She has long, black hair and jade eyes, and it is she who greets You when You first awaken in the mansion.
The Maid calls You the "Master" of the house, and at her invitation, together You bear witness to a variety of events that took place within these walls.
Shadows of her presence are visible in each of the tales. At times, she is there, and others... nowhere to be found.
Though she treats You kindly, her hands are cold as ice, seemingly devoid of life.
How, then, is she here now, with You?
"No matter what happens, you mustn't let go of my hand."
Michel Bollinger
From year: 1099
The youngest son of the Bollinger family.
Twenty-seven years old, he lives all alone in the ill-fated manor.
All the house's windows are shuttered or boarded up, draping it in darkness. It would seem he has little interest in engaging with the outside world.
Michel seldom smiles, keeping his emotions locked up inside, but that is scarcely surprising, him having spent so much of his days in solitude.
A peculiar encounter causes him to begin regaining some liveliness; however...
"Please do not touch the drapes. Or the windows."
The White-Haired Girl
Presumed to be somewhere between fourteen and sixteen years old. Her birthplace is unknown.
She has snow-white hair, ruby-red eyes, and abnormally pale skin, giving her an otherworldly beauty that many find disturbing. She is also hypersensitive to sunlight, which forces her to remain indoors much of the time—much to her dismay.
Though reticent and passive, she also has an air of femininity about her.
One stormy night, the White-Haired Girl shows up unannounced at the Rhodes household. She is taken in as a servant, but it appears she may have come for more than just work.
"This rose... This rose was white. Until I took it in my hand..."
"Then see for yourself... feel for yourself... that there is but one difference between us."
"Those memories give me the will to wait... for the day things go back to the way they were."
Mell Rhodes
From year: 1603
The eldest child of the Rhodes family, seventeen years old.
A mild-mannered young man with flaxen hair. He often finds himself at the behest of his younger sister, Nellie, whom he cares dearly for.
Although Mell is intelligent, he lacks ambition. The priest at the church where he studies wants him to take up theology, but he has still yet to make up his mind. The time is quickly approaching for him to decide the course of his future, but he himself feels no urgency.
The performing arts make him fall asleep, and his reaction to paintings is always an indifferent, "Huh."
While Mell's days are not particularly fulfilling, he is hardly discontent with his situation either. But one day, a young woman appears at his late grandfather's mansion, changing Mell's life drastically.
"It's just depressing to find out that someone you've never even met doesn't like you..."
Nellie Rhodes
From year: 1603
The second child of the Rhodes family, fourteen years old.
An energetic girl with flaxen hair who—while she can be pushy and self-centered—is also sweetly charming. Nellie has a wide variety of hobbies: from card games to dressing up, foreign sweets to theatre, and—of course—talking. She is also quite the impressionable young girl.
Nellie is very close to her older brother, Mell, whom she calls her prince—a holdover from the make-believe games they played when they were younger. However, she's at the age where her family is beginning to plan her marriage, which has Nellie feeling rather melancholic.
And then, one day, something happens to taint the girl's once pure, childlike cheer.
"Now, attend to your princess—as a proper prince should!"
The Merchant
From year: 1707
Passed away at the age of twenty-five.
In life, the Merchant worked on an international trade ship. While he could be somewhat standoffish, he loved Pauline dearly, and though they were often worlds apart, his devotion to her never wavered.
So how will their relationship change when faced with the ultimate barrier: death?
"Absolutely, Pauline. As much as time allows, I will spend it with you."
Pauline
From year: 1707
The twenty-two-year-old daughter of a trader who, predictably, fell in love with a foreign merchant.
She and her beloved are lucky to see each other more than once a year, but the bonds between them are unbreakable. Though separated by the vast seas, their relationship lives on.
And then, one fateful day, she receives heartbreaking news: the Merchant has been involved in a fatal shipwreck. Pauline, however, refuses to believe he is dead, so she sets off on a journey in search of him.
"I have faith in him. He would never break a promise to me."
Jacopo Bearzatti
From year: 1869
A twenty-six-year-old businessman who has invested in the budding rail industry.
Ruthless and proud, Jacopo will readily toss aside anything and take advantage of anyone in order to further his own ambitions.
Having clawed his way to the top in a world where the language is deceit and manipulation, Jacopo cannot even trust his own wife. There are only two things in life he can believe in: money and power.
Just where will the rail industry—in which he has staked his entire livelihood—take him?
"How many times are you gonna make me repeat myself, you worthless tramp? Are those ears only for show?"
Maria Campanella
From year: 1869
A maid who works in the mansion, twenty-four years old.
She's affable and frank, cheerful and lackadaisical—but she never slacks on the job.
Maria is the only one in the mansion willing to get involved with Jacopo's neglected, mistreated wife, with whom she's begun to form a friendship. She's also the only person who doesn't seem to fear Jacopo, though no one's quite sure why.
"If you're having a good time, what does it matter what's between your legs?"
While the art in Japanese visual novels is generally done in a cutesy anime style, "The House in Fata Morgana" employs heavier coloring and shading, going for a more realistic kind of beauty. This alone is enough to make it unique, but above all, we put the most care and attention into the music. The game has sixty-five completely original tracks by five different composers, more than half of which are vocal tracks. We aim for our game experiences to feel like a trip to the theatre, and so you almost always hear someone singing in the background─making "The House in Fata Morgana" a very different kind of visual novel.
