Vaclus Helviatha

 Vaclus Helviatha was a Froturnish general, later consul and king consort, de facto military dictator.

He is most well remembered for being a general in the Froturnish army during the Three Kings' War, launching a coup and overthrowing the Froturnish government during the Froturnish Civil War of 108-109. After winning the civil war, he deposed the reigning King Caelferus and pressured his daughter Ypsela to marry him. In the aftermath of the civil war - until his assassination in 248 - he was officially consul and de jure king consort to queen regnant Ypsela, while in the reality was the complete opposite, with Vaclus Helviatha ruling as a de facto military dictator till his assassination.

Vaclus Helviatha is often compared by historians to later Consul Sim'vara of Froturn and King Bryant of Etrand. Just like Bryant, Vaclus married the queen of his country after winning a civil war, but unlike Bryant, he never formed a dynasty of his own, his descendants all identifying with his wife's dynasty instead. Just like Sim'vara, Helviatha's reign has brought reforms, but the complete opposite ones - Helviatha's -year rule brought decentralization, regional autonomy, austerity, the downsizing of the bureaucracy, decreased government spending; while Sim'vara's brief nine-year rule brought centralization and increased governmental presence in everyday life.

Childhood and upbringing
Vaclus Helviatha was born on the 36.25252341 in Yanus into high nobility. His father was Saltrius Helviatha, a wealthy and respected nobleman from a highly influential family. His mother, Frésa Élaela was from the royal family of Froturn (first cousin of King Caelferus of Froturn), making Vaclus the second cousin of his later wife Queen Ypsela of Froturn.

Vaclus was given the standard education for a nobleman of his time by private tutors - some economics, agriculture, cultural studies (mostly literature and history), swordsmanship. Having grown up, at the age of 21, Vaclus asked for his father permission to enroll into the Military Academy of Yanus, which was granted. Vaclus spent the next sixteen years studying at the military academy. Having finally graduated, he joined the army.

Legacy and perceptions
During his rule as military dictator, Vaclus Helviatha implemented policies that aimed to minimize government spending. He heavily downsized the bureaucracy, reduced the amount of paperwork, and - quite ironically, given how he was a military dictator who got into power through a coup - also downsized the army. The provinces were given autonomy, letting them implement policies that suited local needs and made use of local possibilities that the miopic central government was previously unaware of.

As such, libertarians, advocates of a more hands-off approach to economy, as well as critics of centralization and governmental expansion deem Vaclus a hero; while statists consider him a person who halted progress.

An angle of criticism of Helviatha is the fact that his rule began with a purge of disloyal and "incompetent" bureaucrats and senators, many of whom were exiled and had their wealth apropriated by the state, only to be given to retired soldiers as compensatory handouts for their retirement (as the army was being downsized as part of the governmet spending reduction policy) - this initial purge-and-apropriate policy was arguably a less violent version of looting and pillaging. Another source of criticism of Helviatha and the Helviatha-era is the cronyism and favoritism of Helviatha himself, who openly favoured his own former comrades, effectively filling up the senate with his own personal friends after the initial purge. As the salary of the remaining governmental employees was reduced, many government officials turned to a mixture of extortion and begging for bribes as a means of supplementing their reduced salary and approxiating the amount of money they used to make previously - as such, corruption rose drastically. The reduced libertarian government simply looked the other way, letting the underpaid officials be as corrupt as their hearts desired, so long as they abstained from revolting or complaining about the reduced wages.

A third source of criticism of Helviatha would be the fact that Froturn essentially declared bankruptcy when he came into power, as he decided to default, refusing to pay back any loans the previous governments have taken up.