Toy Maker

The Toy Maker is an indirect antagonist in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, through his many creations and innovations of death, as well as a supporting character in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. Although he is never actually seen until near the very end of Mirror of Fate, he makes a very prominent appearance in Lords of Shadow 2, complete with some backstory explained to the player before he becomes a direct antagonist and attacks them in a bizarre boss fight.
==History==
===Early life===
At a time, the Toy Maker was the brightest pupil of Rinaldo Gandolfi. However, he much preferred to build toys for children and the skill that gave him his nickname made him legendary across the lands. Hearing of his skill was one Walter Bernhard, a member of the Bernhard family, who offered him a place in his castle to make his craft. During his time in the castle, he constructs a grand theatre and puppets to entertain his audience, including one resembling a child.
The Toy Maker didn't realize until it was too late that Walter came from a family of dark occultists who imprisoned him and then summoned a demon to possess the kind soul, twisting his craft in the darkest way and making for weapons of death and destruction, some being the Dark Pain, the Stopwatch, the Macabre Puppet, and Gargoyles. At some point, he found a fragment of the Mirror of Fate after it was shattered and kept it on a chain.
However, the demon couldn't completely corrupt the Toy Maker's kind soul, resulting in something of split personality: the original kind old man, and the childish and sadistic demon within. Sometime during this period, after being touched by the puppet of a child in the theatre, he managed to regain control over himself. Seeking to save his soul from the demon within and escape Bernhard, who had apparently discovered he had regained his innocence, he crafted more puppets to tell of his tragic tale, and then he removed his own heart and hid it within a puppet of himself, putting himself into a deep slumber.
His fate while Carmilla overthrew Bernhard and took the castle for herself is unknown, straight through until Gabriel Belmont — rechristened "Dracula" — took over in her place.
===Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate===
Through the events of Mirror of Fate, the Toy Maker returns somehow, but was a largely unseen presence. After the Daemon Lord's death at the hands of Trevor Belmont, the Toy Maker watched on. He then used its remains to rebuild it, using the demon to gather souls for his experiments. During Alucard's journey, he passes through the Toy Maker's workshop and assembly line, and stops the deadly carousel that threatened to kill Simon Belmont.
He mentioned that after Dracula's apparent defeat at the hands of Simon Belmont and Alucard, he scavenged the area and found a fragment of the Mirror of Fate. He then went back to rest.
===Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2===
As he continued to search his castle for fragments of the Mirror of Fate for Trevor, Dracula makes his way through the Puppet Theatre and, after viewing and orchestrating a small puppet show telling of his backstory, discovers the Toy Maker's lifeless body and returns his heart to bring him back to life.
The Toy Maker, who initially suffers from partial amnesia due to the centuries of lethargy, does not initially recognize Dracula, but nonetheless show kindness to the man and is more than willing to give him the fragment of the Mirror Of Fate he had claimed in the previous game.
However, just as the Toy Maker hands the fragment to Dracula, the corrupted blood of the castle spawns beneath the old man's feet and pulls the terrified man under, possessing him. Bound by strings of blood (mimicking that of an actual puppet), he takes up control of the mechanical Puppet Master and launches a full assault on the Prince Of Darkness using a knight and a dragon puppet as means to subdue him.
After having dispatched and utterly destroyed the puppets, Dracula confronts the Toy Maker inside the Puppet Master's head, and successfully manages to ground the giant puppet and destroy the mask-like cover that hid and shielded the twisted master of the titanic mechanical device. Not willing to give up, the Toy Maker makes the arms of the Puppet Master act as legs to make it walk and attacks Dracula once again, exclaiming: "Let's see how well you play your death scene!"
Dracula, currently without any powers that would allow him to scale the mechanical menace, resorts to utilizing his various projectiles to shoot at the Toy Maker from afar, causing the possessed man to lose control of the Puppet Master and fall to the ground. After repeating this process a few more times, he finally defeats the Toy Maker and proceeds to throw him out of the now heavily damaged Puppet Master and on to the ground a few feet away.
