Tobias de Treece

**Tobias de Treece** is the leader of the Guardians of the Grail and the most powerful man inside Aeternis.

## Background

A Scotsman hailing from Caithness, Tobias has been an inquisitive and intelligent man who has pursued learning all his life. As a result he has become that rare combination of scholar, monk and warrior, which made him a natural choice for leadership of the Guardian knights. Yet even as a leader, he did not abandon his scholarly pursuits and ensured the quality, breadth and scale of the Grand Library that was to be installed within Aeternis, as well as mandated the exploration of the deepest reaches of the cave system beyond Aeternis, discovering the Byzantine relics within. Following the completion of Aeternis, the continued exposure to grailstone had a peculiar effect on Tobias: His intelligence and thirst for knowledge increased dramatically. After the temple was sealed in 1307 and the Priory's attempt on the Grail he became increasingly reclusive, finally withdrawing permanently to the library where he indulged himself to the full in studying the ancient texts. Seclusion only exaggerated this thirst for knowledge and, over a long period of time, had dramatic effects on his mental and psychic capabilities.

In time, he became a man of immense powers, able to detect and influence events and incidents far beyond the realm of Aeternis. Several times, unknown to the others and for reasons of his own, he even rejoined the world of men temporarily. This is why he appears much older than the other knights. Eventually the depth of his learning enabled him to sense the forces and the fabric of the universe itself - and through the swirling eddies of space and time he glimpsed a tragedy coming to humanity of immense proportions! Try as he might, he could only glimpse the merest outline of this tragedy, but it was enough to show him that humanity was rapidly approaching possible extinction. Weeks of intense meditation and concentrated effort revealed no further details, but his heightened senses divined a number of essential truths; that the Grail (and more importantly Grailstone) was central to avoiding this total catastrophe; that Aeternis would continue to protect the Grail until the time came for its release; that the time for release would be determined when someone was eventually able to successfully negotiate the test of Aeternis and steal the Grail; and that other false thieves would make this attempt and fall. Combining his vision with that of Hugh de Payens, he created a new Bible for the revised Templeisen religion, with him as high priest. The cornerstone of this religion was the coming of the Holy Thief and establishment of Aeternis as a divine test for him or her, who would take the Grail back into the world. To ensure that Aeternis was not forgotten, Tobias used the Scottish freemasons as pawns in his dealings above ground (using the persona of Baphomet to communicate with them), and even used grailstone to travel the topside world for short periods of time.

It should not come as a surprise that his visionary mind treaded the thin line between madness and genius, with some of the knights growing dissatisfied with his leadership. Malik became a focal point for opposition, with his charisma and cunning. He slowly organized a group of knights into a fierce faction, founded on another alternate religion: The worship of Maal, an ancient Byzantine deity, and grailstone. Fearing disruption of the test, Tobias looked for a way to dispose of the rogue knight and finally found them - in the form of the cowardly Philip. Purging the temple of Malik, Tobias became the ultimate ruler of a crumbling dungeon, waiting for the vision to come true. He allied himself with Lurka to ensure the completion of the test.

Of course, not all is as it seems. While Tobias appears to be frail, he is physically extremely powerful and extremely intelligent. Moreover, he has foreseen the future, controls Aeternis, and has shaped it to his beliefs together with Geffrye and is the ultimate controller of the test... A test that he believes might actually mean for *him* to take on the mantle of the Holy Thief.

## Interactions

* Tobias is encountered in person only twice. The first time, assuming you don't use the elephant gun to shoot Tallum, it will be after the giant ambushes and "kills" you beneath the cloister. He will offer input on the test and answer some of the questions, while fiddling with the gun. A word of warning: Don't mention the gun. Tobias will shoot you by accident.
* Tobias is then heard from or otherwise encountered throughout Aeternis, as his recorded voice is played on various devices, usually announcing the completion of a vital part of the trials.
* His final appearance is in the final stretch, at the ambush room. He will appear with Warren and Edgar, ambushing you. He will state, flatly, that he has come to a realization that *he* is to be the Holy Thief, wearing your clothes and bearing the Grail. In the end, you receive a bullet to the face for your troubles, courtesy of Warren.

## References

1. ↑ Mikhail: "*He was a good choice for the leader of the twelve guardian knights. He was born in this area, which is his mother's home. His arrogance was sure to strengthen his faith in the belief that he was born to guard the grail here.*"
2. ↑ Expedition log
3. ↑ Letter to the Grand Master, 1259
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Design document: "*All his life Tobias has been an inquisitive and intelligent man who has pursued learning. As a result he has become that rare combination of scholar, monk and warrior. He was therefore delighted at the quality, breadth and scale of the Grand Library which was finally created within the newly-completed temple. After the temple was sealed in 1307 he became increasingly reclusive, finally withdrawing permanently to the library where he indulged himself to the full in studying the ancient texts. The Grailstone aided and exaggerated this thirst for knowledge and, over a long period of time, had dramatic effects on his mental and psychic capabilities.*

*In time, he became a man of immense powers, able to detect and influence events and incidents far beyond the realm of Aeternis. Several times, unknown to the others and for reasons of his own, he even rejoined the world of men temporarily. This is why he appears much older than the other knights. Eventually the depth of his learning enabled him to sense the forces and the fabric of the universe itself - and through the swirling eddies of space and time he glimpsed a tragedy coming to humanity of immense proportions! Try as he might, he could only glimpse the merest outline of this tragedy, but it was enough to show him that humanity was rapidly approaching possible extinction.*

*Weeks of intense meditation and concentrated effort revealed no further details, but his heightened senses divined a number of essential truths; that the Grail (and more importantly Grailstone) was central to avoiding this total catastrophe; that Aeternis would continue to protect the Grail until the time came for its release; that the time for release would be determined when someone was eventually able to successfully negotiate the test of Aeternis and steal the Grail; and that other false thieves would make this attempt and fall. With all this on his mind it's not surprising then that Tobias overlooked some important developments that were taking place under his very nose. Tobias has wisely never told his comrades of his vision of the future, or his foreseeing of the thieves to come (except Geffrye) – it would only cloud their judgement and impair their part in the test,*
As Tobias is such a central character it is worth summarizing the above before we go on: Tobias is physically extremely powerful and extremely intelligent; he has foreseen the future; he controls Aeternis and has shaped it to his beliefs; he believes that the Grail can save humanity and that Aeternis is the testing-ground for a thief who will free the Grail.*"*
5. ↑ The Holy Vision of Tobias de Treece
6. ↑ Entry 959
7. ↑ Vincent
8. ↑ Folio folder
9. ↑ Confessional cutscene