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Post by Vincenzo Stregoni on May 27, 2012 13:41:35 GMT -5
Vincenzo Leonardo Stregoni
 biological information
Full Name: Vincenzo Leonardo Stregoni
Alias(es): The Don, Capofamiglia
Gender: Male
Orientation: Heterosexual
Age: 49
Date of Birth: August 1
Marital Status: Married
Place of Birth: Venice
Race: Magic User – Stregheria
Occupation: Businessman, Don of the Stregoni Mafia
Physical Appearance: With Vincenzo’s height, body frame, and inherited characteristics from his parents, he can easily slip into the shoes of a ruthless don, efficient businessman, and loving husband and father and anything in between the three of these quite easily.
He stands at six feet two inches and he has a very muscular build. He was heavily engaged in sports in his youth but now as a Don and businessman, time constraints have led him to simply work out three times a week. With this and him eating the proper foods, he has developed his muscular frame. A big part of why he continues to do that is because of his vanity and him wanting to look extremely good.
Like most of the family, he has dark wavy hair that grows even curlier as it goes longer, but Vincenzo hasn’t really tested it since he has always kept it in a decent length with a decent cut. Sometimes he styles his hair with gel and slicks it back for events, sometimes he may opt to just use wax to keep his hair from being disheveled by winds or during a fight, sometimes he doesn’t do anything to his hair and it still manages to look decent enough for a casual meeting over coffee.
Also like most of the Stregoni, a notable feature Vincenzo has is his eyes. He has hooded, blue eyes. Sometimes pale blue, sometimes dark blue depending on the lighting but either way, his eyes give off an intensity and an emotion that contributes to his very expressive face. Vincenzo usually keeps a decent amount of stubble. Not too long that it looks unruly but not too short either to make it unnoticeable. He believes that it adds to the whole suave Italian effect he has.
Given that his age is forty nine, he looks rather young for that age. The reason why is because of his liberal use of magic in keeping himself from aging physically. Another side effect of his vanity. While he is biologically forty nine years old, he looks like he’s in his early thirties instead and is immensely happy when people complement his skills in the illegitimate and legitimate business scenes while still managing to look that good.
Clothing-wise, Vincenzo fits rather well in the stereotype of an Italian and of a Don. He possesses an immense number of suits ranging from the top Italian designers. For more formal occasions, he prefers solid dark colored suits and complements it with bright or patterned accessories. For casual wear, he can actually pull of more youthful trends such as the blazer-while-wearing-jeans look and still pull it off, given of course his use of magic has made him look younger.
Celebrity Claim: David Gandy
special abilities
Powers:- Stregheria – Stregheria is an ancient form of Italian witchcraft that can be traced in the ancient Etruscan civilization. Stregheria is a worship of “The Source of All Things” personified as a lunar goddess and a horned god. They go by many names but the most reoccurring ones are Diana and Dianus. However, followers of Stregheria also acknowledge a pantheon of other gods, goddesses and spirits.
Historically, there was a great decline in Stregheria only to be revived by a woman named Ardia in the mid-14th century. When Aradia first brought Stregheria back to the people of Italy, she taught her followers the old ways as well as the secrets of the Earth, Moon, and Stars. However, with the beginnings of the persecution of witches in Italy, the followers of Aradia split into three clans where each clan was entrusted with one section of the secrets. However, there was one individual who possessed the secrets of all three, a descendant of Aradia.
The reason why the Stregoni have been so adept with Stregheria was due to them being the direct descendants of Aradia. For the Stregoni, they view spellcasting as a collaboration between them and the spirit or divine that they invoke. Spellcasting usually involves incantations or setting up the proper circle with an altar. Some items that they usually use are the spirit bowl, the wand, the athame, the pentacle, and among other items.
Being a descendant of Aradia, Vincenzo’s magic has been augmented by his bloodline. Vincenzo has also spent a huge portion of his life studying Stregheria, its spells, its rituals and its very nature. This has caused Vincenzo to achieve a level of mastery over it and add to the fact that his powers are augmented by his blood, he has finally able to achieve the title of Archmage.
As an Archmage, he can cast almost all of the Stregherian spells with relative ease and he has also been able to memorize a decent number of rituals by heart already. However, Vincenzo still brings his spellbook just to be sure. Also, as an Archmage, he has a large amount of magical stamina and he rarely gets tired in a magical fight unless he is fighting a fellow Archmage or a being of equal power.
