Torrissio

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Torrissio
TorrissioSI.png
Torrissio, from Ultima VII Part Two
Species: human
Appearances
Ultima VII Part Two
Location: Moonshade

Torrissio (sometimes called Torrissio the Sly[1]) is a Moonshadian mage living on the Serpent Isle. He appears in Ultima VII Part Two.

Description[edit]

Torrissio was a ruthlessly ambitious young adept specializing in life magic and the re-animation of Ophidian automata. An eager participant in Moonshadian politicking, he was once a covert associate of Vasculio, assisting him in his subversion of the Council's edicts before he was ultimately caught and executed. At the time of the Avatar's adventures on Serpent Isle, he had allied himself with Rotoluncia, a move that put her out of favor with her lover, the MageLord Filbercio, after he suspected the two of them of having an affair.[2]

In reality, Torrissio sought to sate his passions elsewhere. At one point, he constructed the feminine automaton Petra, and he was rumored to have had perverse and sadistic designs for her before she fled from him.[1][3] She eventually found sanctuary with Blue Boar's Rocco, and Torrissio, despite his anger at her loss, allowed it to be believed that he had willingly lent her out to showcase his artistry, not wanting to suffer the humiliation of her escape becoming widely known.[4] Sometime prior to the Avatar's arrival on the Isle of the Beyond, he began an affair with Columna, the Green Enchantress, who had sought his attentions after restoring herself to youth using the stolen Fawnish Comb of Beauty.[5][6] Filbercio, desirous of bedding Columna himself, sought to blackmail the pair by contracting Stefano to steal Columna's moonsilk stockings, presumably hoping to present them Columna's husband, Melino, as proof of her infidelity. This plot failed, however, when a teleport storm exchanged the stockings with the Avatar's blackrock serpent, resulting in a Stefano being thrown into the Mountains of Freedom for his failure to deliver the article to the MageLord.[7]

When the Avatar first entered Moonshade, Torrissio proved to be a relatively neutral party in the various political entanglements in which the hero became implicated. While he was open about his alliance with Rotoluncia, he bore the hero no ill will following her death, and his general manner towards the Avatar seemed one of irritated indifference so long as the possession of his lover's stockings remained concealed.[8] In addition to offering spells for sale, he could provide the hero some information regarding Batlin and his entourage's recent passage through the city, mentioning Rotoluncia's interest in Palos and the time Columna had spent in Gwenno's company.[9] He did not, however, mention the details of his personal transactions with the sage, to whom he had sold a spell that would create vessels into which souls might be bound.[10]

Against Torrissio's warnings, Batlin would use this enchantment to attempt to contain the three Banes of Chaos, and they broke from their prisons when he attempted to open the Wall of Lights within Spinebreaker. In the resulting catastrophe, most of Moonshade's populace was slaughtered, meeting their ends at the hands of Shamino while he was under the possession of the Bane of Anarchy. Torrissio was one of the few survivors of this calamity, and he would prove to be crucial to the Avatar's quest. After the hero retrieved for him the Philanderer's Friend, a wand that had been stolen by Vasculio in revenge for Torrissio having abandoned him to the Council, Torrissio would teach them the art of crafting soul prisms as he had to Batlin, allowing them to bind the three Banes once more.[11]

Lore[edit]

“ He said that Petra was indeed an automaton who had escaped from her maker, Torrissio. She had made her way here, to the Blue Boar, where Rocco took her in. I asked him why Petra would wish to leave Torrissio. Stefano turned his head and spat. "That for Torrissio. He's a hard man, a cruel man. He — shall we say, enjoys inflicting pain."

...

The next mage I knew even before Filbercio called his name. The cold eyes, the cruel set of the mouth could only be Torrissio. Filbercio said he is master of automatons, and I shivered as I thought of poor Petra suffering at this man's hands.

Goods[edit]

For Torrissio's prices for spells in Ultima VII Part Two, see Ultima VII Part Two magic shops.

