Hoyt Gunterbull

Hoys Gunterbull is the very first president of Conquista.

Public History

A member of the Casian tribe, Gunterbull is credited with being a brilliant strategist and a member of the precursors to los Hombres Valientes during the time that Conquista was still an Island of Terror. He leveraged his military fame, battling the horrors that regularly came surging out of the Mists, into political capital. He argued that the nation's system of government required an overhaul and transparency, playing on the fact that the first incarnation of los Viejos Sagrados was too secretive and might even be considered to be usurpers, as they had displaced the priests of Taiia.

Gunterbull became Conquista's very first democratically-elected president in 711 BC. He was backed by the military and created the political party known as Supremacía to achieve power. Once he was in power, he designed the structure and mechanics of modern Conquistan government, and did much to build up the military and weaken los Viejos Sagrados until they were little more than his pet scientists. He left office in 715 BC, retiring to a palatial villa paid for by government funds and living there in splendor until the day of his death. His autobiography, Salvando la Conquista, is still required reading for school children all over the domain.

After Gunterbull's retirement, he was succeeded as president by Erik Altermount.

The Truth

In truth, Gunterbull was neither a brave warrior nor a skilled commander of troops. He certainly was no cunning orator. Instead, he was a coward who abandoned his army unit in the face of a wave of Mist-spawned horrors. Torn by guilt and a desire to somehow redeem himself, he was an easy mark for the Red Haunt and la Infestacíon when they were looking for a figurehead ruler for their scheme to introduce a twisted version of democracy to Conquista. Gunterbull signed on the dotted line without hesitation.

Everything Gunterbull is now credited with doing, he owes to the two Fiends. If he fought like a hero, this is because he was secure in their protection. If he wielded brilliant strategies, these were whispered into his ear by his unholy sponsors. His political rallies, his cunning arguments, the charisma he displayed: all were given to him by the Demon and the Devil in order to rewrite the domain's political landscape - and he never had a clue as to why they did it.

Current Sketch

Gunterbull died of natural causes, but his soul lingers in Conquista - trapped in la Infestacíon's phylactery, the jeweled ring that is the main regalia of the Conquistan presidents. He never understood the nature of his sponsors, nor the reasons why they did it all. His soul is still ignorant, and is still regularly tortured by the Erinyes that now owns him.