Prologue: The Means By Which I Attained the Rank of a Gentleman

Dear reader, I am as anxious to begin telling my tale as you are to read it, but before you learn more about my "affliction" and the circumstances surrounding it, it's important to understand my history. Only from history can we learn and understand the present and future...

I have used many names and aliases in the course of my existence, but the one my mother gave me was Sean. I was born in Cork, Ireland in 1752. I never knew my father, as he was killed in a dispute over some land before I was born. My mother was as doting and kind as any mother should be, as I was her only child and thus meant everything in the world to her.

The first real bit of trouble I encountered was during my eighteenth year, and was caused, of course, by a woman. I had become hopelessly obsessed with the daughter of the local magistrate, who was betrothed to a wealthy landowner. Many unplesantries and insults were exchanged between your humble narrator and her fiance until we drew pistols upon each other. Luckily for me, I survived the confrontation, but my opponent was sent to meet his maker. The ensuing mayhem brought about from killing a wealthy man, meant that I had to flee my ancestral home and make my own way in this cold, cruel world.

My dear mother gave me all the money she had in this world, in order to ensure I escaped the hangman's noose. It was barely enough to get me from Dublin to France. Once in France, I made my to Paris, where I was able to acquire more gold in my pocket by playing cards in the numerous gaming halls which existed in the city. Wherever you find games of chance, you will find wealthy men who excel at losing their money. My skill at cards was becoming well known in Europe, and I had amassed a small fortune. At least it seemed like a fortune to me at the time, as I had never experienced fine clothing, Parisian food, and other luxuries back in Ireland.

Before long, I was getting private invitations to the estates of various barons, princes, lords and other minor royalty to provide entertainment for wealthy men who had money to burn. I usually won, as I was a very dishonest sort, who thought nothing of cheating the wealthy. In lieu of taking money from these men, I began to acquire their artwork. As the wealthy would much rather part with paintings than their inherited coins, my popularity as a professional gambler grew even more.

As I had amassed a large collection of paintings and statuary, I was able to retire from my profession as a gambler, and found a new career as one of the more successful art dealers in Europe. My warehouse in Paris was filled with the most exquisite antiquities. My services were sought out by all the courts of Europe and life suddenly became so easy.

I needed to challenge myself, so I packed up the minimal amount I needed for travel and headed for the Mediterranean. I thought by traveling around Italy and Greece, I might be able to find some marble statues of the kind that had become so popular among collectors. Maybe for the right price, a priest might be willing to part with an Icon. The idea of travel stirred excitement in me that I had not felt since I gambled my way across the Continent.

This greed, dear reader, is what brought me to Italy, and more importantly, the region of Tuscany...