Aside from being an Archmage, Vincenzo has learned enough about Stregheria that he has also become a spellweaver. This means that he can cut corners in spellcasting but at the same time he would not be sacrificing the spell’s original firepower. Being a spellweaver has also made him capable of casting one spell after the other.
Being a practitioner of Stregheria, Vincenzo also has the ability called “Voice of the Winds.” With this ability Vincenzo can know the arrival of storms, in a literal and figurative sense. While he can know the weather, he can also know of ill times are ahead or conflict is near. This ability is developed by experience not by raw power and such Vincenzo has a decent grasp on this as he not only knows if storms are near but as to where it may be or if it’s a literal storm or a figurative one.
Vincenzo is the most powerful mage in Stregoni ranks and add to the fact that he can cast spells with a single word or phrase makes him a truly formidable enemy in terms of magic.
Skills:- Suave Businessman – In both the legal and illegal worlds of business, Vincenzo has proved to be quite the brilliant businessman. He prefers buying out his competitors and letting one of his trusted associates manage the company. There are many brands and businesses but if one follows them to their roots they all point back to the main Stregoni business. But even with Vincenzo giving some level of independence to the companies, he still keeps constant tabs on them. This type of management let’s Vincenzo focus more on the illegal aspect of the business as it requires more care, detail and attention.
- Great Micro and Macromangement Skills – Vincenzo can look at the bigger picture as well as the little things and from this he can discern the points where he can improve on. Because of this he is quite good in managing his resources in terms of people, money and arms in protecting his territory as well as cultivating his business.
- Saxophone Player – Vincenzo picked up this skill when he was still a teenager. Somehow, he never gave up on it, even at his age now. He may not be good enough to hold his own concerts or something like that, but he is good enough to woo a crowed whenever he decides to play.
- Expert Marksman – A must skill for the Don (or anyone in the underworld for that matter). Vincenzo has been trained to use a multitude of firearms at a young age. However, he prefers the use of submachine guns. They’re light, easy enough to bring around, they do an good job of raining bullets at his enemies and the recoil isn’t so bad. He can use other guns for sure but he really is more effective with submachine guns.
Personal Possessions:- Tenor Saxophone – Vincenzo’s one and only saxophone. It looks like any other saxophone except that it is silver plated. Despite the saxophone’s age and numerous visits to the technician to replace worn components, it still plays extremely well.
- Key of Dominion – The Key of Dominion allows Vincenzo to create his own pocket dimension. Inside that dimension, he has complete control of what is in it as well as a complete control of the rules and laws that govern that realm. The key has taken form of a plain silver pocket watch.
Weapons and Equipment:- Valentino – A Lares is an old guardian deity which protect either a home, a city or even a whole continent. In relation to Stregheria, a Lares is a spirit of an ancestor watching over the family and making sure that the bloodline survives. The Stregoni family, being a very ancient and powerful clan, has a Lares for each member of the bloodline. They are not bound to their charges forcefully, since they are, in essence, family, the bond between Lares and charge is that of trust. The only thing that they require is a periodic thanksgiving to the ancestors. Not all ancestors become Lares, only the most powerful members of the family are considered to be one. A Lares can still die, but for them to “die” is to cross the portal to the “other worlds” and wait for them to gather their strength to return to the physical plane, this can take up to several years.
Valentino is one such being and like all Lares, he is capable of shapeshifting and slipping in and out of the astral plane. He usually takes the form of a white lion (sometimes a winged lion as Lares too are often depicted with wings). He can also transform into many things but Vincenzo cannot force him to change.
In Valentino’s old life, he was the Don right in the middle of the Industrial Revolution. Valentino’s policies made the Stregoni adapt to the increasingly changing technology back then. He retired after some time and was content in becoming a Grimas, one who keeps the Stregherian traditions pure. As a Lares he continues to serve as a Grimas to Vincenzo.
He also has his own set of powers, given that he is a magical entity he can do magic. He can also enter the astral plane at will and talk to Marco telepathically. Valentino’s telepathy only works on his charge, Vincenzo, as well as any of the Stregoni family and with his fellow Lares. Valentino is a formidable magical being in his own right and he has enough magical power to endure a fight.
- The Triad Rings – These rings are passed down from one Don to the next. While each ring has only one function, the rings must be worn together in order for them to work. However, one can wear them on different fingers. The rings are all 1.5 cm wide and are made from platinum and each has a thin tungsten band running at the middle of each ring. Each ring must be stored with magical energy for it to work.
