Adriana Grappo
Adriana Grappo is the late matriarch of the Grappo family. She was a member of the Assembly and a colossus in Ossan politics. She was also a staunch reformer, dedicated to helping the masses rather than enriching herself, which made her beloved by all. However, she did have secret enemies. She had a vast spy network, which reached from the streets of Ossa to the Ministry of the Legion and even amongst the Cinders. She is mother to Demir Grappo and adopted mother to Baby Montego, both of whom she raised with careful attention to their potential. She is also sister to Tadeas Grappo and served as his battalion's sponsor. Those close to her called her Adri.
She was beaten to death on the steps of the Assembly by six masked assailants, but the murder was covered up and used as an excuse for Ossa to declare war on Grent.
STORY
Adriana Grappo was an avid supporter of her son's education Demir Grappo, getting tutors for him from the time he was a small child so he could become a brilliant politician and military strategist. Thanks to her influence, he became a provincial mayor at only fourteen-years old and went on to have a successful career in the military. However, after Demir's mental break down at Holikan, Adriana was forced to cover up the incident, resulting in him and his supposed failure being largely forgotten as he avoided the Ossan public for nine years. After Capric Vorcien informs Demir of his mother's murder, Demir regrets his absence, realizing he was not there to protect her from her hidden enemies. He then commits to protect her legacy instead and to destroy the people who murdered her. Capric tells Demir that one of Adriana's killers was supposedly a Grent agent named Espenzi Darfoor. Espenzi was caught and questioned under the influence of shackleglass, confessing that the Duke of Grent sent him to kill her publicly. Unfortunately, the shackleglass broke Espenzi's mind before much more information could be extracted. After Adriana's death, her lover and majordomo Breenen Alvari buried her in the Grappo family mausoleum next to her late husband in a small ceremony attended by a dozen guild-family heads. Even weeks after her death, the staff at the Hyacinth Hotel leave candles at the mausoleum door for her. Demir later visits the mausoleum and speaks aloud to his mother, blaming her for his upbringing. He states that he hated her after Holikan, resenting her high expectations and cultivation of his potential that cut his childhood short, factors that made him brittle and unprepared for his failure at Holikan. He then states that he forgives her and regrets not telling her he loved her while she was alive, and he commits to making her proud of him once more.
Anticipating her untimely demise and its consequences years before it occurred, Adriana created a death journal that outlines all the important Grappo guild-family information, including calling cards, ledgers, Fulgurist Societies, journal entries, and spy reports. Adriana gave Breenen strict instructions to save the journal and give it to Demir, saying it was the single most important task he could perform to honor her memory. This death journal gives Demir much to work with in spite of the fact that the Cinders confiscate all of her personal papers after her death in the name of the Assembly's supposed murder investigation. Inside the journal, she confesses her secret partnership with Grent master siliceer Master Kastora on a project. She does not say what the project is, but she instructs Demir to immediately find Master Kastora and to tell no one about their partnership. Her final line states, "Secrecy may be the only thing that saves us," alluding to the importance of his silence. Demir then wonders if her involvement with the Grent siliceer somehow caused the Duke of Grent to murder her. To unravel the mystery, Demir hires Kissandra Vorcien to find his mother's other murderers while he follows up with Master Kastora.
Meanwhile, in Grent, Master Kastora shares his secret phoenix channel project with his protégé Thessa Foleer. He explains that he and Adriana designed it together, hoping to save the world from a disastrous fate should the world's supply of cindersand run out. When the Ossans attack the Grent Royal Glassworks in their first assault against Grent, Master Kastora destroys his phoenix channel prototype and charges Thessa with the schematics, telling her to give them to Adriana in Ossa. However, Thessa is captured by Ossan soldiers on her way there. She tries to bargain for her freedom by saying Adriana Grappo would pay her ransom, but the soldiers inform Thessa that Adriana is dead, her death being the reason for the war in the first place. Intent on accomplishing her mission, Thessa then tries to escape in order to give the schematics to Demir.
During her investigation into the murder, Kizzie learns that her father is also invested in her findings, especially since he liked Adriana, and he demands she report all information to him, which she does periodically. After questioning the Madame-under-Magna, Kizzie finds out that Adriana was a secret patron of Torlani the Breadman, which granted him his independence while also affording him the protection of the Grappo guild-family. Torlani tells her that Churian Dorlani was one of Adriana's killers. When Kizzie questions Churian, he admits that his grandmother Aelia Dorlani ordered him to kill Adriana and that Glissandi Magna was another one of the killers. Glissandi kills herself before she can give up any useful information after seeing the Tall Man watching them. Kizzie then discovers that Agrippo Stavri blackmailed her brother Capric Vorcien into participating in the murder as well, which he did unwillingly. Around this time, Kizzie discovers that so far, all involved parties were members of the same Fulgurist Society called the Glass Knife. Struggling to find more leads, Kizzie asks a national guardsman named Gorian to help her find the Tall Man. When Gorian arranges a meeting between them, the Tall Man tells Kizzie to drop the investigation lest she incur serious consequences, and when she does not take his threat seriously, he slaughters nearly everyone in Watchhouse #187, including Gorian. However, Kizzie does not give up, recruiting Baby Montego into helping her capture and question Aelia. Aelia does not reveal the identities of Adriana's last two killers since they are unimportant and instead confesses that Aristanes was the true killer in that he organized the conspiracy; Aelia was only following his orders. This lead takes Kizzie and Montego to the Zorlian Mansion, where Aristanes explains that he and Adriana had a deal where she would not interfere in the Glass Knife's activities. However, she had instead done the opposite, investigating the Glass Knife, even going so far as sending Breenen to infiltrate the Fulgurist Society. This prompted Aristanes to order Adriana's public murder, which also served as a warning to others poking around like she had.
When reminiscing about his sister with Idrian Sepulki, Tadeas Grappo recalls how she would always try to play matchmaker with him, though her choices were never to his taste. When reminiscing about Adriana with Demir, Tadeas explains that she had been a skilled Kings and Pawns player, beating him nearly every time since childhood. She also played against the Inner Assembly members, beating Father Vorcien four out of five games and Aelia Dorlani nine out of ten games. Demir admits that he had only beat his mother twice, the latter time being accompanied by a bet in which she demanded he return home from the provinces if she won. Demir regrets having won that game. Tadeas then informs Demir that only his father was equally matched in Adriana's skills, and his death was so painful to her that she rarely spoke of him or permitted others to speak of him in her presence. Demir wishes to hear more stories about both his parents from Tadeas after their upcoming battle against Devia Kerite.
Circumstances of Death
publicly murdered by six masked assailants
Family
Children
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
