How it all began...

Disclaimer: So there are a few things of note. I want you guys reading this to take into account that this just an idea that I have as the back-story for our game and by no means is final or anything. Personally, I like this idea as it fills in a lot of the holes of the story and with all this information, we can pick and choose what elements of the story we will be revealing to the player (or audience) and what parts we can keep to ourselves as the creators. Most storytellers leave out certain details of the story so that the listener can come up with their own answers, and we can leave out these kinds of things to keep things mysterious and interesting. Another thing of note is that I’m exploring the possibility of Pin’s “human” body not only looking different, but being a completely different entity. The character Matteo is the young prince who is turned into the marionette character “Pin” that was gifted to him by our antagonist Balthazar (He is no longer “Balthier” because that is the name of a Final Fantasy character as someone pointed out and it’s kind of bugging me. Balthazar’s “good” brother shall be called Tobias). None of the names are really final and if you guys come up with other names you’d like to use definitely feel free to let us all know.

Chris: Definitely give me your feedback and tell me what you feel should be changed or updated. I think you put us in a great direction with the story and want to see how it fits in with your overall vision. 

----Get the popcorn ready because this is a bit of a read...

The Magic Core

Some time before the events of “No Strings Attached” there was a town with a castle and in it lived the king, queen, and the young prince Matteo. The domain was inhabited by humans and magical beings called witches. Legend spoke of a mystical artifact known as the “Magic Core” that was the source of the world’s magic, was hidden away within the walls of the domain. The king, queen and all the inhabitants kept order within the domain to ensure that magic in the world maintained a proper balance. There were always people and witches who were hungry for more power and would try and seek out the fabled “Magic Core”, but none were successful in attaining it.

March of The Marionette

One day, a large circus came into town. It had various different kinds of attractions and performances, but there was one show that everyone was most excited to see. It was Balthazar’s “March of The Marionette”, a puppet show featuring marionettes dressed up as characters from popular stories. Everyone came out to see the performance, even the royal family. Little Matteo was completely enchanted by the variety of different kinds of puppets and the performance. After the show, everyone in the audience was given a puppet of their very own as a gift for coming out to enjoy the show. Balthazar came out to where the royal family was sitting and introduced himself. “I’m so thrilled that I was given the privilege of entertaining the royal family. I would be absolutely delighted if you would accept a gift from me. It’s a puppet I created myself, I call it… “Pin””. Matteo was ecstatic and graciously accepted the present.

The circus was still in town for a few more days, but already all the domain’s children were playing with their new presents in the street. Matteo was no exception and he took his “Pin” everywhere with him. One night, Balthazar came to the royal family’s castle and asked to put on a private show for the prince and his parents. With him he had various different puppets and 2 young women (Onette & Elequin). As the performance went into its second act, it gets interrupted by a villager who runs into the courtyard in a panic, “The puppets! They have taken on a life of their own! They are attacking all the villagers!” he shouts. As the king and queen get up, Balthazar comes from behind them with several of his marionette minions “How rude of you to leave just before curtain call, seize them!” Balthazar demands. As Matteo turns around, the puppets that were on the stage jump at him and restrain him. “What are you doing?!” shouts one of Balthazar’s entourage, who is revealed to be Onette. “You have one last job for me, my dear Onette”, replies Balthazar. It turns out that the entire kingdom has been over run by Balthazar’s evil puppet creations. Once everyone was restrained, Balthazar begins asking about the fabled “Magic Core” that is said to be somewhere in the castle. The king and queen refuse to give any information, until Balthazar points their attention to Matteo. “I’ll make this very simple for the both of you; you tell me what I want to know or the young prince will be joining my collection of puppets!” Balthazar continues, “Onette here is a special kind of witch. “Magic Extraction” grants her the ability to remove someone’s spirit and transfer it into an inanimate object, such as a puppet”. The king & queen plead for them to stop and Onette tries stalling but ultimately she ends up using her magic, “Please forgive me!” she cries as she puts her focus on Matteo, who is clutching his “Pin” puppet. As Matteo starts to lose his spirit, Onette realizes that the boy’s spirit seems far more resistant to her magic.

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Important Story Details:

-Because the “Magic Core” could only be utilized by witches or magical beings, the God’s entrusted mankind to protect it.

-It is ultimately revealed that Matteo and his bloodline, though human, have a special ability to actually see the “Magic Core” and he has been the key to obtaining it all along.

-Onette is not only gifted with magic, but also the special ability of “Magic Extraction”. Extraction only works on those who are younger or physically frail, like the wounded. She is able to extract someone’s spirit from their body.

-Elequin on the other hand is a witch with the special ability of “Magic Weaving” that lets her move and “weave” spirit into vessels such as inanimate objects or other living organisms that don’t have a spirit. She is a witch who, like Balthazar, seeks the fabled “Magic Core”.

-Onette was taken in by Balthazar when her village was burned down. Balthazar promised Onette that if she came with him that he knew of a way to bring her parents back to life with the “Magic Core”. So he convinced her to aid him and Elequin to retrieve it. Because the power to extract and weave spirits is too powerful to be at the hands of one entity, it was divided between two special witches. Elequin will also be the one controlling the spider puppets, since she is a "Magic Weaver" I think it's pretty appropriate.

