Mea Mondavi

Valentina Villanova may (secretly) be the most brilliant strega, and Beatrice Caligari is hands-down the most powerful, but tiny little Mea Mondavi has them all beat when it comes to sheer ruthless ambition.

Mea Lucani, a cousin of Alberto Lucani, was a sharp girl, in just about every way possible. Small and delicate, her long, narrow fingers, proud bladelike Vodacce nose, and dark piercing eyes gave her the appearance of a menacing, spidery china doll. She spoke in neat, clipped tones, usually with an air of irritation (to her many inferiors) or barely disguised contempt (to her male relatives). She was observant, making startlingly insightful discoveries from her work with the strands. And she practically bristled with frustration - frustration at the limitations imposed by her sex and by the Lucani curse, both of which prevented her from participating in the Great Game to the extent that she wanted. She was never especially interested in education, per se - there were, after all, servants who could read Means to Ends to her. But knowing that she would need to always play the Game through a male proxy irritated her.

She was not impressed with Alcide Mondavi when the young prince came calling on her father. He would get her out from under the Lucani curse, certainly, but what opportunities would she have as the wife of a cowardly, muddy farmer? But her father was very honored that a prince would show an interest in his daughter, and it looked like the match would be made. Mea talked one of her brothers, a fine swordsman, into insulting the prince to provoke a duel. He had no brothers and no heirs; without a prince, Mondavi lands would be ripe for the taking and the Lucani would know about it before anyone else. She was quite pleased with herself for finding this opportunity for her family.

Mea watched the strands during the duel. She couldn't aid her brother, of course, because of the curse. Mondavi was younger then, and not quite so deadly as he is in 1668, but the fight was still not very long.

They talked, afterwards. Alcide had not fought as a coward fights, Arcana be damned; Mea was cautiously intrigued. For his part, Alcide was impressed with her Gamesmanship. He didn't need Sorte to tell that her brother's death, at her urging and before her eyes, didn't upset the Lucani girl much at all. It was exactly the kind of quality he was looking for in a wife.

The unholy pair made quite a couple. Alcide's ambitions fit well with Mea's own. Making her a full partner in his plans won him her loyalty, and she eagerly uses her Sorte to improve both their fortunes, and does not hestitate to destroy anyone who might be getting in their way. Alcide, a thorough-going psychopath, likely cannot ultimately see Mea as anything more than a tool. She is, however, a very valuable tool which he will take great pains to protect, preserve, and maintain in excellent working order. And, in all fairness, Mea views her husband similarly. He's the male conduit through which her own plans and machinations take shape in the world.

Several happenstances which extremely favored Mondavi could be Mea's work. She might have tied Eric Sieger to Alcide with strong Coins strands. (Sieger's Man of Will Advantage prevents Swords and Cups strands from affecting him, but he is still vulnerable to Coins and Rods.) Fate resolved that relationship when Sieger salted his lands, placing him in a position where he would need to hire himself out to his farmer neighbor to feed his people.

Canonically, Caligari Island was an unforeseen accident in which Mea Mondavi could not plausibly have had a hand. She may have done what she could to preserve Vincenzo Caligari for those first few weeks, to give the other princes someone to hunt. Not that Caligari seemed to need her help: when Eric Sieger attacked him in Octavus, Mea should have been working against Caligari, yet the old tyrant managed to escape anyway.

Giovanni Villanova's absence from the field may also have been her work. She surely had no hand in his confrontation with his wife and courtesan. (Valentina could have ably defended herself from any such manipulations.) But she may be caretaking the strands that formed as a result, keeping Villanova's obsession with the pair strong and weakening strands to any other matters that require his attention. She is likely fighting Valentina on this, who would be trying to do exactly the opposite.

Mea Mondavi, Villain
Reputation -75
Arcana: Ruthless (Or Ambitious if the GM prefers a Flaw)

Brawn 2 (1), Finesse 2 (1), Wits 4, Resolve 6, Panache 3 (While she is ill, use the stats in parenthesis.)

Advantages: Indomitable Will, Legendary Trait (Resolve), Noble, Servants, Small, Vodacce, Montaigne, Eisen. (Mea does not read or write.)
Sorte (Master): Arcana 5, Coins 5, Cups 5, Rods 5, Swords 5

Courtier: Dancing 1, Etiquette 3, Fashion 3, Oratory 2, Gossip 3, Politics 5, Scheming 5, Sincerity 4
Spy: Shadowing 2, Stealth 2, Bribery 3, Intimidation 4, Poison 3, Sincerity 4
Knife: Attack 3, Parry 3, Throw 1

Mea's Illness
If the job of the Tessatore is to keep strega from performing too much Sorte, Mea Mondavi's illness may be their doing. While Sorte itself should not be able to afflict a person with a disease, the Tessatore surely have other resources. Mea's illness may be the result of a mild poison, or is perhaps sorcerous in nature (in which case, it would be unlikely that she has done any major Sorte since falling ill). The princess is probably not herself a member of the Tessatore. She is powerful enough, but too young at only forty.