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Video: Act 1 Scene 2, Shards of the Past - Part 1

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Missing Persons Investigation

Name of subject: Razitof Azrus, 39
Occupation: Regenti
Date of report: 29th Picca, 407IL
Inspettore attached: Ophina Triana
Details:
On the 39th of Ruvida, 407IL, Regenti Razitof Azrus was tasked with elucidating the methods through which Mascherines were created. He was appointed this task by Vaorone Avestus Aliarme.

On the 43rd of Ruvida, he submitted his first update to the Vaorone concerning his findings. In it, he writes that he believed that, "for something as core to the Dimenticate civilisation as Mascherines, there must be anthropological evidence regarding their existence and creation that [he] can find through detailed study of Dimenticate history." He continues on, writing that "a visit to the Conoscenza must be paid. [He] is sure to find what he needs, there."

A loose sheet found within his report reveals what specifically he was in search for - "books that talk about the Dimenticate and power, about wielding immense power. Creating power, using it to expand or anything that even remotely smacks of strength or supremacy - these are good places to start." I will head to the Conoscenza tomorrow to speak to Kairi.

Date of update: 30th Picca, 407IL.

Kairi has said that Razitof never approached her for assistance. None of the Vegilus that I've spoken to have seen him around in the past month. He must have either done his work in secrecy or never followed up on his original plan. Tomorrow I intend on returning to the Conoscenza - following his leads will bring me closer to his current whereabouts, I am certain.

Date of update: 38th Picca, 407IL.
NOTE: The investigation has been handed over to Inspettore Corvus Djividus. Inspettore Ophina's corpse was found in her room at approximately dusk on the 33rd of Picca.

The investigation has taken a darker turn, Ages forbid, and it is growing steadily. Avestus has told me to focus on Razitof and to do so quietly - whoever did that to Ophina is still out there. I do not know how well I will sleep at night knowing these halls are not safe, but the Vaorone has reminded me that if someone was out to stop us from finding Razitof, it must mean that he knows something; Avestus believes that finding the Regenti is of higher priority than identifying Ophina's murderer. If I can find both along the way, that'd be ideal, but... Ages, I'll be the first to admit that I might've been put in waters too deep for me. I have spoken to Lucia and warned her about the treachery - if Ophina was a target than none of us are safe. Darius, Pasha and Riva aren't in the Citte at the moment and for their sakes, I am glad. Damn it, where is Cicero when you need him?

No matter. I must focus.

Tomorrow I will check Razitof's office. I think it's a prudent place to begin. At least it isn't in my poor friend's bloody footprints. I hope she gets a good song.

Update: 39th Picca, 407IL.

Nothing. His office clearly doubled as his living quarters; he'd holed himself up in there for quite some time- or at least had planned to, but there is nothing amiss.

But then again, something didn't quite feel right when I was in there. In fact something hasn't quite felt right since I started this investigation. Silent songs, the others always mocked my superstitious ways, but how can I deny a feeling so strong? I cannot put my finger on it, but I can swear by the Ages that I am being watched. If anything is to happen to me and if this case somehow falls into someone else's hands, know that I advise caution. Lucia, if that next person is you... Songs, get out of here while you still can.

Tomorrow I plan to figure out what it is exactly that has been causing the hairs on my neck to rise. Once I deal with that, I believe I'll be able to better focus on the task at hand.

Update: 41st Picca, 407IL.
NOTE: The remains of Inspettore Corvus' body have been found in his personal residence in the Dim Way. The investigation is pending action.

Update: 42nd Picca, 407IL.
NOTE: A letter has been sent to the Kevali Fields, summoning former Inspettore Cicero Gavar back to Ombre.

Update: 3rd Scendera, 407IL.
NOTE: The investigation has been handed over to former Inspettore Cicero Gavar.

Lead: Razitof's Office, Conoscenza.

Welcome back.

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Razitof Azrus

Never in my wildest imaginations had I ever thought that my relationship with this bespectacled friend of mine would turn out the way it did. Quiet and reserved, Razitof and I had first met in the Conoscenza while I'd been preparing for the dreadful Accredita. Mescenza is my least favourite of all the Media - most things I've learnt, I've learnt on the streets, not between the pages of a book.

Razitof, however, was quite the opposite. A lover of histories and theorems, I initially could not stand his presence. Facts and postulations seemed to bleed forth from every inch of his being, from his head right down to the ends of his boots. He'd seen me struggling with the calculus section of the paper I'd been working on, in one of the deeper and more isolated sections of the Conoscenza - I was preparing (attempting to, at least) for my Accredita the following day - and he could barely keep it to himself.

"You need to use Radorick's theorem for that." His voice was thin, reed-like, and left the silence of the Conoscenza quite untouched.