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(We now return to our regularly scheduled program)

Pin

Several lights begin to shine from Matteo which blinds everyone in the room. Once the light starts to fade, we see 5 glowing fragments over Matteo’s body. The fragments  represent pieces of Matteo’s self; Courage, Valor, memory, etc. Balthazar notices that Onette has disappeared. Elequin decides to try and find Onette, but Balthazar stops her, “Leave her be, she has already served her purpose. But what is this… This, energy? It seems that boy really is quite special”. Elequin collects the fragments and they proceed to search the castle for the “Magic Core ” but they never find it. The king and queen end up being locked away in the dungeon as Balthazar turns the once peaceful castle into his fortress of evil.

(Side note: During the “Magic Extraction”, Matteo’s spirit is actually split into 6 separate pieces. Because he had developed a fondness with the puppet, the consciousness of his spirit ends up “weaving” on its own with the puppet’s body. Onette somehow knew this (I haven’t figured out how just yet) and ran away with the puppet because she knew this would protect Pin. Onette makes her escape and tries to go as far away as possible. She finds a small town and a little boy (this is the same boy that is involved in the combat tutorial in the beginning of the game) who has a small collection of puppets. “You seem to love puppets; I would love for you to take care of a special one for me…” Asks Onette. The little boy eagerly accepts and runs along home. Onette had placed a small note into Pin’s vest that says;

“When you awaken, please search for me. I’m sorry.

                                    -Onette”

The Adventure Begins 

Onette goes back into hiding but is eventually apprehended by Elequin, who brings her to what appears to be some kind of puppet factory in the dark woods. Balthazar demands to know what she did with Pin, but Onette refuses to speak. By now Balthazar and Elequin had figured out that Matteo, who was now a puppet, was somehow very important to finding the “Magic Core”. Realizing that Balthazar and Elequin were going to try and force Onette into using her magic again, Onette decided that she had to do something to try and put a dent into Balthazar’s plans. Once Onette is left alone with Elequin, in a last ditch effort she attempts to extract Elequin’s spirit. However, Elequin was prepared and she had a magic mirror that she used to reflect the spell back at her. Onette’s spirit ends up being extracted and Elequin brings it with her to Balthazar. Balthazar decides to build a mannequin of Onette, one that looks identical to her and have Elequin weave her spirit into it. The purpose for this was so that he could create a "prison" for Onette so she couldn't use her powers anymore and to use her as bait for if Pin ever came looking for her (this will also explain how, in the final battle, Balthazar ends up controlling Onette with puppet strings to fight Pin). We also learn that by this point, Elequin has weaved Matteo’s fragments of his self into the bizarre, treacherous puppets, which end up being the game world bosses, including Spindle, who was a failed attempt at extracting and weaving magic into the artificial body. Using Onette’s magic aura from her body, Elequin weaves strings in order to animate the puppets. Shortly after Onette awakens, so does our hero, Pin. And so Pin's adventure begins...

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Key Terms: More of the game world's mythology and terminology. Again this is just information for us to know and decide how and where we can plant bits and pieces into the various places that our players will travel to and the people they meet.

Magic Aura - The aura that surrounds any magical being. It is invisible to the naked eye and can only be seen by humans who are descendants of the royal family entrusted with protecting the "Magic Core". This aura is also used by Elequin to weave magic puppet strings in order to animate the puppets. Pin regains the ability to see magic auras once all his fragments of his self are put together and he is back in his body.

Magic Core - A legendary artifact that is said to be the very source of all magic on the planet. Only a magical being is able to utilize it. The artifact is invisible to everyone. That is everyone except for the royal bloodline, who are humans that were granted the ability to see "Magic Aura", which would be Matteo and his family. So essentially the only ones who see it can't even use its power, therefore it will always remain out of reach.

Magic Energy - The energy that is produced from magic use. Witches use it to cast their spells. It exists all over the world and is produced by the Earth. This is an invisible resource that witches can feel, but only Matteo and his family can actually see.

Magic Extraction - A very special magic ability that grants the user the power to extract the spirit of a living organism, but only of those who are willing or have become weak. In ancient times it was used by a noble witch to help ease the pain of the suffering by extracting their spirits and returning them to the world in belief that they will be reincarnated. 

Magic Weaving - A very special magic ability that grants the user the power to weave various kinds of energy (such as "Magic Energy" and "Spirit Energy") into inanimate objects and other kinds of vessels. It is said that an evil witch used this power to help keep herself alive for many centuries by finding new vessels to transfer her spirit energy into. (This could be a secret boss, or a villain for a sequel!!!)

Spirit Energy - The energy that gives consciousness to living organisms. It is typically in the form of a magic orb of light, or in some cases, darkness. If the Spirit Energy that is removed from the body isn't returned, it may end up wondering the Earth in the form of a ghost or banshee.

Spirit Fragments - Fragments are produced when someone's spirit energy is somehow shattered or divided. In Matteo's case, his spirit energy is extremely delicate because of his royal blood and the special ability he has to see Magic Auras. Onette is familiar with spirit fragments because when she was a little girl she accidentally used her powers to try and help someone but ended up shattering their Spirit Energy.