Lord Tower

Lord Tower, is the Arcana of the Dagger Throne. One of the oldest and most powerful Arcana still alive, he is mysterious, dangerous, and a protector to Rune and Brand Saint John. His true name is Anton Saint Joshua.

## **Appearance**

He is described as a not-too-tall man in his early forties, with waxy, black hair and cocoa eyes. He had constant five o'clock shadow, fingers like a surgeon, and a swimmer's build. He has a dark complexion and Spanish features. He almost always wears loose clothing and is barefoot. He has been encountered in clothes as diverse as pajamas, a keikogi, and an Atlantean silk bathing robe.

## **Personality**

A mysterious, elegant and refined man, the Tower maintains a purposeful aloofness. Measured and cautious, the Tower is accustomed to monitoring dark and dangerous threats and as such, is loathe to reveal potentially dangerous information, even to trusted agents until absolutely necessary.

He has a fondness for Rune and Brand Saint John, trusting in their abilities and especially in Rune's judgement.

Whilst a rather formal man, he appears amused by Brand's constant annoyance and frustration at him, only rarely flashing a warning that his patience has worn out.

## **Background**

One of the oldest Arcana, he has memories stretching back to the Age of Exploration, recalling time spent with Spanish explorers first entering the Amazon jungle, putting his age comfortably around 400.

Formerly the spy master of the Atlantean Emperor, with the fall of old Atlantis, Lord Tower adapted the Dagger Throne to the new reality, turning it into a powerful business entity across the human world. However he still maintains his traditional role safe guarding New Atlantis, building and utilizing vast security arrangements, resources and networks that were unknown to most.

Rune credits his success with an unusually adaptable approach to change, something most Atlanteans of similar age struggle with.

After the fall of the Sun Throne, he took Rune and Brandon Saint John in, later confirming he considered them his foster children. Whilst resident at the Pac Bell, his son, Dalton, sexually assaulted Rune, leading to Brand violently beating him. In punishment the Tower had Brand whipped, causing tension between them. He later admitted to Rune that he may have reacted poorly.

### *The Hanged Man*

After learning of the attempted abduction of Max, Lord Tower summons Rune to dinner and cautions him not to overtly provoke the Hanged Man and that he and other Arcanum are slowly undermining him. However Rune refuses to listen, and acts according to his own conscience, eventually uncovering the time-loop massacre on the USS Declaration.

After Rune's warning about the Declaration, Lord Tower goes and explores the time loops the Hanged Man created, confirming his worst fears.

When Rune appears before the Arcanum to claim his throne, the Tower is visibly shocked by both his declaration and his burning man aspect. Initially leaving Rune to argue for a raid on the Hanged Man alone, he eventually comes to support him, and fights alongside other Arcanum when the Hanged Man betrays them.

The Tower joins Rune, Brand, Lady Death, Addam and the Hierophant on the Declaration in the hunt for the Hanged Man, and is present when Rune slits his throat, ending the threat.

After the death of the Hanged Man, the Tower meets with Rune. There he explains that he is responsible for dividing up the fallen courts assets, and expresses interest when Rune takes the smallest cut. He then explains to Arcana Majure to Rune, revealing that it is powered by a persons life force and that of their companion. The more he uses it, the less life he will live. This also has the side effect of preventing an Arcana from rejuvenating to a youthful appearance. The more one uses the Majure, the less effective the rejuvenation. He explains that he himself cannot appear younger than a man in his 40's as a result of majure use.

### The Hourglass Throne

Lord Tower summoned Brand and Rune to the rejuvenation centre to investigate the appearance of a shield. He was able to lower a part of it long enough for them to enter, though it cost him parts of his fingers.

Upon Rune's discovery that Lady Jade, the suspect in the rejuvenation centre's murders was, in fact, Lady Time, he made moves to protect Atlantis and the Arcana, and accompanied Lady Death in a rescue of Rune and Brand in the Warrens.

Lord Tower was present during the assault on Farstryke castle, and witnessed the murder of Lord Judgement, and Rune and Addam's disappearance into the Time-Stream. He spent the next two days working with Ciaran trying to find them.

During her assault on the Sun Thrones summer compound, Lady Time opened a portal into the time-stream inside the Towers body, and he was killed. Rune, avenged his death by killing her shortly thereafter, proclaiming before he did that the Tower had been a father to him in all the ways that mattered.

After his death, the Towers friends and family attend a funeral service for him during which individuals would come and share an old secret and a new secret with him in private. Mayan and Rune refused to participate, believing they could find him in the Time-Stream.

A mysterious woman who no others could see attended his funeral, stating that he had raised 'the boy' well, but he was ultimately a rather unmalleable caretaker.

