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Video: Act 3 Scene 1, Broken Masks

quote:

Razitof Azrus

There are many ways of knowing things in this world. Sometimes, that path lies between the pages of a book. Sometimes it lies in the experiences that are to come. And sometimes, it stems from an unidentifiable source; some things, you just know.

Others in different parts of our world might attribute the latter to some sort of divine presence - the gods themselves must have planted the seeds of the idea in his mind - and others might say that it was due to intuition. I am not here to advocate either idea, but I will admit that this sort of knowledge does exist.

When I'd first returned and heard that Razitof was missing, a part of my mind immediately told me that the search was futile. I suppose that was the rational part of me speaking, intent on keeping me from investing too much lest I pay the price later.

Now the price has indeed been paid, for his death rakes at my breast and makes breathing difficult. I would tell myself that I knew from the beginning - I'd just chosen to ignore the knowledge - but it would not make the grieving any simpler.

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The Lady

A fey. Lucia claims that this Lady - this figure that she follows - is fey. And that baffles me. What is this reason of hers that's convinced her that a fey has the ability to guide her, and even worse, that all the atrocities she's committed have been worth it?

There is more than I am seeing, and I know not how to begin gleaning the truths. Perhaps Lucia is right. Perhaps...

Ages, what am I thinking?

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Pale Isle: A History

The Pale Isle hadn't always been the Registry's Principal Ward. It was only in the Sixth Canticle, after a set of ruins known as the Black Crib was cleared out, that the citizens of Ombre realised that there was a great deal of undeveloped land that lay beyond the ruins, deeper under the shadow of the mountain Sierra Vede. When the expedition team reported back to the Registry and told them of the newfound space, the Registry moved quickly and decisively. The area was cleared of fey and rubble within a month and the infrastructure set up under that. The Registry shifted its base of operations from what is now Seimora's Throne to the Pale Isle in a matter of days and has ruled from there since.

Some say it is the sequestering of the Registry from the people it governs that has led to its loss of intimacy with them. Ever since the Registry uprooted itself and fled into the White Spire, the citizens that it's long governed have been growing more distant and less respectful of its edicts. How much longer the Registry will have control over the Citte remains to be seen, though it seems doubtful they'll have any more than a decade.

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The Herald

All this while, she'd been lying to me, baiting me, using me. When I met her at the White Spire I knew she'd brought me back for a reason, but this...

It seems that more has happened in the past five years than I could have imagined.

I forgot there was fighting this early in the scene

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Dimenticate: Shythe

Our language has no word for it, but Amadea says the Dimenticate trained to manipulate them - these things called shythe, which summon fey. I am not a Vegilus and cannot even begin to guess the mechanisms of this concept I can barely grasp, but if we can find a way to use it to our advantage... Ages, I can feel the world shifting beneath my feet.

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Dirges and Merumento

Dirges are Masquerada who practice Merumento, and specialise in the production of music through instruments. When the idea of Merumento had first been developed, it had been seen as something that no Masquerada would practice on the field of battle. After all, how could playing an instrument possibly be practical for anyone concerned with staying alive in the midst of battle?

Those who dared take the first step quickly quelled any naysayers. The distance that Merumento provides the Dirges in battle has been the key to their success. Dirges have the potential to subdue and cripple their foes before they have the chance to harm the Dirge, and as if that is insufficient, they are armed with the ability to breathe a flicker of life into thier elements through their songs, effectively summoning minions to work their wills.

To be too confident of the abilities of a Dirge, however, has led to many a death of the musicians, for the great focus required to hone their wills in battle leaves them with little mental latitude to work quick reflexes; Dirges often stand still while practicing Merumento and thus make easy pickings for other Masquerada who manage to evade their debilitating assaults.

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The Estra Fantasmia

The Estra Fantasmia is a haunting forest that lies north of Ombre, far beyond the Echoing Plains. It is not a location that many have explored, for the wildlife and the fey that are to be found in that area are frightening and dangerous at best.

At first glance, the Estra is a beauty - the leaves of its trees are vibrant and nearly garish, and the amount of life to be found within is startling, but even a short venture beneath its boughs is certain to introduce any traveler to its dangers.

Despite its apparent hazards, the Estra is a favourite haunt of the Cacciatore of Ombre, not simply for the solace they find between the trunks of its trees - the Cacciatore are of the belief that studying what lives in the present is more likely to educate them about the secrets of the land than looking always to what lived in the past.

