Pholomir Zarmal

General Pholomir Zarmal
Born	(1943-10-26) October 26, 1943
Allegiance	Against Pontanore
Intelligence Service	Damosca
Active duty	34
Rank	Bureau Chief

General Pholomir Volmar Zarmal (born: 26 October 1943) was a high-ranking Caropsyne military office and the Bureau Chief of the Damosca before its dissolution in 2000. He is currently at large and wanted by Pontanore authorities for committing treason against the Pontanore Government. In addition, Zarmal has oustanding arrest warrants in connection for an array of atrocities, terrorist attacks, and murders he either personnally committed or oversaw as the de facto leader of the former intelligence service. He is the cruelist and most ruthless man in the world. During his tenure at the legal Damosca, Zarmal had a reputation for secrecy and a sinister calmness in dealing with problem cases.

Under the Fostana

Any information on Zarmal's childhood, education, or personal life is unknown. The first official reference to Pholomir is his induction into the Damosca at the age of 23 in 1966. He would prove to his superiors his talents and skills from self-defense to codebreaking and counter-intelligence. The Fostana would engage in a conflict with Loslakia in the 1970's which resulted in the State taking control of Gregon. Zarmal was an active agent in the field in assisting in a disinformation campaign. He would crop up again in 1982 when war broke out between Carops and Ardalia in 1982, he was a commander orchestrating the bombing efforts that slowed down resistance by the enemy and for a time acted as a double-agent in the Ardalian military, feeding critical information to the military. Following that conflict, he was elevated to Colonel by General Golmas Jarmald who was in charge of the Damosca, and the Fostana's military advisor. He would make great use of his position to build an extensive network within the military.

Communist and socialist organizations had begun to get bolder, with covert support by Loslakia, to overthrow the Fostana and replace the State with a marxist system of government. Alarmed, the Communist Party's Chairman Garel Hermalas was assassinated in 1988 in what was considered a Damosca exercise and a show of force. Zarmal is now known to have been responsible for arranging the hit on orders by Jarmald. Fostana Rule was on the decline by 1990 due to numerous scandals, controveries and pro-democracy and pro-socialist movements. The Communist Party institgated a nationwide uprising in 1991 led by Meltham Hermalas, Garel's son. Men under Zarmal's command would assassinate him along with arresting and killing thousands which would bring an end to the insurrection. For his actions in protecting the state, he was officially tapped as Bureau Chief in late 1991. As second-in-command, he oversaw Damosca activities in Ariatra during the 1992 Protests. Although he had managed to curtail the worst elements, the Fostana were eventually forced to concede to the demands of the crowds.

Fostana Chair Rolmand Roth declared that the Pontiana would be reopened and elections would be held in April 1993. Jarmald, believing that an elected government would attempt to bring him to court over the activities he had undertaken while in charge of the organization, started assembling support for Zarmal's promotion to Chair but he was unable to achieve this as incoming Premier Phodric Dormond had made it clear he would be appointing his own Chair. This would set up an inevitable power struggle.

Under Dormond

Pholomir would continue to be Bureau Chief throughout Dormond's Premiership. He would appoint decorated General Larimas Folmer over Zarmal. Though he was not Chair, he still had tremendous sway within the Damosca as it second-in-command, and would build up a close relationship with both the Premier and his closest political ally, Haldric Maldian who was serving as both Defense and Interior Minister. Pholomir would use his position to keep expanding his influence and power with the military - he knew it would be useful in due time.

During Dormond's tenure, the military and police forces would see triple the amount of Creditas invested than what had been expended under Fostana Rule. Zarmal would siphon millions that would have gone to the army or navy to the Damosca. By 1996, the Damosca was the best-equipped and most modernized of the Pontanore's forces. The Fostana believed that the Premier would use his newfound authority to rebuild international relations with nations they had hurt during their sixty-year rule, that would not happen.

By way of Zarmal, Dormond an aggressive foreign policy that were considered antgonistic against countries whose foreign policy disagreed with that of the Pontanore's. Zarmal would instruct agents to commit a range of assassinations, bombings, and poisonings upon numerous countries, including Curiastan, because he believed (and made Dormond accept) that they were threats to the Pontanore's long-term influence in developing countries. Dormond, wanting to grab more oil in Jajiland for Zilmo Caropso, enlisted Zarmal and the Damosca to force the Jaj landowners to give up their land. This backfired as Zarmal had some of the landowners killed and Dormond had to resign in response to the Great Oil Crisis of 1996. Zarmal's actions would forment into a much bigger crisis a year later.

Using his power as Bureau Chief secretly gave the former Premier a desk job at the Damosca for his cooperation in progressing his agenda.

in which she claimed the Premier was responsible for organizing (possibly with Damosca support) the Great Oil Crisis of 1996 and accused him of being ruled by the intelligence service itself into pursing a violent and bloody foreign policy. Dormond resigned afterward and was succeded by his political ally Maldian following a snap election, however, the former Premier was given a desk job at the Damosca.

