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Video: Act 1 Scene 3, Paper Hearts

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Pavisierres and Merobusto

Masquerada who practice Merobusto alone are called Pavisierres, and practice a type of dance that involves strong, bold, contained movements. The Pavisierres, among all the Masquerada, have the ability to brand the largest volume of their element at any one time and their abilities reflect this - Earthbrand Pavisierres have the ability to summon walls of earth; Airbrand Pavisierres can channel pounding blasts of wind.

With the raw strength and power of Merobusto comes a price, however - Pavisierres are almost never able to control their elements with precision: large, bold displays of their power are often all they can manage.

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Sicarios and Medanza

The Sicarios are practitioners of Medanza, the Media that I personally believe to be the most beautiful to watch. It is a fluid dance, which involves tumbles and turns and flowing flips. It is elegant, but not clumsy, smooth but not inaccurate, and these descriptions are reflected in the abilities of the Sicarios, who wield their elements with the most precision and finesse of all the Masquerada - Firebrand Sicarios often wield whips of flames; Waterbrand Sicarios hurl icicles with almost preternatural precision.

This focus on finesse has cost the Sicarios in raw power, however. Few Sicarios will ever be able to take on a Pavisierre in a test of strength - either physical or magical - and so they must rely on their wits and cunning to make the most of their talents. A Sicario that positions themselves well on the battlefield, however, is truly a force to be reckoned with.

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An Inspettore's Cape

The cape of an Inspettore is their signature. Only seven in the Citte bear such capes, and they are not easy to come by. The cape is woven from TeSerric silk, coloured with Illisian dye, stitched with Zoric thread, stuffed with Rhunic wool and worn by Ombrian flesh; it is a symbol of the responsibilities of the Inspettoores - to care for the Citte and its people, no matter where they come from.

The truth of the matter, however, is that the Inspettores are agents of the Registry, and hold to the orders of the Vaorone at the tip of the White Spire with utmost obedience, even if those orders come at the expense of those beyond the Registry.

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Kalden Azrus

The Mariner seems to believe he can somehow help me. What does he think himself to be, a counsellor of some sort? I don't want to encourage this behaviour - my past is past and bringing it up is bound to do no one good. I don't plan on allowing him to continue with this prodding, but I'm foreseeing that I might have a difficult time telling him off.

He seems genuine and sincere about his efforts, though, as much as I'd rather he wouldn't.

In that respect I suppose he does remind me of Razitof.

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Tristan Delzole

I should not be upset about what Tristan did - I've known him for so long, I know where his allegiances lie - yet, how little sway reason has over the heart. I am hurt by his actions, despite understanding them, though I suppose I should be glad for them. It is a reminder that even the best parts of the Citte, the parts that you hold close to your heart, have the capacity to hurt you. It reminds me of the mercenary days that I spent out on the streets, with guarded heart and selfish mind.

I wonder if I'd been wiser, then.

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Faveo Fedelta

There are some men that are satisfied with the status quo, that are content with their places in society, who find enough joy in simply surviving in this city.

And then there are men like Faveo - visionaries who have a dream for their people, who are willing to sacrifice for the sake of progress, who have the ability to set their sights on more than just getting by.

Throughout my career as an Inspettore, I haven't often been required to interact with the leader of the Luca Infinita, but all the times that I have, I have been nothing short of impressed with his efficiency, his determination, his focus.

And now, as he comes into the picture once again, I am reminded that he is in possession of so much more than just a powerful will; he is a man of cunning and wit, who will stop at little to do what he believes is best for his people, for his guild.

All I can hope for as I continue the investigation is that I manage to stay out of his way. From the way things are progressing, however, that does not seem very likely.

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Tiziana de Felici

And now we have a spy amidst our ranks. Perfect.

There is nothing I hold against this woman personally - to be perfectly honest she is simply performing her duty - but that does not mean she is any more welcome in this investigation. Getting rid of her does not seem to be a viable avenue for dealing with her presence; perhaps I should start with learning how much she knows.

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Luca Infinita

The Luca Infinita, or the Golden Guild, is a source of ire for many in the Citte. Their strict laws and martial influence are often deemed suffocating, and where once the men and women in gold were respected, now they are treated with annoyance and even fear.

