Anton
Basic Information
Name: Anton
Type: Dragon-Blooded Exalt
Age: 82 (Chapter 2: 89)
Player: NPC
Aspect: Fire
Concept: Grass-Spider
Motivation: Become immortal in name or body.
Political Affiliation: The Hallowed Order of the Grass Spiders
Anima: A natural, chaotic banner - quite simply, Anton's anima is flame of the purest sort. It is but a warm glow around him at lower levels, and grows to become a great conflagration as it elevates in strength. At its maximum levels, only then does shape spawn from the chaos - the burning objects around him manifest fleeting tongues of flame, shaped with vague faces, which cry out glossolalia in impassioned whispers and leave echoes in the smoke that remains when his anima banner moves on.
Likes: Fire, fighting multiple opponents, Shogunate era history - especially stories of heroes in that age, contact sports, cocaine, animals
Dislikes: Politics, warm beverages, formal wear, insects
Background
Anton's background is somewhat unconventional in that he was recruited directly into the upper ranks of the Grass Spiders after making a name for himself elsewhere within Creation's underground circles. He Exalted in Chiaroscuro, born to a whore made pregnant by a Fire-Aspected Delzahn cavalry general. Spiteful of his mother's low status, he sought his father in his early teenage years, hoping to become a warrior in the Delzahn horde. When his father instead labeled him a misbegotten bastard child and slapped him to the ground, Anton Exalted, but, in what was later to become uncharacteristic of Anton, he did so quite coolly. Although his father almost immediately rescinded his condemnation, the damage was done - Anton swore to his father that he'd do everything he could to bring disgrace to his father's clan and, eventually, strike the old general down.
Anton left for the Realm, revenge in the back of his mind. Used to life in the desert and the streets of Chiaroscuro, he accepted the coin after presenting himself to the Deliberative and attended Pasiap's Stair, where he graduated near the bottom of his class. Although a superb duelist (some claim the best in Stair history - during his time there, he was never beaten by a peer or instructor, and nearly killed several of them), he had no regard for parliamentary procedure, never studied, and had severe disciplinary issues, even for the usual rough-around-the-edges crowd Pasiap's Stair attracted. He did not listen to superior officers and blatantly ignored teamwork exercises, preferring instead to outperform his classmates and complete any assigned task on his own. Deemed unfit for service in a civilized Legion, he was commissioned as a Scalelord in Red-Piss Legion. Although he remained an intolerable soldier (showing absolutely no deference to higher-ranked officers and severely injuring anyone who attempted to physically discipline him), he was invaluable on the battlefield. When an actual objective was at stake, Anton was focused and brutal, despite having a penchant for wild maneuvers - he appeared reckless, but all risks were calculated; Anton's unit had the highest kill count and lowest casualty rate of any in the Legion, to say nothing of the legends their often impossible-seeming stunts generated. The Vermillion Legion general at the time liked his style, and by the end of his four year tour of duty, he'd risen to the rank of Dragonlord. After departing from Legion service, he found Dynastic politics insufferable. He quickly got involved in Realm's underground, becoming a high-ranking lieutenant under Sesus Nagezzar. By the time he departed the Realm, Anton was one of the most influential figures in Deliberative appointment racketeering in the Western Isle, and as a result, many of Nagezzar's senior advisors hold influential positions in the governments there even today.
Still, Realm life grew boring, and there was the issue of revenge to consider. Having been trained by one of Creation's foremost schemers, Anton returned to Chiaroscuro and quickly made a name for himself in the Undercity. He instituted a tax racket in the Undermarket and provided security services to its purveyors in exchange. Having become the controlling figure in the people permitted to enter and exit the elusive Chiaroscuro Undercity, Anton effectively had a hand on the gateway to underground activities for the entire South with the notable exception of the pirate strongholds in the Southwest. Anton did eventually exact his revenge, killing his father and damaging the clan's reputation so deeply that it dissolved entirely, but at this point, Anton had grown so interested in his Undercity business that revenge was but an afterthought.
Meanwhile, the Grass-Spiders faced the reality of a changing Creation. The Scavenger Lands were growing, and even in the technologically defunct Second Age, the region was gradually becoming more connected, and it became necessary to co-exist with other organizations who skirted the edges of law and civilization. The decision was made to approach to Anton, the secret protector of the Chiaroscuro Undercity and former Dragonlord famed for his outlandish and aggressive battle tactics. Anton was recruited directly into the Lankhmar Harvestmen (he is their youngest member by age, but not by tenure; Tiamat was a Red Hood before becoming a Harvestman) and given the task of solidifying the Grass-Spiders' position in the Eastern underground.
