Mezzo Termine

Mezzo (Zazi) Termine
Gender	Male
Race	Lalafell
Clan	Dunesfolk
Citizenship	Ul'dah
Age	48
Profession	Merchant (retired)
Alignment	Chaotic Neutral
Patron Deity	Althyk
Server	Balmung

"Beware the fury of a patient man."

Background (OOC)

The Lalafell known as Mezzo is composed of two halves - that of Mezzo and that of Zazi It would be incorrect to call them distinct individuals for they share memories and exist on the same level of consciousness even though their practical knowledge may differ.

When he was a child, Memezazi Mezi lived the good life. In a city where one's worth was measured by their fortune, their family - and the clan, by extension - were well respected. His father was the bishop's right-hand man in the Order of Nald'Thal and his mother was a cousin to Cicidoa Sosodoa, former head of the East Aldenard Trading Company and former syndicate member.

Despite their fortune, Memezazi's parents did not believe in the Ul'dahn dream. In public they played the game while in private they lived a frugal lifestyle, teaching him lessons in philanthropy, generosity, integrity, and happiness in the absence of material goods. It was when they began speaking out against what they perceived to be greed and avarice that had gripped the city did things take a turn for the worst.

Memezazi's father was arrested as a suspect in the murder of Cicidoa and was found guilty. Rumours spread like wildfire; that his mother had an illicit affair with Cicidoa or that his parents had plotted to bribe the syndicate member because they had fallen into debt due to bad gambling habits. His father was branded a traitor - no, a monster; the Thaumaturge was thrown into Halatali and left to die.

Family and friends could not distance themselves from the mother and son fast enough and may as well have been among the "untouchables". Memezazi refused to listen to his mother, who had grown desperate and frantic at the accusations and the death of her husband. He failed to see how the virtues his parents espoused had produced any kind of positive outcome. The public opinion was that his parents were in the wrong and he believed it. He left his mother to do the exact opposite of what she wished - to pursue the Ul'dahn dream.

Memezazi changed his name to Mezzo Termine and spent his days learning the merchant ways, crossing sea and land as he worked on all kinds of menial jobs from cleaning toilets to scraping the sides of ships. His mother did not approve and they became distant - she died, penniless, in Eastern Thanalan. Mezzo felt sorry for her but only because her stubbornness caused her so much misery.

In time Mezzo accumulated wealth and grew to be a successful entrepreneur; so successful in fact, that he gained the attention of the East Aldenard Trading Company, now owned by Lord Lolorito. They employed him as a merchant and he rose up the rank and was, for a while, under the private tutelage of Lolorito himself. But he was too ambitious, too talented. Soon it became apparent that the prodigy Lolorito had helped raise was beginning to gather more affluence and influence than the syndicate member would have liked. So Lolorito muscled Mezzo out of the market; buying out his suppliers, spreading negative rumors about Mezzo's business practices and hiring thugs to convince those who would not listen. And soon, Mezzo found his business empire in shambles.

In a mistake that he would forever regret, he left his then lover, Momofu Momo, in the southern deserts of Thanalan by herself due to urgent business where she fell prey to the Peistes. Her memory haunts him to this day.

Lolorito stoked the outrage of Momofu's death, casting Mezzo as a greedy, selfish merchant and the finest example of what was wrong with Ul'dah. Momofu's family twisted Mezzo's arm and had him cough up what remained of his life savings, while the public backlash made it near impossible for him to do business again in city. Shocked at these developments, Mezzo tried to plea his case to Lolorito, who revealed his involvement and then called on the Brass Blades to arrest the wayward merchant.

In disbelief at being betrayed by his former teacher, Mezzo escaped from the city in a panic and went into hiding, his footsteps taking him to East Thanalan, as if some unseen force was drawing him there. Starved and dehydrated, he crawled his way to his mother's dilapidated grave and consigned himself to death, finding it ironic that, despite having gained wealth, he too would die miserable and penniless.

But death would not come. Instead, he had a feverish nightmare and awoke on the steps of Halatali with the one eye changed and the truth surrounding the events of his past. Learning that Lord Lolorito had been responsible all along tipped Mezzo over the edge and the identity known as Zazi emerged. With Zazi came the accumulated knowledge his father had gleaned as a Thaumaturge plus his connections...but that knowledge was tainted.