First they force a new partner on me, and now the goddamn Agency's breathing down my neck

Our new recruit shares Kalden's Pavisierre fighting style, but the similarities end there. Tiziana's Firebrand skills are all about burning anyone who gets too close; even her single defensive skill comes with a damage field and optional spread attack.

Since we have two scrappers, I'll rebuild Cicero for some extra ranged damage.

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The Conoscenza

Home to the Citte's second-largest collection of written histories, the Conoscenza is the pride of the Vegilus, and contains volume upon volume of information on topics that range from botany to Dimenticate history.

I messed this one up by setting Kal and Tiz's AI to not use their skills on a single target.



So they took forever hacking away at this one guy and got slowly chewed up in the process.





Fortunately Ice Spikes do ridiculous damage when they're upgraded this way.

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Tiziana de Felici

Fascinating.

Never before have I met someone in the Citte that is at once so immersed in the dance of politics yet so insolent towards its customs. She is a pawn in the grand game, and she knows it, but yet she refuses to play by the unspoken rules - she seems to loathe secrecy, she does away with any hint of deception and perhaps most gravely, she trumpets her motivations with nary a hint of embarrassment. Granted, I might be reading her wrong and perhaps she is lying about her true goals, but somehow I don't find that likely.

How I am supposed to deal with this honest enigma of a woman is currently beyond me, but I am equal parts cautious and curious about her presence in the investigation.

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The First

The founder of Ombre is a man referred to as the First, whose actual name was Theronin Ateo. Born in the land of Altimire, Theronin was considered cursed by his curiosity - he'd always wondered what lay beyond the mountain Murare, in the lands they'd known as the Dark Beyond. There were tales, of course - of the presence of unspeakable evils, of death, of tainted lands - though Theronin remained skeptical. He was a man who needed to see with his own eyes to believe, and so, disobeying strict orders from the priests of his theocratic country, he brought a group of adventurers together and ventured into the Dark Beyond.

His journey to the Echoing Plains set him upon Sierra Vede, and he met with fey there. Cautious, he never interacted very deeply with them, but he recognised their existence, and wished to learn more about them.

He returned to Altimire and attempted to requisition larger forces to explore the wilderness that lay beyond, but when he told the priests the stories of his expeditions, they called him blasphemous.

According to their religious texts, the people of Altimire were promised salvation if they kept their holy lands free of the demons that lurked in the world beyond. Theronin's stories about these creatures that he found sparked a wave of terror that coursed through the priestly councils. Their reaction was to exile him and the taint which he brought back.

And so Theronin, as well as those others who had either supported him or who, too, had grown tired of the rigid Altimirian theocracy, left Altimire and journey through the Echoing Plains, until they reached Sierra Vede. Under the mountain's shadow they settled and began what was to grow into the prosperous nation known as Ombre today.

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Ombric Calendar

The Ombric calendar is a strange one, by any standards. Time and history are divided into Canticles, each lasting various amounts of Mesuras (each of which in turn lasts four years). The reason for this is to be found in the history of the nation - the first settlers of Ombre were from the neighbouring theocratic nation of Altimire, and had been cast out for blasphemy. Spurned and spiteful, they vowed to stray from the ways and culture of their fatherland as much as they could. Where Altimirians listened to their heads and their gods, Ombrians listend to their hearts and their whims.
Ombre's disdain for organized religion is also the reason why they don't have any good swear words.

The first step that Ombre took away from Altimire was the adoption of its own calendar; instead of the Orian calendar that Altimire followed, which had years that consisted of three months each lasting approximately a hundred and twenty days, the Ombric calendar (also known as the Song of the Ages) was made to comprise years of eight months with approximately forty five days in each. The months are as follows: Inizia, Salira, Elodia, Kora, Ruvida, Picca, Scendera and Ophina. Though many refer to events by the Canticle in which they occurred, there is a slightly more accurate method of recording dates, though often only used by the Vegilus - years are recorded numerically from the establishment of Ombre. Vegilus use the suffix IL (Inizia Liberata) to denote the year of the event with respect to the founding of the nation.