The first ring provides Vincenzo with a form of protection against telepathy. The ring induces a headache to the one trying to invade Vincenzo’s mind. The longer the caster attempts to invade his mind, the stronger the headache will be. The ring will also cause the culprit to hear an extremely long and boring retelling of Italian history. On an average, the ring can give Vincenzo protection from an Elder vampire for around two hours. The duration of the ring’s protection will scale depending on the strength of the attacker. The ring shall also provide Vincenzo the general direction of where the attacker may be.
The second ring’s function is that of telepathy. Vincenzo is able to have clear communication with people in a ten meter radius. While it is possible to communicate outside the ten meter radius, it won’t be as clear. Due to the effects of the first ring, Vincenzo is the one who should initiate the conversation. If anyone else tries to initiate a mental conversation to him, the first ring shall take over.
The final ring provides a weak form of telekinesis. He can sustain a 500 lbs. load for two hours. However, the ring can support a much larger load but it burn up the power stored in it faster.
- Athame –The Stregoni Mafia are known for their use of their athame’s in combat. It is standard practice that all magic users carry with them an athame that had been enchanted. The athame can produce blue flames or constructs made from it. While these effects look like flames they are actually now, they are ethereal flames and are magical in nature.
Despite being the Don, Vincenzo has still kept a simple and streamlined appearance for his athame. The double-edged blade is made from black ceramic with runes etched on its sides. The runes pulse in blue and white energy when in use. The athame’s hilt has black leather wrapped around it and the hilt has a metallic head of a lion placed at where the hilt meets the blade. The athame has to be recharged for it to work, due to tampering on Vincenzo’s part, it can sustain a large jet of fire (around three meters in diameter) for around three and a half hours and can scale accordingly when fully charged. Also, the more complex the construct the athame has to make, the longer it will take for Vincenzo to produce.
- Stregherian grimoires – Throughout the centuries the Stregoni family has been passing down their grimoires for centuries. Today, there are numerous volumes of spells, rituals and other such information housed in the Stregoni estate. Throughout his life Vincenzo has read almost all of it and has made a grimoire for himself, compiling spells and rituals he finds most useful.
- Guns – Vincenzo is extremely capable with firearms. His most preferred guns are submachine guns and semi-automatic pistols. He prefers to enchant the gun directly so that he doesn’t have to individually enchant the bullets. Being a spellweaver, he can easily change the enchantments laid on the gun.
- Tools of Stregheria – Stregheria is dependent on a lot of tools to make some of their spells work. They use the following items when casting spells that require a circle: a wand, a chalice, a pentacle, a moon bowl (a large shell), a vial of saltwater, an athame, chalk, herbs and many more.
- Nanta Bag – it serves as a carrier of the all of Vincenzo’s items that he needs in spellcasting, acting like a "portable altar". Within the bag were miniature representations of the ritual tools (ex. a thimble representing a chalice). Vincenzo’s nanta bag is a small pouch made from dark gray velvet. He has enchanted the bag so that it could contain more items that it is physically able to. The bag contains a thimble, a coin with a five-pointed star on it, a fruit or nutwood twig , a stone, a feather, matches, a vial of pure water, a portion of incense, 2 small white candles, a piece of chalk, a nine foot measure of cord or rope, a small finger-sized cup or dish, a symbol of the Goddess (a seashell, string of beads, nutshell), a symbol of the God (an acorn, pine cone), a portion of salt, small vial of anointing oil, a small coin with the Stregoni sigil embossed on it, and healing herbs.
Limitations:- While having the title of Archmage, Vincenzo was only able to achieve it simply because his power levels are that of an Archmage. Another way one can become an Archmage is by picking up another magical discipline, which he has not. While Stregheria has many applications and uses, if one were to find a way where Vincenzo’s magic cannot work, he has no fallback to go to.
Other limitations involve with the nature of Stregheria itself.
Stregheria is always about the collaborative efforts between the caster and higher spiritual beings. The rituals and spells that the caster does simply lets them use the specific entity’s energy. Since it is a collaboration, they must periodically give thanks to the spirits who aid them. This calls for a certain ritual that they must do periodically. If they fail to do that, then their spells might not work or even worse, they may backfire.