Upon his defeat, Dracula summoned the Void Sword and prepared to strike the mad puppeteer down. However, before he could do this, the Toy Maker suddenly began to regurgitate the castle's corrupted blood and reverted back to his normal self. Dracula decided to spare the man and pulled back as the Toy Maker recovered from his possession. After an initial shock, the Toy Maker, confused and upset, began to frantically question what had happened to him and what had he said while under the influence of the blood. Dracula kindly makes no mention of their battle, and merely reminds him that he was about to give him his Mirror of Fate fragment, to which the Toy Maker dazedly complies. The old man then finally realizes who his visitor really is and backs away in fear. Having now collected the fragment he had come for, Dracula then bids the old man farewell, cautioning him to: "Guard your heart well."  With nothing else left to say, Dracula departs from the theatre, leaving the Toy Maker alone as he breaks down and cries.
Afterward, should Dracula choose to return to the Puppet Theatre, the Toy Maker will be nowhere to be found. Currently, It is unknown what became of him after his encounter with the Prince of Darkness, although it is assumed he is still active as he now once again bears his heart.
==Appearance==
The Toy Maker's appearance remains a mystery for the majority of the game. His first appearance is on a painting on a wall, and his face appears on the stained-glass windows of the Toy Maker's Workshop. He is first truly seen near the end of Trevor's journey. He wears red glasses, an outrageous red outfit, and his skin is of an unnatural blue hue. His nose is notably large and pointed, and his teeth are long and sharp.
His appearance before the curse placed on him is only suggested through stained-glass windows and official artwork. As a human, the Toy Maker's glasses were clear, his skin was of a normal color, his nose smaller, and his hair shorter.
==Battle quotes==
===Battle opening===
*What have we here today?
*A walk-on actor, huh?
*Let's see how well you improvise.
===When controlling the Puppet Master===
*Are you trying to outshine me?!
*I cannot act with amateurs!
*You have no appreciation for the art of acting!
*I will teach you method acting!
*Damn! Stop undermining my play!
*Hey! Where did you go?
*Let's improve the staging...
*Don't get up. The show's not over yet! Let's see how well you play your death scene!
*I'll smash you like a flea!
*Come on. Improvise now!
*Oh, you look so little from up here!
*How do you plan to get me way up here?
*Ouch! That hurt!
*Phew... that was close.
===When controlling Sir Walter deGrey===
*The valiant Sir Walter deGrey brandished his infallible spear, ready to defeat the sinister invader who threatened the kingdom.
*Sir Walter's skill was legendary throughout the kingdom.
*Come on, Sir Walter!
*The memory of his beloved Brunhilda filled the knight's arm with strength.
*Take that, scoundrel! (imitating Sir Walter)
*My revenge will be terrible! (imitating Sir Walter)
*Careful, Sir Walter! The arts of your enemy are treacherous!
===When controlling Sauraganthorix===
*Time for act two!
*The treacherous Dragon Sauraganthorix, seeing the kingdom unprotected, decided to leave it's lair to sow terror and destruction.
*The evil invader had met its match.
*The Dragon's breath was a blaze worthy of Hell itself! (Sauraganthorix breathes a stream of fire)
*Hellish flames sprung from the Dragon's belly! (Sauraganthorix shoots fireworks from  his mouth)
*Careful! This puppet is very fragile. (when Sauraganthorix is hit)
*No! Not so hard! (when Sauraganthorix is hit)
*Come on, Sauraganthorix, don't fall asleep now! (when Sauraganthorix loses all of his health)
==Trivia==
*His bonding souls to the Macabre Puppets is similar to the Puppeteer mentioned in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, whose spell bonded souls to the skeletons of retainers. In Lords of Shadow 2, the Bestiary entry for the Skeletal Warriors confirms it was indeed Toy Maker who bonded souls to their cadavers, thus identifying him as the mysterious Puppeteer.
*In Mirror of Fate, most of the Toy Maker's backstory or references to his technology is told through scattered Brotherhood scrolls. Some of it appears in the description for Dark Pain and Improved Dark Pain weapons, the description for the Stopwatch, and some of the other sub-weapons in the game. He also has his own Bestiary listing, although he is not actually ever fought.
