- "Not so fast, chasqui… I'm Don Gonzalo Pardo, and there are two things I do not allow any person to touch: my drink and my horse."
- ―Don Gonzalo talking to Quila, upon spotting her trying to steal his horse,1536[src]
Don Gonzalo Pardo was a Spanish nobleman and member of the Assassin Brotherhood active in Peru during the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in the 16th century.
Biography[]
Assignment in Peru[]
At some point Don Gonzalo was sent by the Brotherhood to infiltrate Francisco Pizarro's men, with the mission to preserve the balance of power in the area and to ultimately prevent the Spaniards from submitting the Incas. Thanks to his Assassin skills, Pardo soon became known as Pizarro's best and favorite killer. However, Don Gonzalo failed to accomplish his mission when he arrived too late to save the life of Emperor Atahualpa in 1533.
During the following years, Don Gonzalo became a large and bloated drunkard haunted by his failure who was often glimpsed, dead drunk on the roadsides, by the traveling natives. While looked upon with contempt by the Incas, most notably by a running courier named Quila, Don Gonzalo was the only Spaniard tolerated by the Incas on their lands during the rebellion of Manco Inca Yupanqui.
Working with Quila[]
In 1536, after she inadverdently discovered a plot to assassinate the Emperor, Quila decided to steal Gonzalo's horse, Felipe, to warn Manco quicker. Unfortunately, the drunkard was awake and drew his sword, threatening the girl and telling her that no one was allowed to touch either his drink or his horse. However at the same moment, the three other Chasquis from whom Quila, out of rivalry, had stolen the message unveiling the plot, caught up with her. They threw a stone at her head with a sling, enraging Don Gonzalo, who added that his third rule was that no one was allowed to touch an innocent in front of him, before stumbling and knocking himself out.
However Quila manage to hold her attackers long enough for Pardo to wake up and to take care of two couriers with one kick, with Quila strangling the last one with the Quipu. After a brief discussion, they elected to share his horse, as she hoped to pass on the conspiracy message as fast as possible to the Emperor in Cuzco. Later as they were making a stop in a tavern to drink and let the horse rest, Pardo took the Quipu detailing the plot, refusing to give it back to Quila and telling her that he was going to save the Emperor. As he was preparing to leave, Quila knocked him out from behind, but struggled to retrieve the message as it is trapped below his heavy and unconcious body. Before she could retrieve it however, a group of Conquistadors arrived. They killed the Inca inkeeper, knocked her out and captured them both and their precious message.
As they are held captive by the conquistadors near a battle site, Pardo managed to antagonise their captor, Diego de Cuervo, until a fight ensued, attracting nearby Inca warriors to their plight. They both managed to escape, but the Quipu was destroyed in the process. As they arrived at Cusco, they parted ways with Quila asking for the help of her former husband, Ayar Acar, to warn the Emperor of the plot against him. Later, as Quila was trying to convince her former father-in-law, Tuti Cusi, an official with considerable political power who held a grudge against her for leaving his son, Pardo bursted into the meeting, drunk. Already not believing Quila due to the lack of evidences, Ayar's father became enraged at the sight of Pardo, accusing Quila of conspiring with a conquistador and sentencing them both to die.
Redemption[]
On their way to the execution site, Pardo revealed that he had infiltrated the Spanish camp near Cusco after leaving Quila. While there, he had discovered that the Spanish allied themselves with an Inca merchant who was also the one who sent the message unveiling the plot and intercepted by Quila. As she was dragged toward Ayar to be executed, Quila finally understood that the traitor was Tuti Cusi, his contacts with the Spanish explaining why he knew Pardo by his name and why he didn't even tried to warn Emperor Manco about a potential threat. At first Ayar refused to believe that his father was a traitor but ultimately realized that she was right as his father only cared for money and power. Professing his undying love for Quila, Ayar attacked the three warriors sent with him by his father, killing them. Believing to be failure, a distraught Pardo told Quila to left him behind and the two Incas left on his horse to save the Emperor.
After their departure, Pardo quickly changed his mind and also left for Cusco. Infiltrating the Palace, the fallen Assassin reached Manco's private chambers just in time to save the Emperor from Tuti Cusi's killer. Pardo throwed a knife into the man's heart as he was about to struck down Manco. However, against all expectations the warrior was still able to fight and they engaged into a vicious brawl after Manco was knocked out. Despite his wound, the tireless killer took the advantage on Pardo and was about to strangle him with his bare hands when Quila freed herself from the grip of Tuti Cusi, biting the hand he held on her mouth. Rushing to the assistance of the spaniard, the young runner threw her body against that of the killer, projecting him through the window, to his death. To thank her for saving his life, the Emperor made Quila his personal messenger.
Later, as they were parting ways, Pardo offered Quila to join the Brotherhood, giving her a Quipu to show to the Assassins if she ever came to accept his offer.
Trivia[]
- In Issue 6, Gonzalo presents himself as Don Gonzalo Pardo before calling himself Gonzalez in the next page and in the following issues. In issues 9 and 10 however, he's referred to as Gonzalo again.
- Gonzalo possessed a horse named Felipe.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
References[]
|