Anton de Varzonzuela is a Sandmen Wraith and playwright.
Biography[]
In my years as a Sandman, I have traveled far and wide throughout the Shadowlands and Stygia and met many a wraith; but never have I met anyone, even among the dread Dream Lords, quite like Anton. An outsider among Sandmen, he glides from locale to locale with the randomness of dream-logic, yet disciplines himself and his craft with the precision or a Usurer. With the internal artistry of a Pirandello and the genius of a Shakespeare, he bends the mind's will to his own. He is a master Dreamcrafter, and many a time our troupe has found inspiration in his Pegeants.
Lost are the days when the lords of Stygia regaled favored freelance Dreamcrafters with gifts and honors. Among the darlings of the Dream Lords and yet ever the controversial figure, Anton earned a wealth of Stygian coins and goods, graciously bowed his head to accept his laurels, but unrelentingly spurned the titles and commissions the Deathlords offered him, particularly the gifts of the Laughing Lady.
He refused one too many times. The Dreamcrafter learned of the Laughing Lady's twisted plot to dispose of him, yet I am still not clear as to why she would want such a thing. Perhaps because he spurned her, but perhaps also, as he hinted to me, because he knew too much.
Vagabond he might be, but once he could often be found making the rounds of the Stygian courts. No longer, for court has proven too perilous. Anton now travels the byways of the Tempest, cloaked in dreams and peddling fantasies to philistines. When last I saw him, he claimed to have just returned from the City of Delights. At first, I did not believe him, since little is known of such faraway lands and rumor claims that only the Heavenly Regent can grant foreigners entrance to the City (and that only rarely). But Anton showed me a pomegranate - a living fruit in the land of the dead! - given him by the Regent from his gardens, and I had to believe.
Everywhere Anton travels, fate has followed him like a leashed dog. He has played artisan to emperors and queens who cannot guess at his games or at his importance in the politics of Stygia and its enemies. He thinks in layers, plays within plays, but his art is such that it appears as madness, north-north-west. If you ever you meet him, beware of his easy manner and his easier questions, or you too will find yourself among his devoted followers and caught in the intrigues that inevitably swirl around him.
References[]
- WTO: Guildbook: Sandmen, p. 24, 68