Maiza Avaro

Maiza Avaro (マイザー・アヴァーロ, Maizā Avāro) is one of the 1711 Advena Avis immortals, and the contaiuolo of the Martillo Family. He was the one to summon Ronny Schiatto aboard the ship, and the only one Ronny told how to make the Grand Panacea.

Maiza's decision to keep the secret of the immortality elixir to himself (and share only half of the recipe with his younger brother Gretto) would ultimately result in the deaths of Gretto and seventeen of his comrades at the hands of Szilard Quates, who was outraged that Maiza had refused to share the recipe with the others. Wracked with guilt and grief, Maiza would spend the next two centuries driven solely by the need to see Szilard dead, intending to die himself after Szilard's demise.

This resolve is strong enough that Maiza attempts to ask Firo Prochainezo to devour him immediately following Szilard's death in 1930. Unsurprisingly, his plea goes unfulfilled.

In the 1970s, Maiza hands over his contaiuolo position to Firo and goes on a 'road trip' of sorts with fellow 1711 immortal Czeslaw Meyer to seek out their comrades and inform them of Szilard's death.

Appearance
Maiza is typically depicted with his eyes shut. Back in his rebellious teenage years he kept his hair long and messy; after becoming a protege of Dalton Strauss, Maiza cut his hair and made it much more presentable. He wears square glasses in the present (as opposed to the round pince-nez he wore in the 1700s), and tends to wear brown business attire.

Maiza is said to take after his mother in looks, whereas his younger brother is the spitting image of their father in his youth.

Personality
In his younger days, Maiza was rebellious and quick-tempered, rudely reprimanding his peers (members of his gang 'The Rotten Eggs') for their 'stupidity', and having no qualms about doling out insults to the likes of Begg Garott. He was openly scornful towards whatever displeased or offended him. It would be no small stretch to say that Maiza was an incredibly bitter young man in the 1700s, cynical towards the aristocracy and his aristocratic heritage and towards the corruption of his hometown.

In spite of his bitterness and brash attitude, Maiza was demonstrably humane, warning Monica Campanella and Elmer C. Albatross not to get involved in the drug trade that infected Lotto Valentino and kind towards young Czes and Niki, who notes that Maiza was one of the only people to ever treat her as human. He was often cautious and preferred to avoid violence (despite his famed prowess with knives), choosing not to fight Zank Rowan and Denkurō Tōgō even though they had hurt his peers. Maiza 'reforms' once he enters Dalton Strauss' tutelage, adopting a much more respectful and serious attitude.

By 1930, Maiza is soft spoken and exceedingly polite to those around him, friends or foe. His personality, and his preference to avoid violence has led some of the younger associates of the Martillo Family to wrongly call him a coward, and 'tenderhearted'. It is not that Maiza condemns violence - he would rather only resort to it if necessary. In fact, Maiza has on several occasions dispensed a shockingly brutal form of violence when the situation called for it - something the associates never witnessed in person.

His sincerity and kindness have earned him the loyalty and affection of the other Camorra, and Maiza in turn holds them in great - familial - esteem - like a surrogate family in place of his brother and comrades he lost thanks to Szilard, to the point where he sheds tears when he witnesses Szilard gun the other Martillo executives down in 1930.

1705: The Ironic Light Orchestra
Maiza is first seen coming to the aid of his crew after they get into a fight with Zank Rowan and Denkurō Tōgō. The members of the Rotten Eggs, are much more confident that they can win now that Maiza is here. However, Maiza ends up scolding them for making a scene instead of jumping to their defense. He than notices Niki, and is dismayed to find that she has been bought as a prostitute. He manages to settle the dispute peacefully and walks away with his followers. His interference is what ultimately allows Elmer C. Albatross and Niki to escape the square.

He later confronts Elmer and Monica and warns them to not get involved with the drug market. Elmer notes that Maiza is a good person since a malicious person would not have warned them in the first place. Throughout the narrative thus far, Maiza is referred to as "Aile."

Zank mentions "Aile" to Dalton Strauss, and Dalton does not recognize the name despite the fact that he is familiar with many people, implying that their is more to Aile than it might seem.

In the epilogue, Maiza and Begg Garott converse about a certain drug. Begg tells him that he is not to blame for what has happened and let's Maiza know that he (Begg) will be taking care of the recently orphaned Czeslaw Meyer. As Begg leaves, Maiza wonders if all alchemists are like him and insults the man in the process.

Moments later he is greeted by his younger brother Gretto, who calls him Maiza and not Aile. At first, Maiza is angry at Gretto for using his real name but he ends up forgiving his little brother fairly quickly. Maiza comments him that he hopes Lotto Valentino will change for the better after what has happened.

(A more detailed version of events is under construction).

1710-2002
(Under construction).

Abilities
Maiza is extremely good with numbers, designing, planning, and leadership.

He has demonstrated strong physical abilities, as he was able to support and lift (spring) himself off the ground with the strength of his arms alone during a fight. Maiza has also proven extremely capable in unarmed combat (a la physical abilities); ambushed by armed attackers in the stairwell of his apartment in 1935, he was able to dislocate one man's jaw by delivering a blow to the man's face with the heel of his hand, rip off another man's ear from his head with brute force, and execute some strong kicks to another.

That fight in particular not only revealed Maiza's physical strength and showcased Maiza's skills in combat -- it also revealed for the first time the brutality that Maiza is willing and capable of inflicting on others if necessary.

(This brutality would later be shown in the 2015 manga).

Immortality
On the Advena Avis he drank the Grand Panacea and obtained true immortality, meaning he cannot age, get sick, be injured, or die via conventional means.

Knife-wielding
It is worth noting that Maiza is considered extraordinary with a knife. He was so respected for his skills that he was chosen to be leader of the Rotten Eggs in the early 1700s based on his prowess with a knife alone. In the early 20th century, Maiza's skill with a knife was so respected by the Martillos that he was one of the tests that candidate executives had to face--they would be pitted against him in a knife-wielding duel (testing their 'duty') - and if they lost against him, they would have to fight another executive). He remained undefeated until his match with Firo in 1930.

Trivia

 * He is in his twenties by 1710.
 * In the years leading up to 1930, Maiza had earned or saved enough money to be able to afford a house on the "outskirts of Manhattan." However, ever on the alert for Szilard Quates, he was constantly moving from apartment to apartment instead of staying in one place. However, with the death of Szilard in 1930, he was finally able to settle down in one place. In 1935-B, we learn that he has being living in his particular apartment for five years.
 * Maiza not only did not want to live in a big house because it would be far too enormous for one person to live in, he did not want to live in an 'unnecessarily' big house because it would inevitably remind him of his family manor in Lotto Valentino.
 * Maiza wore big, round glasses in the 1700s. By the 1930s, he switched to wearing smaller, rectangular glasses.
 * Maiza's eyes were revealed for the first time in the twenty-first light novel (1935-C), in which Enami Katsumi illustrated the scene in which Maiza threatens one of his assailants with his eyes open.
 * The second instance of one or more of his eyes depicted open occurs in Chapter 018 of the 2015 Manga, when he confronts Szilard in the Alveare. His right eye is open, and his left is hidden by the light reflecting off his left glasses lens.
 * These two instances are the only known depictions of his open eyes to date.
 * His surname, Avaro, means 'miser' or 'miserly' in Spanish and Italian.