Memento Vivere

❖ The Basics ❖

❖Name: Nicolo de Bastian
❖ Nicknames: Nico;
❖ Titles/Occupation: Corazzieri
❖ Age: twenty-three
❖ Social Class: Popolani
❖ Gender: Male
❖ Face Claim: Hayden Christensen


❖ Appearance ❖

Often teased about his boyish appearance, Nico is a man with a slim frame, standing tall at 182.9 cm (6’) tall, and weighs in a slim 81.6 kg (180 lbs). He is a handsome man with sandy blonde hair and striking blue eyes… Normally right-handed, but when it comes to swordplay, he finds his left hand has become quite useful. Often dressed in an ornate brown shirt, a brown jerkin, dark brown leather trousers, and pigskin-leather boots, he has, at his hip, a bone-handled, light-weight, side-sword; its caged, swept hilt affording him excellent hand protection, and the blade geometry offers him outstanding performance in both the cut and the thrust. In his boot is a long straight blade dagger; to which he is talented at throwing.


❖ Personality ❖

Some folks will say he is ambitious, impatient, and hardly focused; while others will say he is charming, conniving, and impulsive; which is not out of the ordinary for someone with his worrisome past; a former street rat in a world of trouble. But even in his early years, he had a hardworking nature; which is what he was most well-liked for. Those who were considered his friends, could frequently count on this and his good nature when they were in need of support. But still, others know it takes a while to get to know and/ or understand Nicolo de Bastian, but most now-a-days know that above all else, he is hardworking, inspired, daring, and confident. Beyond that, he's also playful, loyal, and focused with his Corazzieri brothers; pretentious, bold, dashing, and flirtatiously charming with the ladies; and especially compared to impulses of being irrational as well. He values the independence in his work, divisible from his personal life, and though now a Corazzieri, Nicolo is not the best at following orders. But when that occurs, he usually has a good reason for not doing so. His first priority is always the interests of his Corazzieri brothers, and if that means disobeying a few misdirected commands, so be it. His boldness normally pays off in the end. Despite his boyish appearance, and lanky frame, Nico is a tough, an excellent swordsman, and surprisingly intelligent… He is confident, rash, but loyal, and yes, he can sometimes be a bit arrogant, but beneath it all he has a sensitive heart; which leads to another side of him... the romantic, though that could be considered a weakness too.


❖ Likes ❖

❖ the redhead known as Lina;
❖ having fun with his comrades;
❖ good ale;
❖ a finely made sword;
❖ females;
❖ sunrises and sunsets;


❖ Dislikes ❖

❖ those who'd harm his way of life;
❖ betrayal;
❖ pistols and pistol practice;
❖ busy markets;
❖ lengthy lectures;
❖ being told “no”;



❖ Skills ❖

❖ street-smart;
❖ surprisingly intelligent;
❖ excellent swordsman;


❖ Strengths ❖

❖ witty and charismatic;
❖ sense of humor;
❖ good judge of a situation;
❖ stalwartly independent;


❖ Weaknesses ❖

❖ flirty;
❖ brash, impulsive, and passionate in nature;
❖ stalwartly independent;
❖ worries about his past catching up with his future;




❖ Family ❖

❖ Father --- Alessio di Pisa, a blacksmith from Pisa, in the central region of the Veneto;
❖ Mother --- Olivia, daughter of Bruno, the Merchant from Vicenza;
❖ Foster-Mother --- Felicita;
❖ Siblings --- None, aware of;
❖ Spouse --- None, aware of;
❖ Lover --- A Few; but he does not kiss and tell;
❖ Children --- None, he is aware of;


❖ Allies ❖

❖ “Bull”, and the Corazzieri brothers;
❖ Gaetano on the Council of Ten;


❖ Enemies ❖

❖ Those who would harm the Venetian way of life;
❖ Lucca Arcasian;
❖ Red Guard;


Nicolo “Nico” de Bastian is a former street rat in a world of trouble. Not many authorities know his face but knows of the shadows who lifts purse for a profession. Actually unsure of his birth day and year, he has been told he was 23 in the spring... and for some reason, he chose 6 April as his designated birthday.

Twas another day, years ago, like today… that the boy named Nico ventured upon another opportunity to increase his meager financial status on the narrowed streets of Venezia… That is if he can avoid the Corazzieri and Red Guard patrols; especially the Red Guards, who were usually cruel and unsympathic to the Villani (poor), particular street urchins. But even on lazy days like that day, the Holy See’s patriarch to Venezia, Cardinal’s Red Guard patrols made their rounds in Sestieri San Polo.