Furthermore, Stregheria isn’t known for its flexibility with regards to tools and items used in spells and rituals. A lot of the spells and rituals are heavily dependent on the proper tools. Failure to use the proper tools and failure to arrange them in the proper way may compromise the outcome of the spell. Also, with items there are only so much alternatives they can use. Example, the atheme, the only known alternative for that is any double-edged blade, so a common kitchen knife cannot be used. Another example would be their wands; a wand has very specific measurements and the wood must be taken from forked branches only.
While he is not totally dependent on items, to completely strip away Vincenzo of the tools will make around forty to fifty percent of his spells unavailable to him.
Vincenzo is a spellweaver, and while he can shortcut his spells he still cannot cast them mentally. In addition to that, he may only interweave up to a maximum of seven spells. Other limitations in him being a spellweaver is that in spells that require an item for it to work must still be used. For example, in a spell that requires a herb, Vincenzo cannot skip the herb. He may skip the whole magic circle and preparations but the right items must still be used.
Outside the realm of Stregheria and magic, Vincenzo is only a human. Although he does work out and does physical activities that is only to maintain his body and satisfy his decent amount of vanity. While his physical activities enhance his endurance that is the only benefit he can actually get from it. The other benefits that he could get from working out only apply if he has to fight another human but otherwise, those are non-value adding when he’s fighting something of the supernatural sort.
psychoanalysis
Personality Description: When people first see Vincenzo, they usually assume that with Vincenzo’s large body, he’d usually have an equally large personality as well.
They are correct.
Vincenzo is a man with incredible charms and charisma. He is the type of person who enters a room and chances are someone will notice him. On the surface, Vincenzo doesn’t necessarily fit the stereotypical image of a mafia boss or even the head of the legitimate businesses of the Stregoni. He laughs, smiles, makes jokes and generally seems like a man who is very relaxed and lives too much at the present. For the people who have never met him in a business meeting or at the underground, they would often think of him as rather vain, spoiled and generally lucky to have his business not only running but striving with that rather…overly cheerful disposition of his. He is a man known for his hospitality and always makes sure that his guests fell at home.
Of course, this is due to him being raised first as a normal Italian boy, (well as normal as the heir of the Stregoni mafia clan goes) before being raised as an integral member of the mafia and before he was trained to become the future Don of the Stregoni.
However, there is much more happening with Vincenzo and his apparent chill outlook in life.
Contrary to how he acts, he actually does things within reason and devotes a great deal of thought in his actions, he just does everything in an extremely relaxed manner. When dealing with associates and allies, he always projects the image of him being a man of reason and honor, helping them arrive at the right and efficient solutions and doing everything in his power to fulfill his end of the bargain.
Vincenzo also has a sinister side to him, as being the Don requires more than just good looks and charms.
When expanding his network, Vincenzo uses his charms, wits, hospitability and his reputation of being a very honorable man to make sure he gets a favorable outcome. He does favors in exchange for complete loyalty. He does not bully people in working for him, since he believes that happy associates are productive associates. While he offers help to his potential associates, what all of them do not know is that most of the problems that they have come to Vincenzo to help out with are problems that Vincenzo caused.
Furthermore, Vincenzo is not naïve enough to completely trust his associates. He keeps constant tabs on them and does not hesitate in “letting them go” from Mafia services when they have proved being disloyal or when they have exhausted their usefulness. He also is not above using force and ruthlessness in keeping his associates in line.
When dealing with enemies, he enjoys in using his reputation of a laid back, chill person to his advantage. He derives some sort of pride whenever his enemies underestimate him but in the end realize that Vincenzo has a lot more going on. Unfortunately, with Vincenzo being one of the most influential figures in the criminal underworld, not many people underestimate him anymore.
Vincenzo is also one who appreciates order and efficiency. There have been many changes in the operations of the Stregoni in both the illegitimate and legitimate sides of their business because Vincenzo constantly looks for things to change and improve. He does not go by the saying, “if it ain't broke, don't fix it,” instead he goes by “if it ain’t broke you just haven’t found the problem yet.”
With respect to family, he has learned to keep it dear and close to his heart. He knows that his life in the Mafia is important but he also recognizes the fact that it is not his only life, that there’s a part of him outside of it. However, he also knows the interrelatedness of each other and thus he doesn’t simply live for the mafia, he lives for his family and uses the mafia to preserve the honor, pride and traditions that the Stregoni have had for centuries.
