how Tăndi could possibly accomplish this, to which he replied simply,"tuber." Referring to truffles, Tăndi explained to the Duke that he could smuggle several species from the other side of the world - in Zaclaria. The Duke was impressed with Tăndi's plan and agreed to let him and his 28 men free on one condition: They were to swear allegiance to Volonia, but if they were caught by the Audonians, they were to say they were working for the Imperium. As much as the Duke supported Tăndi's plan, he knew Volonia did not need to pick a fight with the Audonians.

In Audonia (1564-1572)
Leading the Društvari Pirates, Tăndi arrived in Audonia in 1564

Personal life
The exploits of Tăndi were often retold in hyperbolic stories around the Duranis. It is unclear if Tăndi himself paid for these stories to be told or if the details just changed naturally. The most famous legend of Tăndi relates to the story of his capture in Töröm. Tăndi is said to have asked the Duke of Volonia to release as many of his companions as he could walk past after being beheaded. Following the granting of this request and the subsequent beheading, Tăndi's body arose and walked past eleven of his men before the executioner tripped him with an outstretched foot. Nevertheless, the eleven men were executed along with the others. The Duchess asked the executioner if he was not tired after all this, but he replied he could easily execute the whole of the ducal court as well. For this, he himself was sentenced to death and executed by the eldest son of the Duke.