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The Registry: Vegilus

The Vegilus are the thinkers of the Registry, and its ranks comprise the brightest and most astute of Ombre's minds. Many beyond the White Spire fail to understand the importance of the Vegilus. To them, the men and women of the scrolls and the books are soft and foolish for choosing to forsake power in exchange for knowledge. Certainly, their opinion ignores the fact that knowledge oftn is, in itself, a form of power - the Vegilus live on the brink of discovery, and in a city that's been built upon the ruins of a civilisation that dominated lands the size of which Ombrians have never even dreamed, they are likely closer than anyone else in the Citte to understanding the wellspring of long lost ancient powers.

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Kairi Aquila

If there is a search for a parable of how doggedness pays off, the story of Kairi Aquila would be a fine candidate.

Born of two Portieri, Kairi's life had not been paved with the intentions of guiding her towards academia. In fact, her parents had intended for her to rise through the ranks of the Portieri and hopefully be selected as an Inspettore. Her father was a Dirge and her mother was a Sicario; both trained her in their respective Media for the Vamus Tests, and taught her the histories of Ombre for her Accredita. Through it all, Kairi performed in the Media as her Portieri parents had expected - well. What they hadn't expected from their daughter, however, was her intense curiosity regarding the histories of the world.

When her parents would give her a summary of the Theralds, she would go on to ask about the entirety of Rhune and its culture; when they mentioned Salting, she would ask abut the First Canticle and how they'd seen and treated the phenomenon; when they warned her about the fey, she would ask about those found in the Echoing Plains and what they'd been like when the First arrived to establish Ombre. Constantly, however, her inquisitions would be quelled.

Focus on practicing your Media, her parents would say, and during her youth, she'd obey. All this changed when, at the age of eighteen, she sat for her Vamus tests and failed them.

When her parents found out, they were furious. It was impossible that she'd failed - they watched over her with the scrutiny of hawks - how could she have done poorly?

They learnt later that she'd intentionally flunked the tests of Media-proficiency. She didn't want to be a Portieri, she wanted to be a Vegilus, she told the testers first, then her parents. Upon seeing the fire in her eyes as she spoke those words, her parents realised that there was something special about their daughter. They realised that they could no longer control her and that they had to let go. Suffice to say, considering her current position in the Registry, that was a move that benefitted them all.

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Tiziana de Felici

I suppose one benefit of having her trail along would be her prowess in battle. I shouldn't be surprised, given the fact that she is a Marshal of the most martial of the Seimora, with a discipline and straightforwardness she carries over to her personal life.

She has effectively coerced me into telling her about details regarding the investigation, accomplishing the feat with nary a drop of guile. I am impressed by the efficacy of her methods, as much as I am a victim to them - perhaps all this flitting about in shadows isn't as necessary or as efficient as our culture has led us to believe.

And then there is the point about the Bright Chorus. She knows it by heart, clearly, and that is confusing to me. There are very few in the Luca who still believe in the Bright Chorus - many believe that its tenets are outdated and impractical, and judging by her trust in the institution of the Luca, I'd have thought she'd be one of them. But yet, here she is, quoting it.

And so, the veil of questions surrounding this enigma thickens.

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Luca Infinita: Origins

Of the guilds today, the Luca Infinita holds its place as the second oldest guild, approximately half a decade younger than the Altus Nobilis. Founded in the Fourth Canticle, the Luca Infinita, unlike most other guilds, grew from the seed of a less than pure intention.

After Ombre had secured its victory against its fatherland, Altimire, at the end of the March of Broken Songs, word of its power and potential spread throughout the lands, attracting a great many immigrants who were either dissatisfied with their own countries, or who were lured enough bythe enticing tales of Ombre's power that they were willing to pull roots and sail to our shores. The surge in population in the Fourth Canticle might not have been as considerable as that in the Sixth Canticle, but it was sizable enough that the Portieri at the time could not cope with the increase in areas that they had to watch. Violence and crime spread throughout the lands and though many in the Luca would tell you that their guild was fashioned with the intention of combating that influx in crime, the truth is less simple than that.

