Master Passar is a minor villain in the 2024 JRPG video-game Visions of Mana. This smarmy and corrupt Magistrate of the Kingdom of Illystana originally appears as a mere nuisance but is in fact a traitor to the kingdom. He first tries to destabilize the rule of Queen Palamena, one of the heroes, and after fleeing punishment, meets his demise after awakening the dark dragon Aeve Zalaha.
Appearance[]
Like every denizen of Illystana, Master Passar is a hybrid between a human and a rodent, showing a prominent overbite and a furry squirrel-like tail. He is comically very short and fat, with unflattering features, clad in exceedingly garish, lavish clothing.
Personality[]
Master Passar is one of the most despicable villains of the series. In a multiverse filled to the brim with world-threatening Dark Lords, he is a more "mundane" villain that could be encountered for real, due to his elitism, greed and abuse of power. At first, he only appears as a smarmy, self-important, and entitled aristocrat, insufferable yet unworthy of attention, but the more the heroes run into him, the more his true, wretched nature becomes clear.
Passar is extremely proud of his title and wealth, believing like many nobles that his birth and status make him inherently superior. He even boasts that "those with the means" can do whatever they want to others. As such, he displays an over-inflated opinion of himself and utter contempt towards anyone of lower station, or even other nobles he deems unworthy (i.e. not smarmy enough). He is pompous and demanding, demeaning everyone he speaks to when he is not ordering them around.
He demands respect all the time, takes his servants' work for granted, only showing the barest minimum of gratitude to his most loyal lackeys while clearly not caring much about them. Even in presence of people he should respect, his deference is blatantly insincere. Worse, he takes offense at the smallest slight, even when it only exists in its head. This makes him extremely petty, spiteful and vindictive, devoting much of his considerable ressources to pester people he dislikes and make them miserable.
Furthermore, while he feigns to share the deference everyone shows them, he holds utter contempt for the alms: eight spiritually powerful people chosen by the Elemental Spirits of Mana for a pilgrimage to rejuvenate the Mana Tree, the earthly incarnation of the Mana Goddess. While he is right to label it as a human sacrifice, he is utterly unable to fathom the selflessness of it, as while alms indeed ought to live as they choose, they are needed to save their hometown from a disaster.
Obnoxious at it sounds, such unflattering traits are only the tip of the iceberg. In fact, Passar is horribly greedy, ambitious and power-hungry, never satisfied by how much he already has and constantly yearning for more. While he always wanted Illystana to rise above every nation under his "guidance", being made to face justice only prompts him to dominate the entire world. Beyond mere entitlement, he is so disconnected from reality that he is thoroughly unable to second-guess himself, admit responsibility or give a damn about anyone. Despite knowingly dooming entire populations to death or worse, he completely disregards it as a "necessary sacrifice", when he does not shift the blame, claiming that they deserved it for not complying to his absurd demands, not giving a damn about their their reasons not to.
He fancies himself as a great genius superior to everyone, unable to fathom that only his influence keeps him ahead. To the point that he persuades himself that everyone would fall in line without protest once he takes over the world. The mere fact that he thought that freeing a god-like dragon would gain him its obedience shows how delusional he is, which naturally costs him his wretched life.
Role in the Story[]
Background[]
Illystana, the Capitol of the Deep and largest city in the world, hosting the Elemental Spirit of Water Undine, has recently emerged from a difficult times. The late king has broken the hold of a corrupt aristocracy, but he died before he could solidify the new regime. So the nobles are still scheming to regain power, by undermining the newly crowned queen Palamena. Chief among them is Passar, who has connexions to many high-ranking officials, gaining much of his fortune from the former system.
Sixteen years before the start of the story, the magical Moon Sandglass at the center of the Moon Parish of Etaern was broken and its sand was dispersed, trapping the beast-men citizen in a time paradox. The cat-swordsman Morley, one of the heroes always blamed himself for he was climbing it when it fell. However, he learns after destroying one of the Benevodons that it could only be destroyed if it lost its power-source, the Thaumatorb: a powerful relic able to absorb the power of Mana that sustains the entire world.
