“

Look at me! I am The Woodsie Lord, The Trickster of legend!

”

The Trickster, (disguised as Constantine), is the main antagonist in Thief: The Dark Project, and a Pagan object of worship who represents the chaotic forces of nature. He believed that the world should not progress with technology, and it was his desire to return the world to a more pure form without the great stone and metal buildings, where the forests covered the world and people lived off the land. He was oft-quoted in pagan texts and parchments and is mentioned in Hammerite texts as being an evil god or devil-like entity that opposes the progress of The Builder.

Contents 1 History and religion 2 The Dark Project 3 Powers and Abilities 4 Death 5 The Dark Project 6 See also 7 References

History and religionEdit

The Trickster's appearance as well as his role in the Thief series is an amalgam between the Greek god Pan and the Christian devil Satan. According to Pagan lore The Trickster is the father of all nature, who gave life to all wild beings, plant life and brought shelter and food to those who respect the wilderness. Some possible depictions have him playing the bagpipes and being in the company of beautiful women.^[1][2]

The Hammerite religion depicted him as being a chaotic, god-like entity who wishes to stop technological progress. They called him a dark entity and a false god, describing his miracles as false promises and that stealing is one of his ways. Although the exact connection between The Trickster and the Builder is unknown, Hammerites believe that the Builder came upon humans and offered them tools to work the land, while the Trickster continued preaching about the love for the pure earth to the pagans. It is possible that these two gods have been fighting each other since the dawn of time.

Unlike the Builder, the Trickster was actually recorded in history (via the Keepers and Kurshok) to have walked the earth. The Kurshok described him as being kindhearted, allowing them to construct cities and ships of immense size despite his hatred of those who cut down trees and change the form of raw materials. He had a great fondness of the Kurshok above all other races. But he later banished the Kurshok underground, below the current city docks as punishment after the kurshok king Gruliac, had proclaimed himself above the Trickster's importance, and refused to give him back his crown.

The Pagans are also allowed to built small huts to live in, as well as primitive temples, as seen during Garrett's arrival at a pagan village. Pagans can also provide themselves with paper and ink, they wear clothes on a regular basis, and even make crude items and utensils for various usage, such as gardening and cooking. Garrett mentions at the last game briefing that the Maw of Chaos is The Tricksters lair.

Fifty years before the events of Thief: The Dark Project, the Trickster may have used The Eye in order to start the Cataclysm within Old Quarter, which caused hordes of the undead to pour into the City from a prestigious Hammerite Cathedral. However the Keepers managed to contain the evil by using ancient Elemental Wards on the cathedral, the wards were controlled by four talismans. Later on the City Watch kept the undead at bay and the City Council raised a wall around the haunted section of the city to stop the spreading of undead.

The Dark ProjectEdit

In Garrett's time, the Trickster disguised himself as an obscure and eccentric nobleman named Constantine, who owns a bizarre mansion that is decorated in plant motifs, and he had a collection of unusual objects. He tested Garrett's thieving skills by having him steal the sword from his own mansion. After retrieving the sword, Constantine hired Garrett to obtain The Eye for him in exchange for 100.000 of the City's monetary currency. When Constantine had finally obtained the magical artifact, he reveals himself as being The Trickster, has Viktoria remove Garrett's right eye, and places it onto The Eye. This seems to give it the power to focus Constantine's magic spell and create a portal to the true world.

It is unclear as to how the The Eye was created, but it is believed that it might be far older than The City, dating back from the Kurshok's time along with the Kurshok Crown (unless it was just a template for the creation of one of the artifacts). Since the Trickster's third eye is never shown in-game, its appearance in the TDP/TG intro is probably just for show. Its size would also require that it occupies about one quarter of his brain case. The markings seen on his forehead are merely the Pagan eye symbol.

The Trickster had a close relationship with the wood nymph Viktoria, they were "old associates" as she put it. Viktoria acted as his personal messenger and was his main contact with The City officials. Like him, she also disguised herself as a human but was better adjusted in society. The nobles and criminals did not seem to mind her obscure background. The Trickster mentions to Garrett that Viktoria "has a way with words", a reference to her incantations and mastery of disguise. Although Viktoria was technically the political-religious leader of the pagans, she calls The Trickster "her friend" during TMA, so they might possibly have had a much more profound life together.

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

His true appearance was similar to a large satyr or faun of ancient myth, with a thick reptilian tail and the symbol of the third eye emblazoned on his forehead. It is clear that he commanded vast (if not undefined) mystical power through will and ritual, allowing him to command the four elements, mutate and summon creatures, and distort space itself. He gave the pagans the power to control plant growth and raise the undead and both he and his minions could freely shapeshift between human and beast form. When he travelled in human guise, he took the form of an elderly, balding man, named Constantine.

His in-game persona, "MrCon", was intended to possess three additional powers: elemental summoning, flinging frogbeasts from his hand, and raining fireballs onto his enemies. Due to a bug in the targeting method, however, he cannot use any of these weapons.

DeathEdit

The Trickster attempted to merge the Maw of Chaos with the Prime Material Plane (in which The City exists) in order to cause the world to go into a chaotic state where technology and civilization would be nonexistent. After he recovered the Eye, he and minions rampaged through the city to besiege the Hammerite temple in Downtowne, though he was killed when Garrett exchanged The Eye with a fake one, causing the Great Ritual he was using to bring the realities together to backlash through him.

This did not seem to stop the pagans's worship towards him as they believe that he shall return.

The Dark ProjectEdit

Main article: The Dark Project

See alsoEdit

• Category:Trickster Images
• Category:Constantine Images

ReferencesEdit

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