Velario Emirus, the founder of the Luca Infinita (and, ironically, ancestor to Vicario Emirus, current leader of the Labores Solis) lost his son to a robber in the streets, who killed the young boy because he'd made the mistake of forgetting to hide a precious stone he'd bought for his parents for their anniversary. The robber made off with the stone (history has forgotten its exact nature, though some suspect it had been a Skystone from Illisia), and left Velario with nothing but a deep-seated thirst for vengeance.

Velario spent the subsequent months hunting his son's murderer and when he found him, made short work of the man (Velario was Masquerada; his son's murderer was not). The tragic story and its satisfying conclusion spread quickly through the streets of Prima Campa and inspired a great many others to take action against the nascent criminal industry. It was only upon seeing the effect that his vengeance had on those around him, that Velario realised he'd tapped into a wellspring of discontent shared by much of society, Masquerada and Contadani alike. it was then that the idea of forming a guild struck the man, and so the Luca Infinita was born.

In modernity, the Golden Guild has strayed quite substantially from its roots, and has become blinded by its obeisance to laws, rather than to justice (though many in their ranks would argue they are one and the same).

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Canticles

The Ombric calendar is divided into Canticles, each lasting an indeterminate number of years. It is the responsibility of the Songstresses of the Citte to recognise the events that spell the end of a Canticle - the ending of a war, or a great economic windfall, for example - and to then name the Canticle and chronicle all of the major events that have transpired since it began. Needless to say, the process through which a Canticle is declared over is an incredibly subjective one. Though there are many who disagree with the haphazard and disorganised method of chronicling the ages, tradition can sometimes be stronger than sense, and the method has been preserved since Ombre's beginning.

Ombre is currently in its eighth Canticle, and, as of my writing this, is in its four hundred and seventh year since its liberation (407IL).

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Guardia Sempra

All Masquerada who receive some sort of tutelage in the Media often begin their training by learning how to establish a defensive barrier pedagogically known as a guardia sempra. Colloquially, however, this defensive mechanism is referred to as a focus shield, for in order to maintain it, a Masquerada must constantly devote a fraction of their trained mind to intercept incoming offensive manoeuvres with a flash of their element. This brief manifestation of a barrier assists the Masquerada in reducing any sort of damage coming their way.

Certainly, even the mind of a trained Masquerada can grow weary if subjected to relentless onslaught, and under such pressure, a Masquerada's guardia sempra can fail to defend the Masquerada against incoming assaults, leaving them vulnerable to attack.

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In the Conoscenza, we encountered Maskrunners dressed as Portieri who had taken the Vegilus hostage. I dislike, intensely, the trajectory of this investigation. The less this has to do with Maskrunners, the better I'll feel. Anyway, the Maskrunners must have obtained the uniforms through the Quiet Order - one of the Registry's uniform houses was located there - and though their presence in the investigation might make me uncomfortable, I cannot deny that it has put us on a better path.

They had been asking after specific books about Dimenticate history, books that must have been what Razitof had been after, during his trips to the Conoscenza, and what had informed his subsequent research. The books (which we found with the aid of Kairi) speak of ancient artefacts called the Knife, Seed and Heart, and though I cannot let the others know just yet, I believe these artefacts were intimately linked to the creation of the Mascherines. In the meantime, they will have to just accept that Razitof had been on a quest to understand how the Dimenticate came into such power.

The books also spoke of a place referred to as "steepled fingers of stone." I believe that is a reference to a set of ancient ruins called the Cleaver, and though I am unsure what we will find there, I do believe it will lead us to more answers.

In the meantime, Kairi has promised to further investigate the creation of fey - I have told her all I know and all I suspect, and she is excited about testing the hypothesis.

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The Eterea: Merumento and Mecantare

The Eterea are one of the three pairs of Media that are currently recognised, and have their practitioners concentrating on the craft of music to affect their branding prowess. The two constituent Media are: Merumento and Mecantare. The Eterea are unusual in their mechanisms because neither require the practicing Masquerada to move or be in direct physical proximity of the subject of their branding; only Dirges and Songstresses can brand materials at a significant distance from them.