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)

When he was a young Lalafell, Memezazi Mezi lived the good life. In a city where the worth of a person was measured by their fortune, his family - and their clan, by extension - were well-respected. His father served under the bishop in the Order of Nald'Thal and his mother was a distant cousin to Cicidoa Sosodoa, then head of the East Aldenard Trading Company and former syndicate member.

Memezazi's family lived a frugal lifestyle; his mother did not believe in the Ul'dahn way of life while his father found her attempts to rebel charming. Generosity, integrity, compassion, community - all these and more his mother tried to teach him, but it was drowned out by the sea of avarice that had gripped the city-state since its founding. Things took a turn for the worst when she took up activism and began speaking out in public out of concern for his future.

His father was arrested and found guilty in the murder of Cicidoa Sosodoa. Rumours of his mother having an illicit affair with a syndicate member spread like wildfire. Hushed whispers spoke of a plot hatched by the couple who had fallen into debt at the Mirage Trust gambling hall. His father was branded a traitor; they stripped the Thaumaturge of his robes and threw him into Halatali as if he were a monster. Family and friends could not distance themselves quick enough from the mother and son who were left behind.

Amid the accusations and the death of her husband, his mother became more and more frantic as she realized how isolated they had become from the rest of society. It was when she tried to feed him desert saffron that Memezazi realized it was no longer in his best interest to remain by her side. Against her wishes he set out on his own to learn the ways of a merchant, putting behind him the silly virtues she espoused as he failed to see how they produced any kind of positive outcome.

To avoid suspicion, he changed name to Mezzo and found employment doing menial jobs across the continent. Half a year later he learned that his mother had passed away, penniless, in Eastern Thanalan. He felt sorry for her but only because of how stubborn she was, like a obstinate pebble trying to change the course of a river.

In time Mezzo accumulated vast wealth and became a successful entrepreneur, earning the attention of the East Aldenard Trading Company, now owned by Lord Lolorito. He furthered his study of commerce under the private tutelage of Lolorito and it did not take long for him to gather more affluence and influence than his esteemed teacher was comfortable with. Lolorito and select members of the syndicate schemed to muscled the young prodigy out of the market; they bought out his suppliers, spread false rumours about his business practices and hired thugs to convince those who would not listen. Against these odds, Mezzo's business empire fell into shambles.

In a mistake that he would forever regret, Mezzo left his lover, Momofu Momo, alone by herself in the southern deserts of Thanalan due to urgent business, where she fell prey to hungry Peistes. The guilt of her sudden death haunts him to this day.

Wasting no time, Lolorito stoked the outrage of Momofu's death and cast Mezzo as a greedy, selfish merchant and the finest example of what was wrong with Ul'dah. Momofu's family twisted Mezzo's arm, forcing him to cough up what little remained of his life savings while the public backlash made it near impossible for him to do business again in the city. With nary a moment to grieve, Mezzo pleaded his case to the syndicate, where Lord Lolorito revealed his involvement and then called on the Brass Blades to arrest the wayward merchant.

Shocked and in disbelief at his teacher's betrayal, Mezzo fled the city in a panic and went into hiding. An unseen force drew him to Eastern Thanalan, where 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 so easy. Instead, a feverish nightmare took him and he awoke, days later, at the entrance of Halatali, with one eye changed and the truth surrounding the events of his past made clear: Lolorito was the one who plotted Cicidoa's murder and Mezzo's family just happened to be the most convenient scapegoat. The emotional impact of this knowledge pushed Mezzo over the edge and from that day onward the personality called Zazi was born. With Zazi came the accumulated knowledge his father had gleaned as a Thaumaturge plus a dark, sinister essence from the void that had been dormant.

Mezzo went into solitude and roamed the deserts for many summers while Zazi plotted his revenge, not only against Lolorito but the syndicate as a whole - and by extension the city-state itself. A little bit of retribution. A little bit of vengeance. A little bit of sacrifice. It was not without good intentions; he believed the city was crying out to him, wishing to be cleansed.

He returned to Ul'dah as an older man and was pleased to see that nobody could recognize him. Zazi reunited with the Order of Nald'Thal and was recognized for his abilities, rising to its higher ranks with little opposition. The time had come to put the pieces into place and bring about the syndicate's downfall. Soon. Very soon.

Personality

The Lalafell known as Mezzo is comprised of two distinct personalities; they share memories but exist on different levels of consciousness, meaning their practical knowledge may differ.

Mezzo is an amicable, if sometimes grumpy, old Lalafell. He seems to always be in a hurry but is just scared of having nothing to do. 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 somewhat of Zazi's existence but the transition is sudden and beyond his control.

Zazi's Personal Bodyguard

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 true purpose of his manifestation is to exact vengeance on a member of the syndicate. He is driven to chaos and destruction and has natural affinity with the void realm, which draws him 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. As a backup plan he is secretly raising an invincible golem army in the mountains by the Temple of Qarn. His personal bodyguard is a towering white golem that can be summoned on a whim.

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.