Overall Vincenzo is a pretty laid back person. While he may not look it, he is quite the hardworking individual and meticulously looks at oversees his operations and making sure that everything is running smoothly. Although, ironically, most of the things that he tends to do like being too involved in his projects and being way too prepared and taking care of the very fine details during work sometimes border at being inefficient instead.
Strengths:- Efficient - Vincenzo always tries to incorporate being efficient in whatever he does, in his personal life and as well as work. However, given his other tendencies, Vincenzo is only able to be efficient in the workspace. Still, this trait of him has caused both the legitimate and illegitimate businesses of the Stregoni to blossom since Vincenzo makes it a point that all the aspects work together and work well.
- Charismatic - He can easily maneuver the social scene and with his upbringing in Italy, hospitality and his generally happy aura augment his charisma even more. In terms of business, Vincenzo has no problem explaining complex business models or ideas and his natural charisma makes him quite memorable during business meetings.
- Open Minded - This goes hand in hand with him being efficient. For him, to be efficient means that one must be always open to new ways of thinking because you never know when that new process or structure or idea may save money, time or even lives.
- Focused - As much as possible, he keeps his goals and does his best to achieve them and furthermore, whenever he gets overwhelmed by the amount of work he has to do, he always tries to go back to his objective and in doing so keep himself in track.
- Excellent Leader - Vincenzo is a very good leader and uses his charms and charisma to inspire the people who work for him. His leadership skills have made his people trust him and they would even follow him to the depths of the abyss and back if it was needed.
Weaknesses:- Too involved - He invests too much of his time and effort when the more effective way is to let the point person do his or her job. He also gives himself additional burdens by looking at the too fine details and all that. Add to the fact that he tends to overestimate his enemies so that he’d be better prepared…well for all the efficiency that he wants to achieve, ironically all the things that he’s been doing isn’t...efficient at all.
- Vain - He isn’t above using magic from making him look his age. Despite his age, he still looks quite young and dashing…all due to magic. He is prone to perpetually brushing his hand against his hair and devoting a few seconds of looking at himself at the mirror.
- Imposes problems on himself - For example, Vincenzo is vain so automatically, he has tendencies that make him prefer to do the inefficient thing like spend more time on clothing then on what is just right. He involves way too much of himself on his project which is just a pain since he wastes energy. The list can go on and on and because of that Vincenzo may sometimes find himself more tired than what he should be.
- Depends too much on family for emotional support -
The Stregoni value family and as such, Vincenzo is no exception. When times get rough, when it’s as if the world has turned against you, for someone like Vincenzo, there is no other option but to go back to family and simply hope that seeing your family will give you the strength to take on the world.
- Overprotective – He has suffered from a Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Although he has already been treated for that, there are still times where he can’t help but feel its effects once more. As such, even the thought of Adalina, Marco or any of his close friends in the mafia got hurt, he would definitely start feeling anxious.
Fear/s:- His family dying
- Dying alone
- That haunting memory of his team dying
- The family being destroyed
- Being abandoned
Goal/s:- To gain control of the Arc
- To train Marco in becoming a good leader
- To retire and live 'till the end of his days peacefully
biography
Their Story: It was the 1st the August in the beautiful city of Venice, the Stregoni family was doing an annual ritual of thanksgiving called Cornucopia. What differentiated this form the other periodic thanksgiving ritual was simply its scale. This was done once a year and it was a ceremony of thanksgiving for the year that had passed for all the help and the guidance that the spirits have given them throughout the year.
Suddenly in the middle of the ceremony, a spirit appeared. The spirit introduced himself as Valentino, an ancestor to the Stregoni and a Lares. At first they were confused as to why a Lares would suddenly appear but it was only a few moments after that that Vincenzo’s mother, Claudia suddenly felt the pain of an imminent birth.
And so, Vincenzo was the first born son of Giovanni and Claudia Stregoni.
Like the usual pattern of the Stregoni, Giovanni wanted to introduce the Vincenzo to the mafia at a very early age, but Claudia was very much against it. She wanted Vincenzo to experience a normal childhood. She really didn’t want him to be bombarded by the fact that he was part of the mafia and was the apparent successor for the title Don. She wanted him to at least have a normal and pleasant childhood to look back to when Vincenzo grew old. However, Giovanni wasn’t that enthusiastic with Claudia’s wishes but eventually the two reached a compromise. Vincenzo would already be taught the skills in being a good Mafioso but he wouldn’t know about the mafia until the proper time.
