Arlecchino

The Hotel Bouffes d'ete, situated in the Vasari Passage, is a lovely building with clean walls and sparkling windows, and well-mannered, well-groomed children frequent it every day.

Unlike other mansions of comparable beauty in the Court of Fontaine, the registered owner of this property does not live on-site. Indeed, nearby residents have not even heard of her.

The signature on the relevant documentation is but a false identity — the real power lies with someone else.

If one could hear the children whisper at night behind the Hotel's closed gates, one would hear this appellation: "Father."

When speaking of "Father," some faces turn worshipful, some hearts are seized with fear, and still others look inscrutable, torn — but their tone always becomes one of respect.

These children are part of the organization known as the House of the Hearth. They belong to the Fatui.

This place is home to orphans the world over, and the luxurious Hotel is but one of the House's faces.

As for this "Father," the master of the House, she is none other than The Knave, Arlecchino, presently Fourth of the Fatui Harbingers.

The Fatui — and this Harbinger — enjoy a mixed reputation. But to most of these children, "Father" is the most important figure in their lives.

"It is only because 'Father' is here that this place is truly like a 'home.'"

Almost all who have had dealings with The Knave have felt the unseen, oppressive weight that emanates from her.

She commands any conversation with ease, and few can keep the secrets of their heart from showing on their faces when confronted with those unique eyes.

Ever ruthless, she will settle affairs while talking and laughing, even being so considerate as to do those who come after a favor by rendering the area spotless, so as not to traumatize them.

But none of that is what makes her most dangerous. "The unknown" has, after all, ever been the source of all dread.

Even the children, who interact with her on a day-to-day basis, cannot claim to understand her. Not her hobbies, her dislikes, or the things on her mind when she gazes out to sea.

Each August, they rack their brains thinking of birthday presents for her, and yet her reactions to each gift are virtually the same.

This continued until last year, when Freminet was given a nasty shock by a lizard that leaped down from the ceiling. The little "invader" was caught by Lynette's sharp eyes and quick fingers and then imprisoned on top of the table by a bowl she swiftly seized.

Both bowl and lizard wound up being taken for that year's gift by The Knave, who just happened to return home at that moment.

The next day, when Lyney entered "Father"'s office to give a report, he found a familiar figure in the feeding box.

The temperature and humidity within the box seemed to be eminently suitable for the little lizard, which seemed to be quite enjoying itself.

"Father" seemed to have experience in rearing reptiles.

As The Knave raised her teacup, Lyney immediately shifted his gaze away from the lizard, but he quietly noted this incident to himself.

The children seize every opportunity they can to get closer to their "Father," after all.

Thus, Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet began looking up all sorts of knowledge regarding raising lizards, hoping to have something to discuss with "Father" when next they saw her.

But just a few days later, when he next set foot in her office, the box was already empty.

"'Father'... What happened to that lizard?"

"It attempted to open the box lid a few times, so I gave it back its freedom. Our acquaintance was brief indeed, but that was the choice life made."

The Knave's voice was completely calm. Looking at the confused Lyney, she then directed a casual finger at a bird that was poking about at the windowsill.

"Ah, yes. Not long after it left, the lizard became this one's lunch. Now it seems to want me to serve it seconds... Go chase it away."

Vanity is but human, and adolescent children gradually gain awareness of beauty and homeliness. They begin to surreptitious don accessories and trim their split hairs with scissors.

Rebellious little tendencies such as these are of no concern to "Father," nor will she interfere.

But should a child reveal their position during a night operation on account of a necklace she would not lay aside — now this would require a "Father"'s instruction.

Thus did Arlecchino enter that girl's room, a lovely handbag in hand.

The necklace had already been taken off and placed on the table, and the girl stood trembling next to it. She knew her error.

Arlecchino scooped up the necklace and gazed upon it, before walking over and looping it back around the girl's unblemished neck.

She then lifted the flowing gold locks around the child's ears. "Oh, you pierced them yourself."

And so "Father" once more retrieved velvet ribbon and jeweled earrings from that bag, tying the girl's hair with the former, and affixing the latter to her ears.

Then, taking her by the shoulders, she guided the girl before the mirror. The young lady reflected within was as a gem-encrusted noble rose, her beauty shining through the unease that blazed across her features.

"It is normal to be vain at your age. But do not let these beautiful trinkets arouse vanity and dull your intellect."

"I'm sorry, 'Father,'" the young woman anxiously apologized, her terror evident.

With quivering hands she reached for the earrings, making to unfasten them. "It won't happen again, I swear..."

