Mozart

Name meaning: He chooses to go by many names, but Marie has taken to calling him Amadeus, the Latin form of the Greek "Theophilus" which is variously rendered as "lover of God" or "loved by God."

ROLE: Composer/Musician, Musical Instructor. MATE: Marie and Salieri FAMILIAR: Poltergeist Piano NOTABLE RELATIVES: Note: Was originally named Rhian when adopted. Outfit: Mozart. Based on FGO's Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Outfit inspired by this beautiful disaster.

Mozart was born of two sun gods residing with the Clan of a Thousand Clouds in Lanternlea Port. He had been charmed by the music Helios would play in praise of the sun and adopted the craft, having discovered his own knack for it.

It surprised many around him just how talented he was. He could listen to someone play an entire song for the first time and then perfectly recreate it from memory. He would even make a game out of creating variations on other musicians' works, which some felt was an attempt to upstage them by "improving" what they had written with little thought and no practice beforehand. But in truth, he expected them to respond in kind by creating a variation of their own and was sorely disappointed by those who refused to humor him.

How could a dragon so young be so quick to absorb sounds around him and convert them into knowledge? they wondered. He must be blessed!

In the beginning, they encouraged his talent and tried to nurture it, but he quickly grew beyond their control. Bored by the lack of a challenge, Mozart decided to find entertainment in other ways. It was an unfortunate development for everyone that he discovered how to use sound to influence bowel movements and chose to interrupt a meeting of the High Council with an impromptu performance.

Needless to say, a grievous error had been made that day and he received ancestral judgement for his disrespect. Domina minced no words announcing that it would be better for him and for the clan if he were to leave the Port so he could discover what he was truly made to do in this life. Of course, he interpreted that to mean that the stuffy old hats on the Council didn't appreciate his unique sense of humor and had voted him off their shiny rock to avoid another incident of musical laxatives. So, he left to instead embark on a concert tour of Sornieth... and accused them of being "as boring as the dead they worship" on his way out.


On his journey, Mozart passed through the Wispwillow Grove. Something about its aura intrigued him at first. It seemed somehow forbidden, yet it beckoned to him to unearth its secrets. Following this curiosity led him to what appeared to be a wandering clan of strange entities - chaos and harmony coexisting together with curses and deities previously unheard of.

Perhaps unwisely on his part, he hadn't known fear in his life before and he was determined not to start now. It would have been easy to size up the situation to be more trouble than it was worth and immediately turn away with the intention of forgetting everything he had seen. But where would be the fun in that? Surely, there must be someone here who would appreciate all he had to offer!

As it would turn out, the deities there welcomed his music but would have been far more impressed with the rest of his personality had he left it at the door before entering. At least they gave him some warning before releasing the Curses to chase him away. What should it matter that he was loud and sometimes crude or that he used his music in unconventional ways when he was just looking for somewhere to let him play? He was good - better than good! He had no competition that could best him yet! How was progress to be made if he wasn't allowed to bend the rules?

So, he kept wandering and composing his music; and if he took a break every now and then to play a trick on a passerby, who could hold it against a genius for having a bit of fun to lighten the spirits!


The day everything changed for him was the day he met Marie.

She had paused her travels in the middle of the Driftwood Drag to listen to him play; no idea if he was friend or foe, no concern for what could happen to her out in the open and unprotected where shadows lurked, not even a single suspicion about him or his intentions beyond a genuine curiosity about his work. In fact, she insisted he play for her some more right then and there. And she was enjoying it so thoroughly that he couldn't stand to disappoint her. When she listened, her eyes closed as though she were letting the sounds sweep her away to another world where there was only music all the time and no distractions to sully the notes. And when she opened her eyes - her beautiful, twinkling eyes full of wonder - at the end of each piece, she applauded and praised him with the most enthusiasm he had ever seen directed toward him.

Not his music. Not his talent. Him.

"Could you teach me sometime? Oh, I would just love to sing with you! Wouldn't that be fun?"

From the first moment he saw Marie, she became his first love and he knew that she would always be his most important. That moment was nothing short of a miracle. There was something so precious about her, something so worth cherishing that he finally saw a glimmer of what Domina might have been referring to. He had a gift that was worth sharing with the world. To be selfish about it would have robbed him and this precious angel of this moment where their hearts had connected.

And so, they agreed to travel together to places Marie had never seen. She told him that she only wanted to see everything she couldn't back home, but he could tell she was following her heart somewhere and he was content to go wherever it led as long as that made her happy.


One day, when they had stopped to rest at a lively tavern, he pulled her into a dance.

"If I asked you to marry me, would you say yes?"

"Amadeus, you say the strangest things!"

She was the only one who called him Amadeus and he liked that. Out of all the names she had heard him introduce himself by, she liked that one best ("It makes you seem almost decent," she'd teased him) and he thought it sounded somehow more beautiful when spoken in her voice.

He twirled her. "What if I asked you tomorrow?"

"I would say you're a mad flirt!" She laughed.

"And if I asked you every day?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Behave yourself or I will have to apologize to our new friends for your dreadful lack of manners."

"Ah, even when you insult me it sounds sweet~"

This became a kind of game they played, but Mozart meant every word of it even if she didn't think so.


Eventually, they found their way to the Zephyr Steppes where they joined Haven.


Later, when Salieri arrived in Haven, Mozart became engaged with him as well. The more they honed their crafts side by side, he felt as though he was being humbled again. The work and passion Salieri put into every breath made him wonder if perhaps it was possible to become even greater...







