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, concerned for her son's future, she took up activism and began speaking out in public.

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. 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 left behind.

Amid the accusations and the death of her husband, his mother became increasingly frantic as she realized how isolated they had become from the rest of Ul'dahn society. It was when she tried to feed him desert saffron - her favourite flower - 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 Termine and found employment doing menial jobs across the continent. Half a year later he learned that his mother passed away, penniless, in Eastern Thanalan. He felt sorry for her but only because of how stubborn she was - like an insignificant pebble trying to change the course of a river.

Mezzo haggling at Scorpion Crossing

In time, Mezzo accumulated vast wealth and became a successful entrepreneur, earning the attention of the East Aldenard Trading Company. He furthered his study of commerce under the private tutelage of the company's owner, Lord Lolorito, but attained affluence and influence at a pace that even his esteemed teacher could not have anticipated. Sensing a threat to his seat on the syndicate, Lolorito and his allies schemed to muscle the young prodigy out of the markets; they bought out his suppliers, spread false rumours about his business practices and hired thugs to convince those who refused to listen. Against these odds, Mezzo's business empire soon 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 an urgent business opportunity, where she fell prey to hungry Peistes. The guilt of her terrible 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 best example of what was wrong with Ul'dah. Momofu's family in turn 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 made an earnest plea for help from his former teacher, who instead condemned him for his ambitions, calling 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 with only the clothes on his back 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.

Zazi, overlooking the Invisible City

But death would not come so easy. As the red moon loomed over Eorzea, a feverish nightmare took him; he awoke at the entrance of Halatali days after the calamity, 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 a 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 powerful, sinister essence from the void that had found its way through a tear in the aether.

Mezzo went into solitude and roamed the deserts for many summers, unaware that all the while Zazi was plotting revenge, not only against Lolorito but the syndicate as a whole - and by extension Ul'dah 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, asking to be cleansed.

Returning to Ul'dah as an older Lalafell, he was pleased to see that nobody could recognize him. Zazi entered the Order of Nald'Thal and was immediately recognized for his abilities; he rose to its higher ranks with little opposition. Soon it would be time 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.

Zazi's Golem Bodyguard

Mezzo is an amicable, if sometimes grumpy, old Lalafell who seeks company. 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 aware of Zazi's existence but the transition often happens without his knowing.

Zazi is an embittered, old-fashioned cynic who enjoys playing the devil's advocate. He is an incidental villain, unfettered, born from severe mental and emotional trauma. Unafraid of death, the true purpose of his manifestation is to exact vengeance by any means necessary. He is driven to chaos and destruction and has a natural affinity with the void realm, the connection drawing him closer to the abyss by the day. He believes in strong, centralized government, social Darwinism, and seeks to restore power to the sultanate in preparation 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 Twelve (Mezzo)
  

  Mezzo at the Bastion residence
• 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 company (Mezzo)
• The Void (Zazi)
• Misery (Zazi)
• Organized Chaos (Zazi)

Dislikes

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

• The Past (Mezzo)
  

  Mezzo tending the garden
• Physical hardship (Mezzo/Zazi)
• Loneliness (Mezzo)
• Mezzo (Zazi)
• Conjuring & the Elementals (Zazi)
• Mental instability (Zazi)

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

• Pessimism and the merchant mind (Mezzo)
• Ring twisting (Mezzo)
• Moustache twirling/stroking (Mezzo)
• The twitch (Zazi)
• Complexity addiction (Zazi)

Rumours

Mezzo purchasing buttered crumpets from Papasu at the Quicksand

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 Bastion of 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 often 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. Zazi tends not to linger and prefers to keep his public exposure to a minimum until the right time.

Activities

• family connections (exploration of the past)
• tying up loose ends from the past
• sabotaging the market
• an eye for an eye (revenge)
• rigging the arena (plus ingredients from there)
• aetheric agitator from the Phrontistery (in the making of soulstones)
• botany and the ties to desert saffron
• exploring the Bastion
• working with affiliates (past-times)