"Excuse me?" I said, turning to my left, where he sat. The image to this day, I recall with perfection - a soft hat far too large for his head; small spectacles perched atop a thin nose.
Way-too-big floppy hats seem to be Vegilus standard issue.

He pulled back slightly. Perhaps I'd spoken too loudly, offended the silence that he might've found sacred. "I said," he said, even softer than before, "Radorick's theorem."

Radorick's theorem. What did he think I was, a scholar?

"Here," he said, inching a little closer before coming to a stop. He held out his hand. It quivered a little. "If I may?"

"Be my guest," I said, pushing over my quill and my papers to him.

"Now," he said, and he began to explain the process to solve the question. I couldn't repeat the steps to you now if I tried, but enough of that technique stayed in my mind that I passed that section of the Accredita the day after.

What surprised me even more, though, was that he'd come for the ceremony that evening. He sought me out after it ended.

"Cicero?" He'd said it from behind, just as I was leaving the hall. I turned and recognised him immediately.

"Razitof? What are you doing here?"

"I... well, I came to see how you did," he replied as he wrung his hands. I found that curious. Why would he care?

"I did fine. I passed," I replied, still somewhat wary. What did he want from me?

"Oh," he said as he breathed out, clearly relieved. "Excellent news. Just excellent."

"Why?" I asked, frowning.

"Why excellent? Why not! I was hoping you'd do well, see. I know it might sound selfish, but I was hoping that I'd been a good enough tutor, last night, and here you are - passing! I was so worried about you when you told me your Accredita was today - with your calculus at that standard, Ages did you need help, all right! And now you've done fantastic! I knew you could do it, I just did!"

And that was the moment that I began to believe that beneath that blustering exterior, behind all those books and theorems and ideas, lay a heart among the most sincere I would come to know. And that belief has been proven true, time and time again...

And now he's missing. Now, for perhaps the first time in my life, I'm in a position to help him and not the other way around.

I have to find him.

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The Seimora and Guild Politics

The six guilds of Ombre are collectively known as the Seimora, and they comprise the Sorelle del Mare, the Luca Infinita, the Labores Solis, the Altus Nobilis, the Dieci Sovrani and the Cacciatore.

Thought these are certainly by no means the only guilds the Citte has ever known, they are the only ones that have withstood the whittling test of time, and, together with the Registry, make up all of the Masquerada of the Citte.

Despite their commonality in possessing Mascherines, however, the Seimora are rife with disagreement, and the politics that course between them are far too convoluted to spell out simply. Suffice to say, it is nearly impossible to bring all of the Seimora together in a single room without having them at each other's throats.

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The Hall of Bearings

After the Registry began recognising the guilds of Ombre and established the rules of their relationship, its collection of Mascherines grew steadily. For a long time, these Mascherines that had been paid to the Registry as tribute from the guilds had been stored in various caches all over the Citte. When the Pale Isle was claimed and the White Spire built, these Mascherines were transported to a hall that the Registry had constructed specifically for the storage of these Mascherines: the Hall of Bearings.

No matter how skilled a Masquerada is or how fancy their Mascherine, they can only ever wield one of the elements: Air, Earth, Fire, Water, or Updog. Here you have to choose which skill set Cicero will be using for the entire game.



Fire skills revolve around ranged damage and Focus recovery, with little extra movement.



Earth skills grant more status effects and an immobile but indestructible summon.



Water skills offer a little of everything, except for long-range AoEs.



Air skills provide lots of positioning, but no summon.

This is one of the big changes NG+ makes for you: you get to skip the choice and have access to all four of Cicero's skilltrees at any time. That's like... triple the skills! But for story purposes...

Codex entries lying on the stairs where anyone could trip over them, pathos ghost lights left carelessly switched on...what is Valice even doing around here?! This is the kind of work you get when 60% is a passing grade.



Each Mascherine has a unique Mask Ultimate ability. You gain Mask Ultimate by using your skills in combat; in most fights you'll be able to use your party's Ultimates once or twice each.



Mask Ultimates aren't as strong as Final Fantasy limit breaks or Trails S-crafts but they're still useful.



Cicero's element also determines which Mascherines he can wear; the upshot of having all four elements for NG+ is that you also get all four of his Mascherine sets.



On top of that, finding one of Cicero's Mascherines in NG+ will earn you four--one in each element.



Out of these starting four I think the water Ultimate, Absolute Zero, will be best.



All skills cost the same: 2 points for the initial purchase, 1 additional point for a first-tier upgrade, 2 for second-tier, and 3 for third-tier. Each and every skill gives you a choice of two upgrades at two of the tiers; you can only pick one or the other, never both.

On a new game you can only reset your skill points at your home base, which you don't get until the second act. NG+ lets you respec right from the word go, any time you're not in battle.