Vincenzo was introduced to the art of Stregheria when he was four years old. Given that the Stregoni view Stregheria as something religious as well as a magical art. Vincenzo was taught about the different kinds of spirits, about Aradia, the dual gods and all that, but they were all presented in a manner that a four year old would understand.
At the age of five, Vincenzo attended his first jazz concert. His father was a huge fan and sometimes brought his family along with him whenever he could. This had a profound effect on Vincenzo as he found that type of music to his liking. He liked the soothing sound of the saxophone. Claudia found it cute that her son had the same taste as his father but she thought, why not make it a passion? She encouraged Vincenzo and at the age of seven she managed to find a good enough sax player to teach Vincenzo. Although Vincenzo wasn’t sure he could play such a big instrument (tenor saxophones are huge relative to kids), he was first taught using the Sopranino saxophone, the smallest of the saxophones.
And with that Vincenzo found his young life filled with many activities. He had school at one side, training with his magic and powers and he now had a saxophone to practice with. Years passed with this routine. He was a happy Venetian boy and with Claudia’s teachings he had grown to be a charismatic boy as well. In terms of magic he also grew as well, being a main part of the Stregoni bloodline, magic came more easily for him and his spells were much more powerful. Also add that Vincenzo had Valentino giving him nuggets of advice now and then regarding Stregheria.
By the age of fifteen, he was finally introduced to the true nature of his family. It shocked him yes, although he kind of expecting something like that already. Usually he saw people in dark suits coming and going from the estate, on numerous times he saw them carry guns and firearms and speaking in hushed tones and when Vincenzo actually went near they suddenly changed the topic.
And with that revelation, another thing was added on his plate. He was suddenly being taught how to shoot a gun and how to be like one of the mafia, he was taught how to lead, how to inspire, how to use a preconceived notion of you to your advantage, all that stuff. He barely had time for anything else really. With school and training in both in magic and in the mafia, he didn’t have enough time to enjoy his saxophone playing, which by this time he was playing a tenor saxophone and which had grown to be a passion for him.
After three years of intense training, he finally managed to get in the Mafia. He entered the initiation to the mafia at the age of eighteen. At that time, Vincenzo was more than capable of being part of it…as an individual. As a team member, he wasn’t so good just yet as he often trained alone. Sure he could be a charming person to be with and was rather popular with the Mafioso he’d already met but it was a completely different ballgame when it came to working with them.
He committed his first murder also at the age of eighteen. He killed a former Mafioso that was suspected to switch allegiances.
And with that murder, he became part of the mafia.
Vincenzo was given to a crew led by Sabastino Donato Vinatonni. Sabastino was a relatively new Mafioso, serving for a couple of years, but he had already proved that he was competent enough for the job of being a Capo. The two Mafioso immediately became friends and it was Sabastino who showed Vincenzo what it meant to be part of a crew.
Throughout the years Vincenzo had proven a good Mafioso. While at the same time still continuing his studies and his training in Stregheria. He would also find the time to play his saxophone once in a while. Although there were circumstances where he had ditched higher command and had done things his way. Although Vincenzo got the job done and his actions made him popular with his fellow soldiers he was often chastised for disregarding the chain of command.
Vincenzo started studying at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice where he met a young woman named Adalina Emilia Claudia Lombardi, one who was also acquainted in the magical arts as well as being the only daughter of one of their allies . The two started dating a few months after they met. Between college life, a girlfriend, mafia duties, magical studies, sports, and indulging himself in saxophone playing from time to time, Vincenzo surprisingly surpassed it all. Although there were times where he had to lay off the sax and the sports from time to time.
When he graduated he was fully committed to the mafia and his magical studies. He was getting extremely proficient in Stregheria and was already starting to delve more into the abstract and philosophical parts of magic. His magic had grown to be an extremely strong magic user at this point and he was already starting shortcutting his spells already, a path that would lead him in becoming a spellweaver.
After a few years, Vincenzo eventually became a Capo himself. The circumstances of it involved him immediately taking charge when Sabastino was killed by an ambush by a rival family in Italy – the Mazzarano family.
The Mazzarano family was a small family, weak in the eyes of the Stregoni even if they knew that the Mazzarano family also practiced in the magical arts so the ambush wasn’t met with that much attention by Giovanni. He only saw the Mazzarano as a weak family in general and it was nothing compared to the Stregoni. He even referred to the Mazzarano as i viddani meaning “the peasants.”
