| Renaldo van Duyn | |
|---|---|
| |
| Biographical information | |
| Born |
12 May 1652 |
| Died |
1 July 1694 |
| Political information | |
| Affiliations | |
| Real-world information | |
Renaldo van Duyn was a Dutch nobleman, the founder of the Van Duyn Company and a high-ranking member of the Templar Order, who lived during the 17th century in Peru. He is an ancestor of Johannes van Duyn.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Renaldo was born on 12 May 1652 in the Netherlands, but when he was still a newborn he moved with his family to France. Renaldo therefore grew up in his uncle's former home on the outskirts of Amiens, along with his four brothers, all boys. After his father died due to a sort of "accident", Renaldo took over his father's fortune and disappeared without leaving traces. Renaldo moved to Spain where he married and opened a thriving business that he called Van Duyn Company. In this period of his life, Renaldo met Tomas Torres y Ayala. Renaldo discovered that Tomas had ties to the West Indies, and that he was a Spanish nobleman. Tomas confided to Renaldo that she was the leader of the Templar Order and invited Renaldo to enter the Order, Renaldo accepted immediately. In November 1682, Renaldo was officially introduced into the Order. During his time as a Templar in Spain, Renaldo with the money he got from his business, gave the necessary funds to the Spanish Templars to send supports to other templar rites in Europe and South America. Renaldo served the Spanish Rite well and often accompanied Tomas on his travels to Cuba, and also met his son, Laureano.
Templar-affaires[]
In January 1687, Renaldo was commissioned by Tomas to travel to Peru, and to help the decadent Peruvian Rite. Renaldo accepted the mission with difficulty, and in March 1687, he was in Lima with all his family. In the months after, Renaldo made contact with all the Templars present in the country, taking under his service; Manuel Cruzado, Elvira Hurtado, Eugenie Loyola and Marguerite Flores. Cruzado was a captain of the Spanish Army and controlled many soldiers in Lima. Hurtado was a slave owner, and provided soldiers for the Templars and even money. Loyola was a criminal and controlled the city of Chiclayo. Flores had contacts with the Incas and settled in Cusco, as a researcher of Pieces of Eden. The local leader had died a year ago and Renaldo decided to take over the reins of the Peruvian Rite, so he swore loyalty to all the Templars, after which he made sure that Peru fell into the hands of the Templars.
As an unofficial leader of the Peruvian rite, Renaldo obtained the rank of Master Templar and in 1688, Peru was under Templar control. Renaldo commissioned Flores to look for possible pieces of Eden in the region or whatever was in it in the First Civilization. Meanwhile, Renaldo had taken an estate in Lima with his family, and controlled the capital of the country; moreover, a young indigenous woman named Pita was taken as a servant. For about three years, the Templar control in Peru found no obstacle. In March 1692, Renaldo received a letter from Flores, telling him that he was looking for a piece of Eden in Machu Picchu. Renaldo replied, telling him to keep him informed of everything he would find or do in the program. Renaldo waited for Flores's replies for more than a month, but nothing came; Renaldo commissioned his personal assassin Daniel Vertiz to go to Machu Picchu.
At the end of April, Vertiz returned to Renaldo and informed him that Machu Picchu was full of hooded figures and Flores or his men had no trace. Renaldo immediately understood that the local Assassins had probably killed Flores or perhaps even had the piece of Eden. Renaldo sent a letter to all his lieutenants, telling him to come to his estate for a meeting. During the meeting, Renaldo reiterated his lieutenants that they would continue to do their job, and that they should be very attentive to the Peruvian Assassins. At one point all the Templars heard a suspicious noise behind the door, Vertiz suddenly threw open the door, revealing that behind it was Pita, Renaldo's indigenous servant. Pita tried to escape but Vertiz grabbed her by the hair and made her kneel in front of Renaldo.
Cruzado said that Pita had heard all that, Renaldo told Loyola to take her away and get rid of it. Afterwards, the four Templars continued to talk about their business but at a certain point, since Loyola was no longer returning, Renaldo became suspicious and went to the courtyard, along with the other Templars. The four found the corpse of Loyola and some guards on the courtyard floor. Pita was gone. Vertiz analyzed the bodies and said that, in the way they were killed and the kind of wounds they had, they were killed by the Assassins. For the rest of 1692, the Templars had no further losses and Hurtado and Cruzado continued their work; Renaldo knew that it certainly was not over with the killers. Chiclayo had fallen under the protection of the assassins, and the Templars no longer had contacts there. In spring 1693, Renaldo commissioned Vertiz to guard the body in Cruzado, who was one of his strongest lieutenants.
In June 1693, Renaldo received Vertiz, who informed him that Cruzado had been killed by the Assassins. Vertiz also said that there was a woman with a hood, who looked very much like Pita, Renaldo's former servant. It was she who had killed Cruzado. Renaldo was furious at the loss of Cruzado, so the Templar grip on Lima had been greatly weakened. In September, Hurtado was killed in turn. In the autumn, Renaldo commissioned Vertiz, his last remaining man to find and kill the Mentor of the Peruvian assassins while, he thought of recruiting new men and women for the Templars cause. Renaldo succeeded in recruiting several women and men to serve the Order, while Vertiz was found dead near Cusco in January 1694.
Death[]
On July 1, 1694, Renaldo was in his villa in Lima, sitting in an armchair and reading a novel. Months earlier, he had celebrated his 42th birthday and the Order's business was in total decline. All his lieutenants were dead, the men he had recruited had all been wiped out and Peru was in the hands of the Peruvian Assassins. The officials of the Renaldo company had been killed and many ships had been sunk by the Atlantic Ocean, and the main source of money for the Templars was declining. Renaldo knew that the assassins would soon reach him, but he did not know whether to run away, ask for help from other Rites or commit suicide. Renaldo had sent his family away to Havana for fear that the Assassins could take it out on their own.
Renaldo heard footsteps behind him and turned, Pita was behind him in a Assassin dress. The girl looked at Renaldo, smiling and asked if he remembered her. Renaldo said she had come for him, and Pita said yes. Renaldo accused Pita of having ruined his life, and cursed her and the whole Brotherhood. Pita replied that people like him did not deserve to be in the world they wanted to control. Renaldo said he would not give him such satisfaction, and immediately took a gun from the table, carrying it to his head. Pita grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground, Pita stabbed him in the chest, killing him. In his last moments, Renaldo thanked Pita for having freed him from the enormous weight that was his role as Templar, after which he breathed his last breath.