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The Fifth Canticle: Serpents and Ships

The Fifth Canticle is the longest Canticle that Ombre has seen in its history, lasting sixteen Mesura(185-248IL).

Many Vegilus consider this the age in which Ombre flourished the most - the arts blossomed greatly due to the Theralds; Meliare, Meseniare, Merumento and Mecantare were developed, and the existing Media further researched; trade between Ombre and the other nations boomed and brought a gushing of wealth into Ombre's coffers.

All of this did not happen in a vacuum, however. Other nations saw the wealth that was flowing across the Midnight Belt and pirates from all around began to raid the trading vessels, beginning a chapter of the Canticle called the Song of Crimson Tides, which lasted from 215IL to 225IL. The Sorelle was created in 220IL, in the midst of the war against the pirates.

After the pirates were dealt with, however, trade did not only resume - the other nations, having witnessed for themselves the strength of Ombre and how fiercely it would protect its(and by extension their) trade routes, sent their goods over the Belt with almost forceful generosity; every nation at that time attempted to curry Ombre's favour, for through the Song of Crimson Tides, it had proven its worth as an ally.

The Miscela began, and a great many Ombrians from the Randagia relocated to the Citte, vying for precious space before it grew too full.

The end of the Fifth Canticle was called for after the excavation of the Black Crib and the founding of the Singing Tree.

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The Sixth Canticle: Scattered Seeds

The Sixth Canticle lasted for ten Mesura(249-288IL) and witnessed the greatest growth in Ombre's population in its history. Lured by the promise of wealth and power, people from every nation clamoured to be a part of the city of shadows, and the influx called for expansion. The ruins were no longer feared, what with the power of the Mascherines having been discovered, and the empty space under Sierra Vede was fully utilised.

With the nation's success came the latitude for research into the Dimenticate, and the Vegilus turned their focus to the past.

The Luca, by this time, had turned sour, and the Labores Solis was established in 268IL, followed shortly by the Dieci Sovrani, in 280IL.

The Sixth Canticle was put to an end when the Registry imposed a law restricting the number of people that could come into the Citte - it had grown too full and if anyone still wished to live in Ombre, they would have to do so in the Randagia. This effectively ended the Miscela, and the Songstresses called for the end of the Sixth Canticle.

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Religion in Ombre

The soils of Ombre are not fertile ground for religions to take root, considering the fact that the Citte was founded by a man who had been exiled from his homeland on the basis of religious blasphemy. Though the First is no longer around to cull the worship of extraordinary deities, the citizenry has grown much too comfortable with their independence from dogmatic scripture that any proselytisers quickly learn that it is practically impossible to spread the influence of religion under the shadow of Sierra Vede.

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The Silent Ages

"The land of songs was not always filled with music. There had been a time, before the Song of the Ages had begun, when there was nothing but the silence of the void. Before the People of Songs came to the lands, creatures of quiet hearts ruled the domain, and the consequence of their silence was clear. Their veins did not run with blood, their eyes did not sparkle with emotion. They were bereft of life, because they did not sing. These times were the Silent Ages, and we cannot put into number how long they lasted, for when there are no songs, no measures, there is no time. One day is the same as another, when the lands are mute. Sunsets and moonrises pass, but their celestial courses are stale, for they have no rhythm to dance to. The days are cold and the nights are hollow, for there is no vigour in dead silence.

"But now we have entered this barren space, and in our footfalls, we have imbued the soils with breath. Our songs travel through not only the air, but the earth as well. The streams gush in tempo to our chorus, the animals trot in accordance with our rhythms. Flowers bloom and wither, trees shed their leaves to stand stark naked as and when the Song of Ages prescribes.

"We are the keepers of the Ages, the voices of time, the custodians of the Song, and never again can we let the world fall into death's silence."
- The First, when asked of the importance of song in Ombrian culture.

The period of time before the creation of the Ombrian calendar is commonly referred to as the Silent Ages. Certainly, they weren't actually completely devoid of sound, but its name is reflective of the centrality of songs to the early(and arguably the modern) Ombrians' culture.

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Kalden Azrus

First, his family abandons him. Then he loses his lover. And now he's lost his brother and has to grapple with the burden of being different, alone.

Yet, he carries on.

...

How?