But his father would not allow Vincenzo to strike the Mazzarano, there was no use in doing so. Still Vincenzo wanted to strike back at them someday, but his father kept him occupied with assignments in both Italy and in Arc as well. Vincenzo has a much more difficult time now that he had a say over his crew’s lives. The first assignments he was dispatched to do didn’t run as smoothly as expected but after a year into being a Capo, Vincenzo finally got in the rhythm of it all and started doing things more efficiently.
He married at the age of twenty-seven. One year after he was made into a Capo. Although initially Adalina was reluctant to wed with someone who was directly involved in Mafioso activities, Vincenzo managed to woo her with a very spontaneous and romantic speech about how their family would be at the utmost of his priorities and that even with all the chaos that could happened in their lives, he swore by all the spirits and his ancestors that he would always find a way to return to his family, that he would return to her.
Suffice to say, Adalina agreed and in the following year, the couple gave birth to their first born son, Marco. Vincenzo was ecstatic. He was had a healthy son, his operations as Capo were running extremely well, he was part of the most powerful mafia clan in Italy. Everything was just going his way.
However, that happiness would not last.
A few months after Marco was born, while Vincenzo and his crew were on an assignment, they were once again ambushed by the Mazzarano. This time Vincenzo could not take it in stride anymore. He pleaded with his father to finally allow him to strike back. They would finally avenge Sabastino and this would send a message to the Mazzarano to keep in line as well. His father finally agreed.
He was confident enough that he could handle this…too confident in fact and the fact that the Stregoni looked down on the Mazzarano family already, it was too much confidence going around.
The mission that was supposed to be easy turned out to be a disaster for Vincenzo.
With his arrogance, Vincenzo didn’t know how much the Mazzarano grew in the recent years. As soon as they entered Mazzarano territory, Vincenzo and his crew as immediately ambushed. The enemy came in swarms but even so, Vincenzo and his crew held on. Even with the numbers the Mazzarano was easy enough to deal with, until of course they brought in the big guns.
Knowing Vincenzo was the most powerful magic user in the crew, the Mazzarano hit Vincenzo with a small dart containing a special type of poison. It didn’t kill Vincenzo outright, it would be a slow and painful death and Vincenzo’s motor skills would be paralyzed.
Hit with the dart, Vincenzo stood helpless against the Mazzarano and without a capable leader and a powerful sorcerer; the crew eventually fell to Mazzarano hands. To Vincenzo it was a very painful sight for him to see. His friends were practically being torn apart and he, he who they trusted to lead and all that was just there. The poison was good, he couldn’t even close his eyes to make him stop seeing the slaughter before him.
If it wasn’t for Valentino whom Vincenzo was finally able to summon, he could have very well died. If the poison wasn’t acting too fast, then surely he would’ve been tortured at the hands of the Mazzarano.
The ensuring fight was loud enough that it alerted the local officials. Although Valentino kept the Mazzarano from capturing Vincenzo, the Lares was not able to delay the officials long enough. Vincenzo was taken into custody with charges for manslaughter and suspected involvement in Mafioso activities.
Giovanni was furious with Vincenzo. Not only had he charged into enemy territory without a solid plan. But it was Vincenzo’s pride and arrogance that cost the mafia one whole crew and the, not tarnished, reputation of the Mafia. A reputation that was destroyed single-handedly by Vincenzo. Although Giovanni himself had underestimated his enemy at least he would come up with a more decent plan.
Due to Mafia influence in the local officials, they were able to make them drop the charges linking Vincenzo to the Stregoni mafia, but they were not able to drop the charges against manslaughter. Not that Giovanni minded, that would be the price of his son’s failure and with that Vincenzo would have to serve his three year sentence.
At the start of his sentence, Vincenzo kept to himself. Watching his entire team get slaughtered in front of him made him develop a posttraumatic stress disorder. His mother used whatever power she had in the mafia in convincing the police to let him have a psychiatrist. With the joint efforts of his mother, Adalina, and Valentino, Vincenzo was finally able to recover. However, even if the nightmares and the common symptoms of PTSD have stopped, the night his entire team got killed would still have more subtle effects in Vincenzo’s life.
Vincenzo started using life in prison to his advantage, talking to the most useful criminals and making deals that would require their complete loyalty to him in exchange for freedom. He did this for the rest of his sentence and at the same time he continued training with his magic as he was well on his way in becoming a spellweaver and an Archmage.
