the shadow of Palmia is a NPC who is near the stairs on the 3rd floor of Lesimas. Talking to him is the official start of the Main Quest, however, he will ignore you until you visit Vernis for the first time. He will die right after asking you to deliver his message to Palmia. When he dies, he does not drop his card and statue. If you want them, you have to kill him before you talk to him. He will respawn after a few days, so he can die again "officially". He seems to have an archer AI. He will not move unless he is attacked.