Stratagema-Cognoscenti's Mask

Stratagema-Cognoscenti's Mask is a Quest Item obtained during the World Quest The Tale-Telling Heart in Series East of the Moon, West of the Sun.

Description

Stratagema-Cognoscenti's Mask

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According to the tales that circulate in Nasha Town today, the master thief once walked the world without a disguise, free and tall.
It was only after the cold gibbet in front of the royal court failed to take his life,
That he began wearing the silver mask that might have covered his handsome face forevermore,
Had he not taken it off once more, and for good, after the pitch-black calamity swept the borderlands.

Over the centuries, countless rumors have circulated about the reason behind the master thief's actions.
Some say he did what he did to keep himself safe from the relentless searches happening in Snezhnaya,
while others say that he wore a mask to hide certain marks that had been left on him by the executioner.
Some tales claim the master thief put on the mask after growing weary of the love or hate of the madding crowd,
That his close shave with death had left him a changed man — taciturn and sparing with his words.

No matter the truth, the master thief's silver mask has become his symbol,
And combined with the spectacular heist of countless treasures at the borderland governor's palace,
Its legend has become as golden rain to the poor, nourishing their sleep with countless lovely dreams.

"You once prayed to the gods, to your masters, but none answered your wails."
"That is because the gods are just as helpless. Just like us mortals, they are trapped in the mortal world beneath the moon."
"They cried out in horror and despair, but none heard them. Brothers, the gods can save no one."
"Like us, they couldn't even save themselves. All we could do was take pity on each other."

The thief who wore the silver mask held the gods in open contempt, scorning the empty fame that the nobles vied for so desperately.
To the taciturn thief, both the northland Tsar and the mistress of the Frost Moon deserved his contempt and silence equally.
Until that rush of moonlight poured from the high tower, incinerating both the silver and the resolve reflected in her eyes...

Trivia

• The original Chinese text uses the typically masculine pronoun 他 to refer to the master thief (Reed Miller) in the first two paragraphs, then avoids using gendered pronouns up until the use of "she" (Chinese: 她) in the final line, with the implication being that the masked master thief was not Reed Miller, but another woman.
  • This may correspond with Solovei's statement that Alia "pretended to be [his] close companion" up until revealing herself during the cataclysm^[1] — a vague statement on its own, but which gains some additional context between this description, Aila's claim that Reed Miller abducted Alia,^[2] and multiple references to Solovei's friendship with Reed Miller and his witnessing Miller's execution.^[3][4]

Other Languages

Language	Official Name
English	Stratagema-Cognoscenti's Mask
Chinese (Simplified)	谋识者的面影
Chinese (Traditional)	謀識者的面影
Japanese	知識を求める者の面影 Chishiki wo Motomeru Mono no Omokage
Korean	식견을 가린 가면 Sikgyeoneul Garin Gamyeon
Spanish	Máscara del buscaconocimientos
French	Masque du connaisseur-stratège
Russian	Маска мудреца Maska mudretsa
Thai	Stratagema-Cognoscenti's Mask
Vietnamese	Mặt Nạ Của Người Tìm Tri Thức
German	Antlitz des Erkenntnisstrategen
Indonesian	Topeng Stratagema-Cognoscenti
Portuguese	Máscara do Cognoscente
Turkish	Bilgi Tasarlayanın Maskesi
Italian	Maschera dell'intenditore di stratagemmi

Change History

References