Skull

Mariscul "Skull" Mervin was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Medina. He died in 2317 (WR 34).

Personal

Skull was a blue imp, slightly more than four feet tall, and weighing 125 lbs. He had gray eyes, and whipsy strands of white/gray hair circling his head.

Pre-Prime Minister

During Ozzie's rule, Skull formed and led a band of JetBike riding freedom fighters who routinely raided Ozzie's outposts and harassed the tyrant's efforts to impose his iron will on Medina. This band included, among others, Jarrod Rogue and Cronus-Delta. When Guardia and the Grand Army moved to remove Ozzie from power during the KMT War, Skull coordinated with the invading forces, leading to a swift and total victory.

First Term as Prime Minister

The expulsion of Ozzie from Medinan soil in 2311 left a power void that was not immediately filled. King Doan of Guardia desired that his nation’s neighbor would be peaceful and stable, so he dispatched his trusted political advisor Janville Dussert to help the Medinans construct a government. Dussert immediately recognized Skull's potential for leadership, and appreciated his shrewd intellect. Dussert enlisted Skull's help in forging a stable order, and then encouraged the imp to seek the position of Prime Minister in the new government. Dussert left nothing to chance, specifically engineering the first Medinan election to ensure Skull's victory.

Apparent Death

Skull was taken ill at the close of the illustrious Pandora Project. His disease was pronounced incurable, and his death was widely reported. In the hasty election to name a successor Tyurin Cage won in a tightly contested run-off against Guardian-supported Cronus-Delta and Atreus-supported Gorgon Wells. In reality, Skull had not died, but was kept on life support systems despite oddly mismatched brain functions in the basement of the Grand Palace in Medina. It was later discovered, by Mako, that Skull's malady was magical in nature, and had been planted as part of a plot by Ozzie. Mako dispatched a team of MASS agents to enter Skull's thoughts and memories, and defeat the demon virus that was festering there. All members of this team except one died in the effort, but Skull was cured and restored to full health.

Second Term as Prime Minister

Alarmed at what Medina had become under Tyurin Cage, following his recovery Skull immediately reformed his old allies and wrested control away from Cage in a swift four-day conflict that would be known as the Second Medinan Civil War. In the days that followed, elections took place and Skull proved victorious, beginning his second term as Prime Minister. He spent the majority of this term laboring to undo the damage that Tyurin Cage had done and restore Medina's stability, though he met with little real success on these fronts. In 2317 (34 WR) Skull died (for real this time) while in office of natural causes. Following his death, Medina descended into chaos again, leading to the time of the Shadow Barons, and then the rise of Janus Cage.

Legacy and Accomplishments

Skull's first term is largely remembered as a time of great peace and advances in Medina. Though unversed in politics, Skull proved an able Prime Minister, overseeing the founding of an order of police, a standing army, and a functioning judicial system. During this time many of the universities that were persecuted under Ozzie begun to enjoy larger enrollments, and Medina enjoyed new respect and influence in the Web, forging strong ties with Guardia, the Esper Union, Tasnica, and many of the nations of Alter-Dragon. Skull followed Guardia’s lead by instituting a space program, which included a fleet and colonies, and enrolled Medina in the Grand Army Charter Alliance. Political scholars genereally maintain that Skull erred by doing too much and taking a direct role in most of Medina's day-to-day business, expanding the power of the Prime Minister's office in ways that would later allow Tyurin Cage numerous avenues for abuse. Skull's brief second term was mostly bittersweet, as it carried with it a large bounty of fresh hope, only to have it snuffed out by his death, and the chaos that followed.