The Arcana: A Mystic Romance

The Arcana: A Mystic Romance, also known as simply The Arcana, is a Visual Novel released by Studio Nix Hydra in 2016. As the title states, it follows many Tarot Motifs to the very letter, developing a story from there.

The Player Character is a Faceless Protagonist known as the Apprentice (but whose name and pronouns can be customized), a talented magician-in-training who lives with their mentor, the mysterious and beautiful Asra, in a small but well-known magic shop located in the city of Vesuvia (which is TOTALLY NOT a fantasy version of Venice). Asra himself has just left in a mysterious mission, leaving his student in charge... but before they can actually do a lot, they're confronted by a beautiful yet mysterious woman. She turns out to be Nadia, the widow of the city's count (Count Lucio), and she wants to hire the Apprentice for an important mission: to solve her husband's murder.

The biggest suspect of the Count's death is his personal doctor, Julian Devorak. The death itself took place during a plague that afflicted the city and caused the deaths of many, but the circumstances have nothing to do with the plague: Lucio was somehow burned alive in his bedroom. So Nadia, who has just woken up from a coma, wants the case to be solved before the biggest festival in Vesuvia, the Masquerade, takes place: normally she'd just have Julian apprehended and then hanged, but Lucio died in such waird ways that she wants first to make sure Julian IS the real culprit, and if not, to find out who did the Count in.

The Apprentice accepts Nadia's request and decides to start looking for the clues needed. However, they soon realize that there are external forces around everyone in the cast... forces that seem to be related to the Tarot Arcana in itself and its mystical powers. Also, they can potentially get to properly speak to Dr. Julian and his loved ones (which brings more questions than answers), and Asra will show up to offer guidance in this muddled affair. Not to mention, the Apprentice themself can develop romantic feelings for either Asra, Julian or Nadia (and later others), whose fates are entwined in very mysterious ways. And later, three other routes werre added to bring in three other love interests who had already been seen in the three original paths: Asra's somber best friend and local Gentle Giant Muriel, Julian's sister Portia who is also Nadia's Lady in Waiting and a bit of an Amateur Sleuth, and none other than Lucio himself, who's hanging around as a spirit and may be more complex than believed. . .

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