By the end of his term in prison, he promised himself to never repeat what happened before; Vincenzo returned to the Mafia and was finally the Capo that was respected. It was hard at first, with his dark past affecting the people who were in his crew but eventually Vincenzo overcame his reputation. Sure there were some bumps on the way but generally Vincenzo was a much better Capo this time around.
He wasn’t as erratic as before, disobeying orders from higher command. He consulted with others when there was a more unorthodox method in his plans, he talked to others, he asked for input and even criticism in his plans in order to produce a good and well-rounded one. He slowly went back to his former personality of being a fun, charming and engaging individual but he was also wiser too.
And those newfound skills would be needed for the years to come.
When he was thirty-four disaster struck. Giovanni was attacked by the Mazzarano once more. It happened when he was travelling from Venice to Milan and the Mazzarano planted a very powerful bomb at the road that was so powerful that the local earthquake sensors registered the shock.
At the first few weeks of being Don, Vincenzo was bombarded with even more bad news. First, he just discovered the extent of the Mazzarano operations. It was huge. Vincenzo couldn’t fathom why the Mazzarano didn’t strike yet. Then there were the city officials to deal with as well. Apparently after the mass murder that happened when Vincenzo charged to Mazzarano territory all those years back, the Mazzarano have grown confident and started killing more and more often. The government’s response was a full out anti-mafia movement headed by Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. Ever since they started the anit-mafia movement, the two had grown quite iconic in their roles in eradicating mafia. Some smaller families have been taken out already and with the reports Vincenzo had, the two were growing more and more efficient in their work.
Given their current situation, the Stregoni couldn’t withstand a war on both fronts so what Vincenzo did was to make the two major powers fight each other. Vincenzo spent most of his time in Italy at this point, only going back to Arc rarely.
The first thing he needed was to hire new muscle, he staged a prison break in while using teams disguised via glamour spell as members of the Mazzarano. After that he leaked false information that the Stregoni were struggling and that they were withdrawing from their territory. Naturally, the Mazzarano moved in and Vincenzo ensuring that his contacts from territories were quite vocal with the new mafia occupation. Most of his contacts were killed by being too loud but Vincenzo did not bother with it too much. They had served their purpose, they put the Mazzarano in the newspapers and at the same time he couldn’t risk any of his old contacts switching allegiances after this whole ordeal.
With a smaller territory, it was easier for them to defend against the physical and magical assults of the Mazzarano, they relied in brute force. Their magic was powerful but extremely unrefined. With Vincenzo who had practically studied magic for his entire life, it was extremely easy for him to counter them magically. They continued to use mass media and the authorities to their advantage, making sure that all Mazzarano activities were published. The Mazzarano tried to retaliate by bringing the Stregoni to the limelight but Vincenzo had seemingly downsized his operations so much that he could easily hide his illegal activities in his legitimate business fronts.
All this culminated at the assassination of Falcone. Just like the accident that took Giovanni’s life, the Stregoni planted a very powerful bomb at a moderately busy intersection where Falcone would pass. Just like previous years, the explosion was so powerful that it registered in local earthquake sensors.
The plan worked well and now the government was focusing its efforts on the Mazzarano. Vincenzo’s contacts in the government also nudged the government in looking at their way and it wasn’t long before the Mazzarano was raided and its estates taken.
With that the Stregoni moved in for the kill, with Vincenzo himself leading the hit team to assassinate the Boss of the Mazzarano. In the estate of the Mazzarano, Vincenzo finally got his vengeance. He also uncovered numerous books and documents, one of those leading to a Key hidden in some ancient temple in Rome.
Most of the Mazzarano got destroyed soon after the assassination but Vincenzo once more called in an assassination, this time to Boresellino. Again, evidence was planted to make it look like it came from the Mazzarano and with the two powers fighting and tiring each other out, the Stregoni once again started expanding.
With the books and documents he acquired from the Mazzarano headquarters. He was able to gain even more magical expertise, finally honing his magical skills to the point that he was both an Archmage and a spellweaver. He had also used the documents to track down a magical artifact found in a deep cavern underneath Rome. Upon further research after he found it, Vincenzo realized that he had in possession of the Keys of Power.
At the end of Vincenzo’s campaign, the Stregoni had dominated most of northern Italy already and secured the Stregoni family as the dominating mafia clan. With that Vincenzo looked back at the city of Arc, where he was needed to stabilize the Stregoni hold in Arc since he was too focused in his campaign in Italy.
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