I'll start out with the following skills for Cicero:

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The Tesoro

"You're not serious," Cyrus said, as a smile began to blossom upon his lips. "You can't be serious. Are you serious?"

I held up the paperwork. "Everything's been signed for. You can read it if you want."

"You're serious! By the Ages, you're serious!" He laughed as he turned his gaze away from me, the blue light of the Tesoro bathing his features. He took a step towards it, his eyes darting up and down as he admired the relic's beauty. "How?"

"Must I remind you that I'm not just a simple Portieri, anymore?" I asked, as I pinched the corner of my cape and waved it about. The fabric still grated against my shoulder as I brandished it. I was told that I'd break into it eventually, and it'd soon feel like a second skin.

"Besides, Ivantino's getting old and the Registry was looking for a replacement," I said, turning to face the Custodian. "Isn't that right?"

His older face was framed in the blue light of the Tesoro as well, but his eyes weren't filled with the same wonderment I saw in Cyrus'. The azure wash didn't bring to the surface any measure of awe - reasonably so, for he'd been the Custodian for over a decade, now. Instead, it highlighted the shadows under his eyes, the crispness in the line of his lips.

"Sure is," Ivantino replied as he stared at the pillar of light. I frowned slightly - there was something in his voice, something hollow. I couldn't quite put a finger on its nature, though I heard both sorrow and anger in the space between his words. "Anyway, there's one last thing that we need to do, your brother and I," he said as he walked over to Cyrus, the perplexing tension in his voice disappearing as quickly as it had come. He held out a little contraption - a bloomer. "You know how this works?" he asked Cyrs.

"Well, I will soon, won't I?" he replied.

"I suppose so," the old man said, sighing. "I'd best get the materials we need, then."

"Materials?" Cyrus said, a note of worry in his voice.

"What, you thought it was going to be this simple? No, my young friend," Ivantino chuckled. "The bloomer is a complicated piece of equipment. You must be precise and well versed in its mechanisms before I fully hand it over to your care."

Cyrus shot me a glare. I thought I was done with studying!

I shrugged.

"Give my just a moment, I'll be back with the books," Ivantino said as he walked away to fetch the materials, leaving my brother and I under the quiet watch of the Tesoro.

I stepped up beside him. "Excited?"

"Apart from the prospect of burying my nose in pages again," he said, pausing as the mood shifted. "Yes." He sniffed and dropped his voice a notch. "Thank you, Cicero, for this."

"It pays better," I said, and was surprised at the edge and forcefulness in my voice.

Cyrus did not miss the insinuations. "I-" He choked a little. He swallowed. "I'll do you proud, I promise."

A twinge of guilt twisted my heart. Was I so mistrusting of my brother that my first reaction to his promotion was not to congratulate him, but was instead to dull the moment with a warning?

Yet how could I not feel this reservation about his motivations?

He seemed genuinely enthusiastic, yet all I could think of was how he might seek to use his new position to somehow further his cause for the Contadani. After all, that seemed to be the only thing on his mind nowadays - constantly, he'd be complaining about how poorly the Contadani were treated in the Citte, and how someone should do something. But what was he really saying? That we were that someone? That it was our responsibility to-

"Brother?" he said quietly, snapping me out of my thoughts. "What's the matter?"

I felt the muscles in my forehead and around my lips suddenly relax - I had been frowning, scowling.

I sighed, pushing away the worry. I shouldn't be harboring such thoughts at a moment such as this. This was a joyful occasion. Be joyful.

"Nothing," I replied with a smile, and put my hand on his shoulder. "I was just thinking about how much less I'll be seeing you around."

"That's not true," he replied, a broad smile crossing his face. "Now you'll know exactly where to find me. No more patrols, no more wandering around the Conoscenza. Now I'll be here! And now the onus will be on you to come visit," he said, as Ivantino returned, arms cradling a stack of books and parchments. "So come visit, all right?"

I laughed and nodded. Of course I would visit.

Time proved me wrong; in the years to come, I visited my brother in the Hall of Bearings twice, at most.

Maybe things would have turned out differently if I hadn't left him so alone. Maybe not.

-

The Tesoro sits at the heart of the Hall of Bearings, and is one of the few pieces of Dimenticate technology that still work.

The Vegilus suspect that the Tesoro was an organisational tool that the Dimenticate used to catalogue and compartmentalise their Mascherines. When the expeditions furhter into the shadow of the mountain were carried out and the rubble above the Tesoro cleared, the bright beam of light that was the Tesoro shot up and pierced the canopy of darkness above them. The discovery hadn't needed to be announced to the Citte - each individual could see the beam, wherever they were.

A contraption known as a bloomer was discovered close to the Tesoro and the Vegilus have surmised that it is linked to it; adjusting and rotating sections of the bloomer and bringing it close to the Tesoro results in the beam of light retrieving and releasing one of the Mascherines that float around it.