*There is one reference to Frankenstein's experiments in one of the Toy Maker's rooms in a Brotherhood scroll. This may suggest that the Toy Maker's identity may be Frankenstein, or that he has simply continued Frankenstein's research. It should be noted that the Toy Maker has all of his fingers, while the fingers that serve as loose collectibles in Reverie were believed at that time to be those of Frankenstein.
**The Toy Maker became a servant under Dracula, similar to how Frankenstein was to Carmilla. Both served under the Bernhards previously.
*The Toy Maker appears to have been involved in some sort of rebellion revolving around Alucard. Several weapons designed just for Alucard can be found along the quest, including a Combat Cross, a Stopwatch, and an augment for the Combat Cross that allows him to use rails in oddly specific areas around the castle.
*It is possible that when Dracula first discovered the Toy Maker, he stole his "heart", which was implied to be used to keep his demonic side under control in order to make the Toy Maker work for him. This would explain why he resented him enough to eventually work as Alucard's indirect benefactor, all the while sending puppets against him to maintain the appearance of "servitude".
**This would seem to be true considering in Lords of Shadow 2, Dracula knows where the Toy Maker's heart is stored, suggesting he is the one who sealed his heart in the theater in the first place. In addition, Dracula is quick to suspect that the Toy Maker knew about what happened to the Mirror of Fate and held one of the fragments of the Mirror, further proving he knew the Toy Maker well or at least enough to know of his fascination regarding powerful artifacts, strengthening the possibility of a personal relationship with him.
**The Toy Maker's bad relationship with Dracula is also heavily implied where he gleefully referred to Dracula's defeat at the hands of his own son despite having been restored to his good self, showing the Toy Maker's resentment towards the Prince of Darkness. However, the Toy Maker is also afraid of Dracula, as he quickly became scared upon realizing Dracula's identity. 
*The Stopwatch is similar to the time machine technology Frankenstein was working on, based on the research of Emmet Marron.
*During Alucard's trip through the castle, he can see images of the Toy Maker, including a painting on a wall and his face on stain glass windows. These appear to show how the Toy Maker appeared before his curse.
*A puppet show puzzle in Lords of Shadow 2 tells the tragic story of the fall of the Toy Maker. The story ends with the kindness of a young boy helping the Toy Maker find his humanity again. In order to escape Walter Bernhard, he removed his heart and gave it to the boy to hide (so that it couldn't be corrupted again). The heart was hidden in the very puppet show that was telling the story. This doesn't quite explain his appearance at a later date in Lords of Shadow, unless his body was still being possessed even without his heart.
**The story of the Toy Maker regaining his humanity due to the kindness of a young boy puppet, is similar to the relationship between Dracula and his son Alucard in Lords of Shadow 2, as Alucard helps Dracula redeem himself.
*The Toy Maker's identity is still rather mysterious even with more of a backstory given in Lords of Shadow 2. While both games suggest that he is the protégé of Gandolfi, he is never given a specific identity; however, this could possibly be a mistaken rumor. One possibility is that he actually is Gandolfi, which would explain why many of his devices are similar or continuations of Gandolfi's designs.
*Many of the Toy Maker's designs are oriental in nature, from the red bridges in his guest house to the toy dragon bearing close resemblance to a Chinese dragon.
*The Toy Maker incorporates the Master Librarian's line: "Heh heh hee, thank you!" from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in his initial address to Dracula when the vampire lord restores his heart.
*The Toy Maker's overall design appears to be inspired by Wallman, a boss from Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.
*Dracula is unusually kind to the Toy Maker, perhaps feeling some sympathy and recognising him as a mere victim. Dracula spares his life, shows no ill will for his attack, and even offers some parting advice, a high contrast to how Agreus and the Gorgons were treated.
==See also==
*Sir Walter deGrey
*Sauraganthorix
==References==
==External links==
*Toy Maker (Castlevania) at the Villains Wiki
es:Maestro Juguetero
pt-br:Fabricante de Brinquedos
Category:Humans
Category:Male Characters
Category:Protagonist-Turn-Antagonist Bosses
Category:Lords of Shadow 2 Bosses
Category:Lords of Shadow 2 Characters
Category:Mirror of Fate Characters