Under Maldian

Zarmal had soldified his power base over the last year of Dormond's tenure to finally put an end to the power struggle between himself and General Larimas Folmer. For the preceeding six months, he was able to transfer executive power from the position of Chairman to that of the Bureau Chief. This effectively reduced Folmer's role to that of a civil servant. Under Pontanore law, the Damosca was accountable not just the Premier but also the Defense Minister, Goriath Moscana. This would matter little as he was essentially the most powerful person in the country and could use the level of resources and influence he had acquired over the years to determine the course of government policy. Having lost the struggle, Folmer would join the Defense Ministry and serve as Pontiana Military Liason. With his former Chair out of the way, Zarmal was officially in charge of the Damosca. He had built a relationship with now-Premier Maldian and pushed him to increase his aggression against Curiastan, espeically with the rise of Dictator Andart Sadner.

In April 1997, Zarmal was informed through placed agents abroad that Curian Intelligence was planning to kidnap Maldian's sworn political enemy Miria Seranoda from her hiding place in Ardalia and bring back to their country due to her knowledge of not just the Damosca's activities but more so for her information on Operation Greensloth. The General convinced Maldian that it was imperative to get to her first to prevent the Curians from using the opportunity to win a propaganda victory against the Pontanore. Maldian was angry but gave permission for the operation. Damosca agents, led by Zarmal personally, snuck into Ardalia, captured her just in advance of the Curians and brought her to Euvodora. He said he would give her (and force Maldian to accept though told her he was willing to 'forgive' her) the position of Administrator-General of the state in exchange for her to keep her criticism of the government private. Zarmal knew this would not be the end of his trouble with the former Foreign Minister.

A year after the events of the Oil Crisis, the Pontanore State of Chonoré (also known informally as Jajiland) was in complete rebellion, sparked by the Jaj Independence Front led by Soso Lamorra. Maldian, with a little pressure by Zarmal, decided to put down the insurrection with overwhelming force. Tens of thousands of soldiers were deployed to the state to put down the JIF. The Damosca were also instructed to assist in supressing the movement before it spread throughout the rest of Polythia. Zarmal organized dozens of smaller squadrons to eliminate JIF fighters and their supporters in major cities. His men were also ordered to assassin the Front's second-in-command Chandi Zaka. As they continued their efforts in Jajiland, Damosca agents spotted Curian Intelligence agents amongst the JIF (who had been sent by Sadner to support the rebels). Upon learning this, Zarmal ordered them to be dealt with ruthlessly and publically. One agent had his brutalized body shown on international television, after being mauled by dogs. Zarmal's men would also kill an unknown (but possibly high) number of innocent Jaj.

Through Maldian's Premiership, Zarmal would open up several secret bases around the world in which he would operate covert operations, in the name of the Pontanore. Many of these activities would be directed towards the Curian Bloc. He would also orchestrate a wide-reaching espionage campaign.

However, Maldian's foreign policy (and by extension Zarmal's) would eventually provoke sigificant domestic and international response. Defense Minister Moscana, Health Minister Permentanna, former Foreign Minister Seranoda, and the Fostana conspired to take down Haldric Maldian's government before it could cause any further chaos. Rolmand Roth, Chair of the Fostana, instigated the Caropsyne Constitutional Crisis of 2000 by marching on the Pontiana. The Fostana demanded the lower chamber's Executive Committee to remove the Premier and call for immediate elections. Seranoda would present a damning array of evidence showing the enormous links between the Dormondist political grouping and military and Damosca figures and the later's high level of influence over government policy - plus documents proving their involvement in a wide range of horrendous bombing attacks, assassinations, and possible genocide in Jajiland.

Zarmal was kept informed the Executive Committee's actions by informants on the inside. When he learned that a resolution had passed removing Haldric, Pholomir decided to take matters into his own hands. Zarmal and several dozen Damosca agents snuck into the basement of the Pontiana through the sewer system. Under the cover of smoke, he ordered the attack upon the members of both chambers, giving little regard for political party. He would use force to keep Maldian in power. His agents attempted to get at Seranoda and her allies but after several hours, his 'coup' was deemed a failure as the Casmara arrived. Pholomir and his most loyal men were able to elude capture and fled the scene.

Since the Siege of the Pontiana

Miria Seranoda became Premier following Haldric Maldian's suicide. Her first act was to officially dissolve the discredited Damosca and proclaim it a terrorist organization. Seranoda would label him a racist, a fascist, and a political opportunist. Led by Defense and Interior Minister Moscana, the various police forces (including the Casmara and Sadriana) issued an arrest warrant for Zarmal on the charge of treason against the State with a reward of fifty million Creditas.

Pholomir and his supporters refused to acknowledge each Pontanore Government and had to eek out a dangerous existence in the shadows of Caropsyne society, at risk of investigation and removal at any time. The safest place for him and the Damosca old guard was in various places throughout Polythia. Zarmal himself would hide in a secluded estate in rural Zarta protected by his most loyal and fanatical members.

He would remain in contact with numerous individuals in the Pontanore Government and Military who on the outside presented loyality to the state but inside were sympathic to the 'nationalist' cause. People would include former Premier Phodric Dormond, Civil Directorate Secretary Limia Cattanna, General Vilmer Zarpalde, General Lenas Gelmer, General Garel Gormento, General Larimas Gresc, and General Jenas Malvanzo.

The Damosca under Zarmal would undertake numerous raids and attacks upon the Pontanore over the better part of the next two decades. Zarmal would attempt to both assassinate Almas Josc and overthrow his government in 2019, only for both to fail.