Today, Anton handles issues of "foreign" policy for the Grass-Spiders - he acts as a liaison to other assassin clans and criminal organizations and looks out for the interests of the Grass-Spiders. He is also a skilled assassin - his taste for outlandish battlefield stunts carried over to the Grass-Spider's business well, and Anton's trademark remains putting himself in situations where a ridiculously large crowd of people must be defeated in combat. Unfortunately, he is also notorious for having one of the shortest tempers in the Order - he flies off the handle at the slightest provocation, and his strong inclinations toward violence make him a dangerous man to offend.
What He's Been Up To
After the Veil War broke out, Anton became Order's general, and for all intents and purposes has been directing the Veil War from the Order's side. Unlike many made members, Anton does not believe the Order should try to ignore the Veil War - he considers the White Veil Society's antagonism an existential threat to the Grass-Spiders. This is perhaps because Anton is the member most responsible for tending to the Order's network of associates - the people most affected by the shadow war with the elusive White Veil Society. Ryn, for example, has accused Anton of crying wolf, artificially inflating the inflating the dangers posed by the Veil War in Order to gain more leverage in the Order. While most other members don't go quite that far in their beliefs, Anton's impassioned battle against the White Veil Society has, on occasion, left them wondering who the aggressor really is. Likewise, although most of the Order doesn't regard Anton's direction of the Veil War front as a power grab, that has been a side effect of the conflict. Anton, whose temper and outward focus had previously limited his influence as compared to Ruk and Tiamat, is now viewed as a critical element in the Order; the Veil War did much to highlight the relative frailty of mortal associates and the carefree attitude with which the Order had managed its contacts prior to Anton's arrival.
Despite this, the burden of proof commonly still falls to Anton. Anytime he requests resources or hopes to redirect associates to a cause associated with the Veil War, the Fiends and the Harvestmen have always expected him to thoroughly justify his requests. The senior leadership is (rightly) cautious about turning the Order into a unit of soldiers fighting a war simply for the sake of fighting a war. Anton, presenting the opposite viewpoint, continually stresses that the White Veil Society is hellbent on eliminating the Order. Along these lines, Anton has also grown increasingly obsessed with understanding the White Veil Society's true purpose. In his hunt for information, he has turned his extensive espionage experience inward, extensively researching Atlas and, in particular, Atlas's dealings with the White Veil Society. He hasn't found many conclusive answers yet, but he continues to slowly unravel the complex relationship formed by members of the two secret societies.
The past seven years, and in particular the past two (The Veil War), have done nothing to cool Anton's notorious temper. Now used to being on the defensive in any discussions related to the Veil War, Anton does little to hide the fact that he feels underappreciated and antagonized. He is, as always, quick to anger and accuse other members of tunnel vision and shortsightedness. In particular, Anton is more or less no longer on speaking terms with two made members - Ryn and Opal. Ryn's outspoken opposition to the Veil War and suspicion of Anton's obsession with it have led to a idealogical impass which spurs the members to more or less avoid one another. Opal's transgression was more direct - her unsanctioned prisoner swap cost the Order its most direct tie to the White Veil Society, Anton's prized prisoner. Although the Fiends more or less let her off with a slap on the wrist, Anton has not been so forgiving - he argued passionately for harsher punishment and after the lighter sentence was handed down, he privately cornered Opal and informed her that were the two of them ever alone together on a mission, Opal might just meet an unfortunate and untimely end. Although this isn't the first time the short-tempered Harvestman has threatened other members with violence (threats he, so far, has never made good on), death threats from a veteran assassin trained in making deaths look accidental are never something to be taken lightly. Since then, Opal has completely avoided Anton, although Anton will occasionally go out of his way to be present where Opal is, for the sole satisfaction of making her uncomfortable. This has done nothing to help Opal's worsening depression and has earned Anton the genuine ire of Rizuka and much of the Circle With No Name.
Still, overall, Anton has done his job well, and most made members do look past the day to day arguments and debates and acknowledge that Order would be far worse off were it not for Anton. He capably and rapidly rebuilt the Order's network of contacts after the War's initial bloodshed and has since worked tirelessly to defend this new network. Anton has established official channels for contacts to work with one another and has used his influence in the Threshold's underworld to ensure both physical and political protection for anyone willing to help the Order. This has done much to repair the Order's reputation in the eyes of those who would consider providing aid to it (at the start of the Veil War, being an associate for the Order didn't look like such a stable career path).