G. C. Lorenzo

Major Gianzio Crestolfano Lorenzo (17 September 1904 – 23 June 1991) was an Acirian soldier, intelligence officer, anthropologist and author. He is best known for his pivotal role in the Volonian revolt (1942-1945) against the Imperium of Caphiria. Due to the wide success of the campaign and his documentation of his experiences in his personal journal, later released as a best-seller book and inspired the nickname Lorenzo of Volonia.

Born in Ruzzo, Aciria, Lorenzo's military career started in 1922 with his mandatory conscription into the Imperial Army. Due to his aptitude in initial tests once he was conscripted, he caught the attention of the commander of the Imperial Guard regiment, who was interested in bringing him into the Imperial Guard. Somewhere between 1930 and 1933 Lorenzo had also caught the attention of PAI recruiters, who eventually transferred him into the PAI and relieved him of his duties as an Imperial Guard. It was shortly after his transfer when he alongside Colonel Verico Ruggieri were sent to modern day Volonia to train and lead Volonian insurgents against Caphiria.

After the end of the war, he stayed with the PAI until 1945 when he resigned and began working at the Imperial University of Trossera to pursue his passion, anthropology. It was during his time at university when his coworker professor encouraged him to publish his wartime journal, which eventually became his first book.

Early life
G.C. Lorenzo was born to Olissana Lorenzo, a maid working and living at a local nobles estate, where he also lived and grew up. The identity of his father was unknown, but Lorenzo recounts believing the lord of the estate to be his biological father. Eventually Lorenzo was married to Vitalio Bariccino, a local civil servant and a veteran of the Great War. Due to his experiences during the war, Bariccino was a staunch pacifist and tried to pass these beliefs to his stepson. G.C. Lorenzo also recounts that the amount he saw Bariccino sober was "an amount you can count with one hand", and often beat his wife and stepson, inspiring Lorenzo to change his surname to his mothers maiden name, Lorenzo, once he turned 18. He went to the Ruzzo Town School for his primary education, before being sent off to a boarding school in Soleramo, paid by the lord of the estate. He attributed his interest in history and anthropology to his history teacher at the boarding school.

Military career
Shortly after his graduation, he joined the Imperial Army to do his mandatory conscription. Following his initial success after entering the army, the Imperial Guard commander of the 6th Imperial Guard Regiment recruited him into the Imperial Guard to join the elite regiment. Despite the challenges the training faced, Lorenzo reportedly enjoyed his time there and eventually finished his military service as part of the Imperial Guard. In 1924 he entered the Imperial University of Trossera to study anthropology, eventually graduating in 1929. Due to the mounting political tensions in the region, Lorenzo was one of many to be recalled to the military service as part of the "Preparatory Phase One", rejoining the 6th Imperial Guard and stationed near the Caphirian border.

Somewhere between 1930 and 1933, a Polizia Amministrativa Imperiale recruiter had received recommendations for Lorenzo, who then contacted Lorenzo and shortly after transferred him to join the PAI. It was during this time when he met Colonel Verico Ruggieri, who quickly he became "very close" with, and Ruggieri took Lorenzo under his wing to help him settle into the PAI. Ruggieri was given the command over the PAI operations in modern day Volonia, and he took Lorenzo in as his second-in-command for the operation, a decision that caused initial disapproval from his peers due to his short time at the agency.

Initial deployment to Volonia
Due to his background in anthropology, in 1934 Lorenzo was sent to the Volonian capital of Caradej under the guise of conducting anthropological studies of the ancient Volonian people with the Imperial University. It was during this mission when he made initial contact with the rebel cells, relaying information from them to Aciria and vice versa. His initial deployment officially ended after the breakout of the war, with another PAI operative returning to Aciria, posing as Lorenzo, while Lorenzo joined the rebels in hiding, training them and relaying further information back and forth between Aciria.

Volonian revolt
PAI involvement in the Volonian independence movements had been an open secret since the early 20th century, with involvement ranging from recruiting to supplying them. Involvement was limited until the years leading up to the Second Great War when operations in the region quickly expanded, with Lorenzo detailing unexpectedly meeting multiple PAI assets, both Acirian and Volonian. Between 1935 and 1939 whilst Lorenzo waited for the arrival of Ruggieri and his handpicked operatives, he spent time making contact with the already established PAI assets and used them to be acquainted with the multiple Volonian independence movements which operated separately, with relations between the movements ranging from tolerant at best to violent at worst. He initially spent time with all the groups to become a neutral entity among them before initiating discussions between the groups to create the "United Volonia Movement", highlighting that despite their differences they all wanted a free Volonia.

Ruggieri and his men arrived into Volonia in 1939, with Lorenzo personally going to make contact with them accompanied by rebel personnel. He escorted them back to one of their field HQ's located in an abandoned train station not far off from Caradej, where he briefed Ruggieri on his progress, followed by him calling the leading elements of various independence movements to the Volonian Convention. It was on 20 July 1939 when the UVM was officially established, with Lorenzo and Ruggieri beginning widespread training to the UVM personnel to prepare them for the coming struggle. It was during this time when Ruggieri began planning reliable supply routes for the PAI to smuggle notable amounts of weapons and supplies for the UVM while staying under the radar from Caphirian officials. Though Lorenzo never disclosed what method Ruggieri ended up on, some historians suspect the smuggling was done via hiding weapons, ammo and other supplies into the anus of both rebels and PAI agents

It wasn't until 1942 when the Volonian Revolt was officially started with the Battle of Caradej and subsequent Capture of Caradej, following pressure from both Acirian military and PAI. Despite this, Lorenzo wrote that both Ruggieri and him were days away from starting the revolt even without pressure from their higher ups.

Post-war career
Lorenzo lived a relatively peaceful and quiet life following the war. He served in the PAI with Ruggieri for two more years after the end of the war before resigning, and being decorated with the Order of the Emperor and the Legion of the Eagle for his valiant efforts in the Volonian Revolt. He began working at Imperial University in the anthropological department, occasionally visiting his colleagues to give lectures based on his experiences during the war. The lectures he held for his colleague, Professor Maceri, eventually lead to Maceri discovering that Lorenzo had kept a journal for the entirety of his five year stay in Volonia. After Lorenzo borrowed it to Maceri, Maceri encouraged him to get it published. Lorenzo did as Maceri suggested, with his journal becoming a best-seller in Aciria.

He stayed at the Imperial University for 15 years before deciding to focus on his writing career, migrating to Montverde for the weather where he lived the rest of his life. His other books that followed his journal weren't nearly as popular, but the royalties from the journal alongside the other books were enough to allow him to live a comfortable life. Lorenzo stayed in regular contact with some of the comrades he made in Volonia, and was a life-long friend of Ruggieri until Ruggieri's death in 1968.

Personal life
Lorenzo was never married. During his lifetime many speculated that he might've been a homosexual and that his relation with Ruggieri was romantic. Some have also interpreted some of his books to have homosexual undertones, but Lorenzo never commented on the interpretations, nor on his own sexuality.

Death
Lorenzo passed away in the summer of 1991 from pneumonia. Following his wishes, he was buried next to his mother in Ruzzo.