Nico looked around the corner, then behind him… and with one swift move, he made it to the ladder… up, up, he scurried, to the flat rooftop. And with a swift 4 steps across, he leaped into the air, bounding over the small street, where below, walked four guardsmen. Building after building, rooftop to rooftop, he bound… until… he stopped at the edge, kneeling down and looking left and right. Then with a small hop, he lept over the edge, one hand on the brick, the other waving in the air for balance… and with a thud, he landed on both feet, knees bent, in a cloud of dust that spiraled upward. With a smirk upon his face, he dusted himself off and entered the bakery shop.

More than twenty-three summers before in Vicenza, the small city upon the plains of the southern Alps, Alessio di Pisa, a blacksmith from Pisa, in the central region of the Veneto was in love with Olivia, daughter of Bruno, the Merchant from Vicenza. Alessio loved Olivia more than any man should, but by fate’s cruel hand, he could not take her as his wife. So in a clash with Bruno, he killed the Merchant and enslaved the man’s wife and daughter to his house just outside Pisa... Then , and made Olivia part of his house, then freed her Mother and sent her to back to Vicenza.

Alessio and Olivia moved to Venezia to a palazzo in Sestiere Dorsoduro, where they lived comfortably as slave and Master, yet loved more than any pair was allowed to love. Nico was the result of their love’s consummation; but he was born to a lifeless mother, given freedom, by an unforgiving father. Death in childbirth robbed Alessio of his beloved Olivia; and he had his motherless child suckled by a woman of the house, named Felicita, who had previously lost her child due to infant disease.

And over the next few years, Felicita come to love Nico… but the Father endured familia pressure to be rid of the bastard. And so it was, Alessio eventually blaming Nico for the death of his beloved wife, Felicita took the toddler from Dorsoduro to San Polo. Her high hopes of locating Olivia’s mother were dashed when she discovered the grandmother had been killed by a runaway wagon not a year past. Despite Felicita being a loving mother-figure til her dying day, the boy was soon forced to grow up on the streets, learning how to steal, extort, and defraud people after first gaining their confidence. He learned quick and none too soon, his “street skills” became his greatest asset.

Life on the streets was better than the chaos of child slave rings, cruel merchants, or the abuse of over-worked kitchens; and just as Venezia has its homeless, dependent upon the Church. Out on the streets, Nico began to beg, but gave a portion of the food he cadged each time to one particular group of boys and girls. The children grew to trust him; befriended him; and, finally, took him on as their leader. The relationship worked perfectly, far better than anything Nico had known among his fellow humans. He begged for food, and shared it with his group. The members of the Corazzieri came to know of young Nico's life, and refused to wrest him from the streets, as he reassured normalcy from chaos. But the Red Guards were a different issue, as they tried vainly to arrest him and his “kind”. Many times, he would escape his would-be captors.

Over the years of youth, living in the criss-crossing streets, alleys, and bridges of San Polo and San Croce Sestieri, developed, refined, and taught a holistic training discipline using movement using only the body and available surroundings for propulsion, with a focus on maintaining as much momentum as possible while still remaining safe. His training included obstacle courses in the market, running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, rolling, animalistic movements on all fours, and the like, depending on what movement is deemed most suitable for the given situation. People would often watch him dodge the guards by running towards a high wall and then jumping and pushing off the wall with a foot to reach the top of the wall, leaving his pursuers lingering below.

Even to this day, despite the guards’ valiant efforts, Nico’s skills are often displayed in vaulting over obstacles and canals imagined too high or too wide; or jumping and landing accurately with the feet on small, or narrow, impediments; or moving from a position hanging from a wall-top or ledge, to standing on the top or vaulting over to the other side; or jumping and catching a ledge with the hands while the feet land on the vertical surface below, or using a rolling motion to help absorb large impacts.

One day, from his perch high above the Canal, not far from the San Giorgio Church, he watched three men of the Corazzieri in a sword-fight with thirteen of the Red Guard. After listening the steel clash of combat for 20 minutes, it was all over... with five Red Guards dead or wounded... the other 8 retreating... leaving their brethren behind. But what surprised Nico was the three Corazzieri... They did not leave, they remained and attended to the wound, with word sent to the Red Guard for help.

Nico knew the Red Guard was paid more, ‘cause he had stolen a few of their purses... and by the weapons and clothing, they had esteemed backing... yet the Corazzieri were the ones who attended those who accosted them. He just gave a smirk and tilted his head. “Can a man change his stars?” he spoke out-loud as he disappeared deeper into the city.