Zand Gozar

Zand az-Zartosht Gozar (1535–1598) was a Babkhan and Elwynnese physician, biologist, politician and, briefly before the Babkhan Holocaust, shah. Senator of Elwynn (1590–1593), Grand Vizier of Babkha (1590–1596), Shah of Babkha (1598).

Born in Kumarastan, he was as a child considered a Wunderkind and excelled in his studies. He studied biology before going on to medical school to become a physician. Though he was licensed to practise, most of his medical career was spent on research, and he was considered a world-renowned expert on pain and analgesia. Later, he was interested in species-comparative medicine, with research also extending to safir.

The Babkhan community saw him as a well-respected and honourable academic; for those reasons he was appointed Satrap of Kumarastan in 1586. Though the role traditionally was largely ceremonial, Zand became well-acquainted with and interested in politics and governance. However, in 1589, he received an offer from the Alalehzamini authorities to become its Director of Medical Services in the county, which he readily accepted and moved to Elwynn. He received Elwynnese citizenship the same year, and in the beginning of 1590, the Senate elected him a Senator.

As a Senator, Zand’s knowledge impressed Prince Elijah Ayreon who then appointed him an Advisor in the Council of Eliria. Parallel to that, Elijah also appointed Zand the Ambassador to the Nordic Union (Normark). As an ambassador, Zand was instrumental in sowing the seeds that later would bring Normark into the Elwynnese Union, as well as in the negotiations with the Nordic government.

Meanwhile, the same year (1590), in Babkha, Zand stood for the Behsaz Party ticket in the elections for Grand Vizier of Babkha, which he won. He was sworn in and appointed a government. His government had a close relationship with the Elwynnese government, with much intelligence being shared between the two administrations.

However, in 1593, there were problems with accounting and inventory in the Medical Directorate in Islus, with the Elwynnese government outwardly putting the blame on Zand. However, while Zand was not actually involved in any wrong-doing, it was politically expedient for the Elwynnese government to have Zand leave the country for good, due to information suggesting that almost all of Zand's research on analgesia and understanding pain had been conducted unethically. The Senate decided further to eject Zand from the Senate. Understanding the political nature of the matter, Zand was even seen in the Senate casting his vote in favour of his own ejection. He then left Eliria to focus more on Babkhan matters. Nevertheless, Zand continued to have good relations with the Elwynnese government until the end of his tenure as Grand Vizier in 1596.

In 1597, he was made second in line, after Amir Shervanis, to the throne of Babkha. In 1598, Ardashir, the Shah of Babkha, abdicated. Under normal conventions, Amir Shervanis would take the throne, but Zand seized the throne with a small contingent of the Kumarastani militia. About the same time as the abdication, information from Shireroth was leaked that Amir Shervanis was involved in the Jacobite plot of 1597 that saw Jacobus Loki take power in Elwynn following the elections of 1597. The coup was resisted by few, and Zand's support grew very quickly in a matter of days until he was hailed Shah.

Less than a month later, for reasons no one understands, Zand fired all of Babkha's nuclear weapons across all towns and cities in the Euran parts of the kingdom, effectively killing, along with himself, most Babkhans in what was to become the Babkhan Holocaust. This brought an end to Babkha as a sovereign state, and therefore Zand is counted as the last Shah of Babkha.