Trivia[edit]

  • The model for Torrissio's character portrait is Origin employee Richard Johnson, a programmer for Wing Commander: Privateer and Strike Commander.[12]
  • A search of Torrissio's home will turn up a mana restoration potion, a healing potion, a scroll of Reveal, 9 mandrake roots, 6 units of sulfurous ash, and 4 worm hearts.
  • Should the Avatar reveal Columna's stockings to Torrissio, he will demand their return. If the Avatar is male, he will offer to teach him a spell, free of charge, in exchange for the article, although he will refuse to honor the agreement once the stockings are turned over him. Should the hero be female, he will offer to bed her, and if she accepts, he will attempt to drug her with adulterated wine such that he may renege on the deal.[8]
  • The Avatar may attempt to confront Torrissio upon suspicion that he is responsible for the disappearance of a companion following Filbercio's banquet. Torrissio, indignant, will tell the hero to search his house, and when no evidence is acquired, he will recommend to investigate either Mortegro or Rotoluncia.[13]
  • Should the Avatar ask Bucia about the slippers that a teleport storm exchanged for swamp boots without showing them to her, she will mistakenly believe them to be fine enough to be owned by a mage and will direct the hero to ask the magicians of Moonshade if any of them are missing a pair of slippers.[14] Should the Avatar present the slippers to Torrissio, he will advise to ask about them at the Inn of the Sleeping Bull.[15]
  • Curiously, Torrissio claims his family is not of New Sosarian origin. He indicates that most of his ancestors were killed in a great war that saw the end of the Age of Two Kings.[16] These two kings are presumably Shamino and the King of the White Dragon whose rule over the Lands of Danger and Despair predated the arrival of Erstam and the Britannian dissidents aboard the Osprey.
  • All the inhabitants of Moonshade have Italian or pseudo-Italian names. The name Torrissio is very similar to the Italian family name Torrisi (never a first name).

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rocco. Paul Carr’s Ultima transcripts. Ultima VII Part Two. "automation, Torrissio".
  2. ↑ Filbercio. Filbercio’s love letters (Ultima VII Part Two – in-game).
  3. ↑ Flindo. Paul Carr’s Ultima transcripts. Ultima VII Part Two. "Petra".
  4. ↑ Petra. Paul Carr’s Ultima transcripts. Ultima VII Part Two. "tale".
  5. ↑ Torrissio. Paul Carr’s Ultima transcripts. Ultima VII Part Two. "Columna".
  6. ↑ Columna. Columna’s diary (Ultima VII Part Two – in-game).
  7. ↑ Torrissio. Paul Carr’s Ultima transcripts. Ultima VII Part Two. "Stefano".
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Torrissio. Paul Carr’s Ultima transcripts. Ultima VII Part Two. "stockings".
  9. ↑ Torrissio. Paul Carr’s Ultima transcripts. Ultima VII Part Two. "Gwenno, secrets".
  10. ↑ Torrissio. Paul Carr’s Ultima transcripts. Ultima VII Part Two. "outcome".
  11. ↑ Torrissio. Paul Carr’s Ultima transcripts. Ultima VII Part Two. "ancient art".
  12. ↑ Armintrout, Bill. Ultima VII, Part Two: THE SERPENT ISLE - Moonshade Townplot (MOONSHAD.DOC) (Ultima VII Part Two). September 8, 1992. Page 18.
  13. ↑ Torrissio. Paul Carr’s Ultima transcripts. Ultima VII Part Two. "kidnap".
  14. ↑ Bucia. Paul Carr’s Ultima transcripts. Ultima VII Part Two. "slippers".
  15. ↑ Torrissio. Paul Carr’s Ultima transcripts. Ultima VII Part Two. "slippers".
  16. ↑ Torrissio. Paul Carr’s Ultima transcripts. Ultima VII Part Two. "family line, old war".
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