1877- Florence, Italy
"Ive spent much of my time in this city at rest. There seems to be little to do here besides observe the locals and visit the many venues of the arts present. Indeed, one of these places, a quaint theater off the Arno River was of particular interest. I was fortunate enough to observe the rehearsal of 'The Marriage of Figaro' by a group of rather talented actors. During the rehearsal the director became rather heated due to one particularly incompetent stagehand and began a tirade against the entire staff. While this would have been entertainment enough, I was surprised to see almost every member of the cast undergo a woge.
Though the details varied, they all seemed to turn into a wood like substance. I could see swirls and knotholes on their arms and face that made them resemble stringed puppets, though of course lacking in strings. Even their hair took on a sheen as if varnished, and their elbows and knees seemed to swell almost to mimic the joints of a puppet. This revelation made me sit to attention, and this made the gentleman take notice of my reaction. He introduced himself as Carlo.
He informed me that he was a local writer who was friendly with the troupe, and assured me that they were nothing to concern myself with. He called them 'Marionetta' and reliably informed me that despite the directors outburst, they were a remarkably peaceful type that proffered to express discontent in more subtle ways. When I pressed him to as to the validity of his knowledge, he too woged and showed himself to be the same. I learned that he was a writer, and was in fact in the process of penning a series of stories about Marrionetti. I enjoyed my talks with him immensely and we have met several times since to share stories. It would seem this city has more interesting stories than I fathomed.
-T.F.L
From the diaries of a Grimm on visit to Florence detailing the Wesen 'Marionetta', and his surprising meeting with Carlo Collodi.