Tonight is the most important date in the Venetian social calendar – the annual masquerade ball, hosted by Dr Black, the wealthiest merchant in the city. High society buzzes with anticipation at this opportunity to mingle with the wealthy and powerful, drawn to Dr Black's party like moths to a flame. It promises to be a night of masks, mystery … and murder.
New weapons!
Orchid is considered the power behind the throne in her native Japan. Her husband, the Emperor, is insular, but Orchid feels the winds of change and has accumulated great wealth for her dynasty by establishing trade routes with the west. Her largest trade agreement yet was with Dr. Black. But Black was not holding up his end of the bargain. Orchid traveled to Venice to demand answers from Black … perhaps she sought to make an example of him?
Duke Mustard leads an opulent lifestyle. The only things that interrupt his feasting and carousing are pauses for hunting and gambling. It was his refusal to pay a gambling debt that provoked a duel between Mustard and Dr. Black. Mustard was beaten, but Black spared his life. Perhaps Mustard sought revenge for this humiliation?
Scarlett is the doyenne of Venice, a noblewoman and one of the city's most powerful merchants, second only to Dr. Black. Perhaps she wanted Black out of the picture so that she could take over his business, and become the reigning host of the prestigious annual ball?
Azure trusts his life with his tarot cards, consulting them whenever there is a fork in the road. They have never led him wrong yet – it is through them that he gained the affections of the princess who would become his wife, bestowing great love and fortune upon him. The cards brought him to Venice, where he read Dr. Black's tarot. The Devil. Wheel of Fortune. Death. Judgement. Just how far would Azure go to fulfil the destiny he saw in the cards?
The twin princesses have been inseparable – and indistinguishable – since birth. They share everything, including their own private language. Dr. Black's ball was their society debut. They should have been excited by the prospect, but they had heard that their royal father intended to marry one of them off to Black, who would be a powerful ally to their house. Perhaps the twins decided to prevent their separation by any means necessary?
Cardinal Green was a noble man of the cloth, dispatched from Rome to Venice earlier in the year. He never made it. A scoundrel killed him en route, and assumed his identity. But Black knew the real Cardinal Green. Perhaps Black unmasked the impostor, who took drastic action to protect his secret?