But the mirror showed only "Father"'s unwavering calm, her smile seemingly undimmed.

"Shh... Do not be so nervous. People often long for that which they cannot have, and it would not do for regret to make beautiful memories seem ever rosier."

"Wear them. Once you have grown accustomed to them, you will realize that no gem, however exquisite, is any more than an object, cold and dead."

"This is your new lesson — to understand the source of your emotions. Master them, use them. Never be their slave."

Before "Father" rewrote the rules, the House of the Hearth had a wholly different face.

The previous Knave was named Crucabena. Of course, few used that name directly, and the children all called her "Mother."

And she seemed a perfect one: a friendly smile, a gentle demeanor, conscientiously caring for her family, and never without stories to tell the children.

Yet, should you have been brought up in an even slightly ordinary environment, the tales she told would have curdled your blood and chilled you to the marrow...

She would speak of unspeakable cruelties as if they were fairy-tale fantasies, guiding the House members to mutual slaughter, until the strongest among them was selected as "king."

She called herself a mother, but never saw the Hearth as her home. To her, the unnumbered sacrifices were but an interesting experiment.

Before taking the title of The Knave and changing her name to Arlecchino, the young girl had another name: Peruere.

She was an orphan of unknown origin, like all others in the House of the Hearth — a "child" of their "Mother."

Many knew that "Mother" favored her especially, indeed, caring far more for Peruere than even her own biological daughter, Clervie.

As such, even to the last, few understood why Peruere repaid this kindness with a magnificent assassination.

Crucabena's insane experimentation took place far from prying eyes, so naturally, almost none knew of them.

Peruere was thus tarred as having committed "matricide," her madness known to all.

Even after the dust had settled, she who had once been Peruere — and was now Arlecchino — did not offer any explanation.

She indulged the spread of these rumors, and indeed added fuel to the fire from the shadows.

Whether as a diplomat or assassin, one profits most from seeing through the other party while keeping oneself shrouded in mystery.

A small tombstone stands at the site where she slew their "Mother," the eulogy penned by her hand.

"Here the last light of the setting sun lies buried. Here the coming dawn finds a welcome."

To hide her origins and consign the truth to the flames, Arlecchino has always proclaimed herself a Fontainian.

The truth is, however, that she discovered an ability to wield a strange fire from a young age.

This attracted much curiosity, as no one in her "family" knew of such power. But at her young age, this seemed like no ability to be boasted of so much as a deep-rooted curse.

Each time she let her vigilance wane, this power would run rampant, eating away at her body. First her fingers, then her palms, and then her forearms...

The blackened marks were akin to those of burned charcoal, just as she seemed akin to burning firewood.

Here she had a vague foreboding, that if this dark shadow were to creep up her shoulder, and snake from shoulder to heart, she would likely undergo some sort of "change."

Perhaps that would be the moment fate tipped its hand to her.

Even without the corrosion, this flame brought her other troubles.

Those rendered ash by these fires would leave "afterimages." At times, they were fragments of memory, and at others, they donned the aspect of dazzling colors.

As those who fell at her hand increased, Arlecchino began to hear various voices.

Screams, wails, and hurled recriminations would wake her from dreams, and she soon grew used to this. She had few dreams worth remembering fondly, in any case, filled as most were with crimson moon and barren wilds.

In cases few and far between, these afterimages would be complete enough to take on the form of a "conscious individual."

Of course, these were hardly as special as "Clervie's shadow," but they would still appear by Arlecchino's side, driving the clamor away and buying her a moment's respite.

Like children at play, they would gather for a time, and then drift away as they pleased.

Arlecchino remembered who they were in life. But she would never call them by their names.

After meeting the Tsaritsa, being bestowed with a Delusion, and inheriting the name "Arlecchino," the young Knave was also granted an individual audience with her superior.

Director Pierro's expression lay hidden behind his half-mask.

"I know you still harbor dissatisfaction and doubt. As such, I will answer five of your questions concerning the world... or concerning yourself."

"You need not ask for guarantees from me, ask about our programs and principles, or about Her Majesty's ideals. Those, I can answer freely and without reservation."

Arlecchino did not wholly trust The Jester's open honesty.

"Then let me also state that I reject any deliberate mystifications or obfuscations, as well as word games and lies."

"Most prudent. In that case, allow me to answer the first question weighing on you. Why did we choose you, and why did you accept? 'The naive will die for their ideals, but we are willing to endure even the meanest existence to accomplish our goals.'"

"Question three. What do my constant dreams of a crimson moon and my powers mean?"