[so Mozart gets sick and rumors spread that Salieri caused it, but he and Marie know that's nonsense, try to make sure Salieri knows they are sure he's innocent, but Salieri ends up withdrawing and accepts the invitation from the Glade to stay until a resolution is found]


Mozart and Marie are of course upset and saddened by these events. They love their boi and want him to be okay. ;;w;; They know Salieri has started to blame himself for it and it's hurting him, but they put on a brave face for him because they know he's innocent and never want him to doubt their faith in him. So, Marie does what she needs to do to help Salieri get to a safe place in the interim (ie. sending the letter), since clearly being near them is also hurting him when there are still rumors circulating and she can't protect him from that despite her best efforts. Mozart understands all this, but it won't stop the hurt when Salieri does leave.


Panacea comes to Haven to assist with the healers' efforts to figure out what exactly is causing Mozart's sickness.

Mozart just being a big baby the entire time like "I'm fiiiiiiiine, I'll prove it by composing a symphony in Salieri's honor to show him there's nothing wrong with me and he can come back reassured that this is nothing but a mistake~"

Pana, not being one to tolerate such a belligerent patient, gives him a light smack because maaaaaaybe working yourself so hard while you're already sick will only make things worse, have we thought of that, Mozart?


So, with the help of Panacea's sleeping paste, Mozart wound up getting the best nap of his life and it became clear to everyone that he had been overworking himself to a dangerous point. Turns out not getting enough sleep weakens the immune system and can make a dragon highly susceptible to particularly strong innate Plague magic... Go figure!

Mozart makes a full recovery, Eris develops a solution to Salieri's problem in the form of a mysterious amulet, and Salieri returns home. Unfortunately, the readjustment process was not a smooth one and Salieri did not seem particularly thrilled to be reunited. Eventually, Salieri does manage to seek him out to discuss the situation and this is approximately how it goes.


Mozart smiled across the tea table Marie had set up for their meeting. "I think this is the first time you've willingly sat down to have a conversation with me since your return. Have you been avoiding me?"

"It took all of your genius to figure that one out, did it?"

Just like that, the humor was sucked out of the room. A dry and biting response to his playful jest had not been what he expected. "Are you angry with me?"

"Of course I'm angry!" Salieri looked directly at him, though only for a brief moment before turning away, and Mozart felt the complicated flurry of emotions wreaking havoc behind his eyes was enough to chill blood. "With myself…" came the quick clarification, "and wishing that you would be angry with me as well. It would make this much easier."

But Salieri hadn't done anything wrong…

"Why would I be-?"

…and clearly did not have time for questions, instead quickly forcing out words that had been held back far too long as though to finally make them someone else's problem for a change. Specifically his problem.

"I fear that I am deeply in love with you against my better judgment and it infuriates me to know that you hold such a power over me."

Well, it wasn't the type of love confession Mozart had been anticipating, but he wasn't given a second to process it anyway as Salieri continued his speech.

"Every time I thought of you, sick and possibly dying by my hand, still smiling and laughing like nothing was wrong… I felt repulsed and ashamed. All I could hear were your jokes and taunts about my motives, as though I could have ever intended to harm you."

"I never meant-" Another terrible look struck Mozart silent once more.

"Well, I started to believe there was some truth to it and it made me irrationally angry with you. So angry I felt capable of the acts I had been accused of…and worse. For the longest time since returning, I have regrettably been unable to control those feelings around you. I know now that the situation was beyond all of us to prevent and I don't blame anyone for what happened, but I still think about how close you came and how foolish you are…and how foolish I am."

Mozart hadn't thought his words could have had such an impact. He had been positive that his statements were so outlandish it would be clear that he didn't believe a word of it. But then, as Marie would say, he just hadn't thought. Of course he should have taken the time to consider that Salieri was distraught and that the last person he would have wanted to hear those words from would be…

"I'm the one who's foolish. You, Antonio, are brilliant and far more compassionate than I deserve." The softness in his voice seemed to surprise Salieri. "I thought about you a lot too while I was bedridden… and mostly worried that I had pushed you away somehow, but I suppose my words did that better than my actions could after all." He tried to smile again, but Salieri's long face made the effort feel vain. "I am sorry I hurt you. You're right that I was thoughtless."

"You are never thoughtless," Salieri grumbled. "You are always thinking a thousand brilliant thoughts and just as many idiotic ones. But your head is never empty, regardless of the carelessness of your actions."

This time, Mozart couldn't hold back a laugh. "No more of that! You are not permitted to flatter me anymore today. This is supposed to be a serious conversation."

A snort came in reply.

"I don't know what I would do without you and Maria always worrying over me. I don't think I've ever worried about myself as much as you two do. I would ask you not to tell her this, but I suspect - no, I'm certain - she has already figured out how much I downplay certain situations that I know would cause you both great concern." He had always seen his problems as his own, but he now understood how he wasn't the only one affected by them. "Call it a bad habit or a quirk of my genius, if you want; as long as you understand that it will take some time for me to change. But if trying to be more serious with you about this is what I need to do for your peace of mind, I would be grateful for another chance."

He extended an arm to reach for Salieri's face, stopping short to allow Salieri the choice to accept or reject the touch.

"No more jokes about your motives," he promised. "I have always believed in you and I'll prove it if you let me. Even if you bite me~"

With a long-suffering sigh, Salieri tentatively leaned into his waiting hand. "You are just as insufferable as always. But I am relieved that you are alright."

"I'm relieved to have you back too, Antonio."

This wasn't going to fix everything, he knew. That would take time. But it was time he was happy to have.