High Pontiff Daniel I

Daniel I (Common: Daniel I; High Imperial: Daniel I) (1440s – 6th of the Grand Harvest, 1512) was the longest reigning High Pontiff of the Church in recorded history. For his contribution in rejoining the holy scrolls into a single canon, he is commonly referred to as the Reader and with his canonization, canonically known as Saint Daniel of Cyriaum. Born as Siguine Barrow, he was the bastard of the late Otto I, King of Renatus and Salvus, and thus grandson of the Prophet Sigismund.

Daniel I began his pontificate as little more than an adolescent and ended it a withered man. He witnessed three wars and the fall and return of a unified humanity; the Schism War, arguably the most significant of the three, revolved around the distrust faced against him due to his Carrion blood. However, despite the war and strife surrounding humanity, Daniel was a notable pacifist of weak constitution, choosing to the quill for his battles over blade. He earned the church lands and kept its sovereignty and neutrality throughout the period’s crises, establishing the Church’s presence as one significant yet apolitical; a mediator in disputes and center of higher learning.

Prior Pontiffs largely relied on an inconsistent oral tradition to reference and minister faith, but under the reign of Daniel, liturgy, holy scrolls, dogma and histories were chronicled for posterity, enabling the priesthood a far greater understanding of faith and tradition than ever before. He is characterized for his passion for scholarship and academia, evoking a new literary tradition among the clergy. For his role in the Schism War, he is named one of three Defenders of the Canon - the other two being Saint Emma of Woldzmir and Saint Otto of Vanderfell.

Legacy
Daniel I's leading role in reestablishing the Church of the Canon after the near decade of state-governed faith, as well as pious and benevolent nature, solidified the church among the people once more. He is widely considered the founder of modern Canonism, his tradition of passing Golden Bulls being norm with his successors and his establishment of the electing council (now called the College of Cardinals) still used as the selecting body for the succeeding pontifical head.