"I once served the final dynasty of an ancient underground kingdom. Its dynastic name was 'Eclipse,' and before them came the 'Crimson Moon.' As for the secrets from before your birth... I suggest you purchase a book named 'Hleobranto Innamorato.' I read no such tales in the days when I pursued academic attainment and saw it only by chance. The circumstances depicted are specious, but the key details are accurate."

"Question five. What will become of me and the others in the House of the Hearth once everything is finished?"

"I will be frank. None of you have any place in my ideals, for I plan only to uphold 'the virtue of folly.' But I can guarantee that our Tsaritsa will once again be a god who loves all humans, and in her ideals shall all human wishes be granted."

This "virtue of folly" was, of course, left enigmatic, but she accepted this answer nonetheless. The Fool had given five answers to her five questions, and the mist that covered her eyes was beginning to part.

"Arlecchino."

Pierro called out to her as she departed, and she turned around.

"Rather than dwelling on how the world is now, you should consider to where it should go."

The sounds of her departing footsteps as she spun on her heel and kept walking were the only reply.

The House of the Hearth uses many codewords to maintain operational security and secrecy, and of these, "Marelle" was personally selected by The Knave herself.

"Marelle" takes its meaning from a popular Fontainian children's game. Boxes sequentially marked with numbers are drawn out on the ground, a sandbag is thrown into one of the boxes, and the player will jump from box to box in a specific order.

No one knows when this game began to spread, nor who created the rules, but all young children of the Hearth have experienced being taken by older children to play the game.

Light-footed leaps, boisterous laughter... The memories married to "Marelle" were always wonderful, like the kiss of radiant sunshine.

As such, at first the children were perplexed when their "Father" was torn between assigning "At Ease" or "Danger" to that codeword.

Little did they know that in the House that came before, Marelle was no game.

In those days, each and every child would leap into the boxes one by one under the vigilant eyes of the adults. Stepping out of the lines or breaking the rhythm was not allowed.

There was never a need to ask the punishment for making a bad jump, for the area outside of the boxes was lined with upturned blades.

Those who lost their balance, whose stamina failed, or simply made an error out of fear... So, so many fell beyond the bounds, and the dark-red soil mourned that painful past.

None would have associated it with being "at ease" — indeed, few could speak of it without blanching.

Yet, after her hesitation, Arlecchino chose "at ease" as the codeword's meaning that day.

Marelle was by then no longer associated with "danger." Now, all that came to mind when this game was mentioned were smiling faces.

In which case, she thought, let those unhappy memories dwell in her heart alone. Let the blood and dust be wiped away, for should children not see a broader future?

Arlecchino has many sources of power.

The ancient Balemoon Bloodfire burns within her, the noble blood serving as both curse and blessing — this was her first support.

The merciful Tsaritsa pardoned her matricide and granted her a Delusion, proof of royal favor and a badge of honor. That was the third time she obtained a source of power.

Between these two, the girl who still called herself "Peruere" received a Vision.

While Clervie yet lived, Peruere had mooted the idea of assassinating "Mother" to her. Perhaps she lacked confidence, or perhaps it was their familial bond that yet shackled her, but Clervie refused.

Clervie's destiny concluded when the cold blade pierced her. But as she slipped away towards death, she was truly happy, for she had finally found her freedom.

But for the living Peruere, fate's gears had only begun to turn.

The experiment to select a "king" was over, but "Mother"'s ambitions were far from fulfilled.

Peruere thus decided to undertake the plan that had once been shelved solo.

From that day on, she silently calculated the gap between herself and "Mother." Her martial skills were the fruit of her "Mother"'s tutelage, and the strength flowing through her bloodline was laid bare before "Mother."

And what was a child before adults but a nestling — even one who had emerged as ruler of the roost?

But what her life of suffering up till now had not taught her was how to give up.

Thus Peruere constantly honed herself, though her body became riddled with scars from constant battle, though her arms should be burned black from baleful blood-fire she could not completely control.

Then, on one moonlit night, a Vision came to her without warning or portent.

The round Vision lined up perfectly with the moon, and the glimmering gem tinted the latter crimson—

Was this her wish?

Was this merely the fruit of hundreds of days and nights of ceaseless thought?

Such a question was doomed to remain unanswered, and so she did not obsess over it.

She merely concealed the Vision in the place closest to her heart before sending "Mother" a "pleasant little surprise."

As a Fatui Harbinger, Arlecchino bows before no god. Yet though it represents the institution of The Seven, she always takes meticulous care of this Vision.

To her, this is proof of her defiance of fate, wresting from it command over her future.