## **Abilities**

Though rarely deploying his magical abilities, the Tower is a skilled magic user. Gifted with an especially unsettling aspect which manifests as absolute darkness that flows from him, he is twice able to defeat a Lytch, a being so powerful it was considered mythic even when the Tower was young.

In addition to being a powerful Arcana, he is also a skilled politician, strategist and tactician, tracking multiple threats to New Atlantis and the Arcana daily, with contingencies ready for each. His spy and security networks, though overseen by his companion, Mayan, are under the direct control of the Tower, and he appears to always know of their state of readiness no matter the situation.

The Tower is a rare practitioner of gem stone painting. A rare an extravagant form of painting utilising magic to create pigments from gemstones such as sapphires and rubies, Rune believes he may be the last living Atlantean to known the skill.

## **Relationships**

### Rune Saint John

The Tower was the best friend of Rune's father, and took him and Brand in after the fall of the Sun Court. Though not an affectionate man, he saw to it that he and Brand were trained and educated until they were adults and able to move out into the world on their own.

Impressed with Rune's abilities, he considered him a trusted agent and frequently hired him to undertake dangerous and sensitive jobs, including investigating the disappearance of his Godson, Addam Saint Nicholas. As Rune grew in power and influence, the Tower cautioned him about moving too quickly, but later, after Rune claims the Sun Throne, comes to realise that not only was Rune ready to ascend to the Arcanum, but that he was a much needed new perspective.

Though he and Rune enjoy a broadly positive relationship, Rune once surprised him by magically vowing that any moves by the Tower to save him and not Brand would result in the end of their relationship.

After the Tower's death, Rune is shown a video recording of him in which he discusses his poor childrearing skills. However, he finishes by saying that he felt with Rune and Brand, he finally got it right, demonstrating that he thinks of them as his sons.

Rune avenged the Towers death by killing Lady Time, telling her he was his father in all the ways a man could be.

### Brand Saint John

On the surface Brands relationship with the Tower is combative. Brand often makes sarcastic and cynical remarks at the Towers expense, usually highlighting his frustration at their low pay and the Tower's reluctance to share information. Whilst the Tower seems to broadly enjoy Brand's grievance, he does at times hint at his anger and frustration, at which point Brand does back down.

During the raid on the Declaration, the Tower see's Brand trip the Hierophant in order to get rid of him. The Tower declares that he will cover for him, but all debts owed are now cleared, which leaves a sombre Brand nodding.

After the Tower's death, it is revealed that as a young man, Brand professed his love for the Tower. When the Tower let him down gently, Brand reacted poorly, developing a fear that one day the Tower would use it against him and reveal his confession to Rune, embarrassing him. Brand is grateful that he never did, considers his youthful love a misguided infatuation, and says he would have made a lousy boyfriend anyway.

### Addam Saint Nicholas

Addam Saint Nicholas is one of Lord Tower's many god children. He sent Rune to find him after he disappeared, suspecting, when his own mother did not, that something untoward was happening. For this Addam has a high regard for his God Father, in contrast to his poor relationship with his mother, Lady Justice.

Addam thinks so highly of his God Father that, as young man taking up parental responsibility for his new born brother, asked the Tower to be Quinn's God Father also.

### Mayan

Mayan is the Towers human companion. Bonded at birth, they share a magical bond that allows them to experience each others emotions. Like all companions Mayan is trained and skilled in combat and security, but unlike Rune and Brand, his relationship with the Tower is more distant. Similar to employer and trusted right hand man, Mayan oversees the Towers security operations, and is extremely knowledgeable about the threats faced by New Atlantis, and its defences.

Whilst the two men are more distant than Rune and Brand are, they clearly care for one and other, with Mayan being able to predict the Towers moves, and the Tower once freeing him from the thrall of Lady Time declaring Mayan to be "Mine."

Upon the Towers death, Mayan refuses to accept it. Instead he secretly agrees with Rune to deploy the Dagger Thrones extensive resources to investigate the Time-Stream and locate and rescue the Tower.

#### Ciaran

The Tower viewed Ciaran as a skilled resource and was content to hire him for his skills and abilities. For his part, Ciaran enjoyed teasing the Tower on his elegant yet formal attire and rigid personality. When Ciaran revealed to New Atlantis he was, in fact, the real Magician, Lord Tower, accustomed to knowing everyone's secrets, was stunned.

After Lord Towers death, Ciaran regretted he had not had more fun at the mans expense.

### Dalton and Amelia

Lord Tower admits he was not a good parent. His son, Dalton, was too easily drawn into celebrity and prefers the human world over Atlantis. He also has a known abusive streak after his sexual assaults on Rune. He admired his daughter, Amelia, far more, but she had distanced herself from him and the Dagger throne, leaving him with only his foster sons, Rune and Brand.