It is revealed late in the game that Passar coveted the Thaumatorb, and tried to buy it from the parishioners. Irked, he stole it, not caring the slightest that it would doom the entire region.
Plot in Illystana[]
The main hero Val is the Soul Guard tasked to gather the alms and escort them to the Mana Tree. The heroes first meet Passar in Rhata Harbor, seeking for a boat to reach Illystana and recruit the Alm of Water. He accuses Careena, one of the heroes and the Alm of Wind, of stealing his key, which she denies. He orders his two bodyguards, Skurse and Rupper, to take her into custody, forcing Val to search for his key.
Val finds the key in one of Passar's chest, delivered to a townsman by mistake, and Eoren takes it, making it look like it was stuck on Passar's tail all along. Furious at being laughed at, he takes it back and leaves in a huff. Eoren later steals his fancy sword when speaking of the legendary Mana Sword, before casually tossing it away to make him scramble after it.
Once arrived in Illystana, Passar learns that the heroes are the alms and praises them in a blatantly fake manner, jabbing at their commoner origins. There, they meet Queen Palamena, who has been anointed as the Alm of Water but concealed it, for she would need to abdicate the throne to her younger brother Prince Iain, and Master Passar would become regent, something she wants to avoid at all costs.
Passar presides the ceremony of the Rites of Initiation, laughing ominously as the heroes mention the Alm of Water. It turns out he knew about Palamena's anointment all along, and publicly reveals her, forcing her to accept her duties while faking congratulations. Prince Iain reveals that Niccolo, a famous and influential merchant and Palamena's advisor who thwarted several of Passar's misgivings, has been arrested for causing a water shortage, prompting the heroes to suspect a frame-up.
Directed by Niccolo's adopted daughters and heirs, who took back the Elemental Vessel of Water stolen by Passar, the heroes explore the Underwater Luka Ruins to investigate the water shortage, without altering the guards and raising Passar's suspicions. There, they catch the corrupt magistrate red-handed in causing the shortage. Passar sics the giant Full Metal Hugger monster, who was diverting the water away, after the heroes but they destroy it. Passar rants that the alms are throwing their lives away but escapes with his guard.
Palamena has Niccolo cleared of all charges and appoints him as regent for Iain's rule. She has Master Passar stripped of his title and wealth and declared a wanted fugitive, but he is nowhere to be found. He is never seen until the post-game quest, in which he reveals that his bodyguards have helped him get back on his feet and are informing on what happens on Illystana.
Return and demise[]
As the heroes and are about to settle their score with the main villain Daelophos, Prince Iain request their help to find the stolen royal crown and destroy four powerful monsters that are plaguing the land. The Dragon Princess Vadise telepathically reveals that the monsters were revived by Aeve Zalaha's growing influence, for its seal is starting to weaken. After destroying the monsters, Iain and Niccolo reveal that they captured Master Passar's bodyguards, who revealed that he is the one trying to resurrect the Shadow of Chaos, delusionally persuaded to be able to control it to take over the world.
The heroes confront Passar at Reignus Shrine, where the power of Mana can be harnessed, noting that he is wearing the royal crown. He rants about his delusional vision, but he unleashes some monsters to cover his escape and flees to the Floating Island of Ulul. There, he reveals the Thaumatorb, ousting himself as the one who doomed Etaern without caring about it the slightest. He uses the orb to crack open the Egg of Calamity and release the Shadow of Chaos. He stupidly tries to assert dominance over the dragon, only to meet his predictable and well-deserved demise. Aeve Zalaha emerges, gloating about him being the first of its many victims, only to fall in turn at the hand of the heroes.
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 Villains
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Final Fantasy Adventure / Sword of Mana Secret of Mana Trials of Mana Legend of Mana Dawn of Mana Heroes of Mana Echoes of Mana Visions of Mana | ||