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Kalden Azrus

I find it almost unbelievable that I know so little about this man. Considering the friendship that I've fostered with his brother, it would seem likely that we've exchanged words about this Kalden before, but yet, despite all that, I can barely remember Razitof saying anything of him.

He'd told me that he'd had a brother before, surely, but scarcely anything more. Who is this enigma of a sibling, who'd been so shadowed by secrecy?

Perhaps I was too hasty in attempting to dismiss him; perhaps there is more to this investigation he can offer.

I don't need no stinkin' partner, I work alone

Kalden is a brawny fist-fighting Pavisierre, and a Waterbrand whose skills revolve around damage reduction, pulling aggro, and restoring Health or Focus. He's your paladin, basically.

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The Registry: Regenti

The world of academia belongs to the Vegilus, but the realm of politics is the domain of the Regenti. These are the members of the Registry who keep the country in balance, both within and without the walls of the Citte. They are responsible for reading the economies and controlling (as much as is possible) the ebb and flow of power within the Citte.

The Regenti are certainly closer to the Vaorone's heart compared to the Portieri and the Vegilus, and are the first he turns to when he requires the handling of sensitive matters. If those matters are deemed too sensitive even for Regenti, then they are handed off to the Inspettores.

These Paper Fey can summon additional Paper Fey if you let them. The extras will disappear after about ten seconds.



But they're no match for the old "Drag them in with harpoons of ice and then scorch them with firey detonations" trick.



I think something about all the listed metre measurements for skills is a little off. Either that or Ombrians are actually fourteen feet tall.

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Fey

The fey of Ombre have been around since before the Citte was constructed. In the Silent Ages, before the First colonised the lands of Ombre, there were creatures made of stone and wood, which didn't bleed when cut, which didn't age or grow. These were the fey, and they have persisted through the epochs, continuing to vex the citizens of Ombre. No one knows where the fey came from or how they've managed to sustain their presence - they do not seem to need to eat or breathe and there have been no sightings of juvenile fey. All that is known about them is that wherever they are found, they have shown signs of adapting to their surroundings - where they are found in caverns, they are often made of stone; where they are found in forests, they are made of bark and branch. What magics of the world they have imbued in them is uncertain, and as much as the Vegilus have tried to understand them, little has been made in the way of progress.

The fey, though territorial, are fortunately wary enough of humans that they mostly confine themselves to the Dimenticate ruins where they are most commonly found. Adventurers who are exploring the depths of the ruins, however, must be cautious - the fey are known to be hostile towards any who infringe upon their territories.

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Fey: Paper Fey

Never before have I seen fey made of paper. Truly, it baffles me from whence they came. Certainly Razitof has something to do with this - perhaps I will learn more as we progress.

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Kalden Azrus

The man is a proficient healer, I will say that much. He knows how to handle himself well in battle - a trait I must say not often found within the Sorelle del Mare, and even less something that I'd attribute to a relative of Razitof. I might be fond of the Regenti, but he was not a fighter. Why then, is his brother so well-versed in Merobusto?

Perhaps the bond between my lanky friend and this large, burly 'brother' of his isn't as straightforward as it seems.

Furthermore, he seems a little too curious about the history I share with his brother. Did Razitof not say very much to him about me, either? A strange arragement, considering their blood tie.

The longer I travel with this man, the more I believe there's something he's hiding.

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The Registry: Inspettores

Some in the Citte believe that the Inspettores of the Registry are shadowy figures, enlisted to perform dark deeds for those that have consolidated power in the White Spire. Others believe that they are simply Regenti well trained in the Media. Neither is completely false, but to categorise us like that is certainly reductive.

The Inspettores of the Citte are simply men and women who conduct investigations for the Vaorone, the leader of the Registry. The investigations are myriad in nature just as the Inspettores are varied in skill - some of us serve as esteemed diplomats, while others spend their days searching for missing people of great import. Whatever our duties, however, one thing is for certain - the Inspettores of the Registry are not individuals that one trifles with without incurring the wrath of the Registry itself.

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The Registry: Portieri

If the Regenti and the Vegilus make the mind of the Registry, the Portieri make its arms. They are the men and women that enforce and materialise the wills of those in power, putting a sword behind every edict. They might not be as numerous as the fighters of the Seimora, but they are just as loyal.

At least, that is what those in the Citte are told to believe.

In reality, a significant number of the Portieri that I have worked with have their hearts ruled more strongly by crescents than by the laws and purposes of their ministry.

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The Fisica: Medanza and Merobusto

The Fisica are one of the three pairs of Media that are currently recognised, and have their practitioners concentrating on their physical form to affect their branding prowess. The two constituent Media are: Merobusto and Medanza.