Mezzo went into solitude and roamed the deserts for a few summers, while Zazi plotted his revenge, not only against Lolorito but the whole syndicate - and by extension the city-state. A punishment was in order and the city needed to be cleansed of its insatiable greed and corrupted moral values. He returned to Ul'dah with a different appearance and was relieved to see that nobody could recognize him.

Zazi joined the Ossuary and was recognized by the guild in short order, rising into its higher ranks with little opposition. It was time to put the pieces into place and bring about the syndicate's downfall.

Personality

Mezzo is an amicable old Lalafell. He seems to always be in a hurry but is in fact a patient man who can easily turn grumpy. He sees no need to carry an air of false maturity and is not shy or embarrassed to discuss sensitive matters. He considers himself a good judge of character and is quick to do so. He is unaware of Zazi's existence and the transition happens subconsciously.

Zazi is an embittered, old-fashioned cynic who enjoys playing the devil's advocate. He is an incidental villain, unfettered, born from having survived severe mental trauma. Unafraid of death and armed with moral ambiguity, the purpose of his manifestation is to exact vengeance on a member of the syndicate. He is driven to chaos and destruction and draws closer to the abyss by the day. He believes in strong, centralized government, social Darwinism, and seeks to restore power to the sultanate for an eventual return to the Lalafell centric customs of ancient Belah'diah.

Family

• Memeripo Tataripo (Father, Dunesfolk, Deceased)
• Sezazi Sezi (Mother, Plainsfolk, Deceased)
• Momofu Momo (Lover, Plainsfolk, Deceased)
• Babineru Babi (Uncle, Dunesfolk, Alive)
• Flammie (Chocobo, Belah'dian jennet)

Affiliations

• Bastion of the Twelve (Mezzo)
• The Botanists' Guild (Mezzo)
• Tylwyth Narah (Zazi)
• Lambs of Dalamud (Zazi)
• Order of Nald'Thal (Zazi)
• The Corpse Brigade (Zazi)

Likes

• Buttered crumpets (Mezzo - The Quicksand)
• Reading the Mythril Eye (Mezzo - newspaper)
• Having an audience (Mezzo)
• The Void (Zazi)
• Misery (Zazi)

Dislikes

• Rabble (Mezzo)
• Idling (Mezzo)
• Compunction (Zazi)
• Taking orders (Zazi)

Strengths

• Merchant ties (Mezzo)
• Shrewdness (Mezzo)
• Hexes, Curses, Poisons (Zazi)
• The Voidsent (Zazi)
• Manipulation (Zazi - a passive ability to slightly influence the decision making of others, magnified by the recipient's greed)
• Underground ties (Zazi)

Weaknesses

• Mental instability (Zazi)
• Physical hardship (Mezzo)
• Abrasive (Zazi)
• Conjuring & the Elementals (Zazi)
• The Past (Mezzo)

Interests (Zazi)

• The Lost Civilization of Ampador (for their forbidden magicks)
• The Floating City of Nym (for their military brilliance)
• The Sunken Temple of Qarn (magicked barriers, golems, worship of the sun goddess)
• Halatali (place of worship for first Lalafell; tomb of his father)
• The Invisible City (ancient Belah'diah, the walking dead)
• Sil'dih - old city-state (for its Belah'dian ties)
• Remnants of Allagan Civilization (for power)
• The Garlean Empire (for their might and structure of government)
• The Sylphs (for their knowledge of poisons)

Quirks

• Biting pessimism (Mezzo)
• Ring twisting (Mezzo)
• Moustache twirling/stroking (Mezzo)
• The twitch (Zazi)
• Complexity addiction (Zazi)

Rumours

The following rumours can be heard about Mezzo Termine, predominantly in Ul'dah.

Common rumours

• He's an older Lalafell who seems to know his way around the markets.
• He's with the Bastions of the Twelve

Uncommon rumours

• He has a particular interest in the buying and selling of desert saffron.
• He really enjoys the buttered crumpets at The Quicksand
• His right eye seems to peer straight into the dark corners of your soul

Rare rumours

• His Father was a skilled Thaumaturge at the Arrzaneth Ossuary
• He once served under the direct tutelage of Lord Lolorito of the East Aldenard Trading company
• His Mother had an affair with a former syndicate member

What PCs are saying

• N/A

Known Haunts

Mezzo wanders between The Goblet and the Sapphire Avenue Exchange. He can be found at The Quicksand on occasion when he gets a hankering for buttered crumpets. There are not many people alive who can recognize him from the past.