Antonio Jose Bolivar is a veteran woods runner of the Amazon, who spent much of his life deep in the jungle. He has killed men and beast alike, and is a highly expert outdoorsman and hunter. He considers himself immune to snake venom.

Antonio Jose Bolivar is also very observant and quite wise.

History

Antonio Jose Bolivar Pronao used to live in the mountains of Ecuador, in a small farming village with his wife, Dolores Encarnacion del Santissimo Sacramento Estupinan Otavalon. His life was rather happy, if dirt-poor - but he and Dolores Encarnacion couldn’t have a baby.Having no child came as great shame for the couple, and they ultimately chose to leave the mountains. They took some government money and became pioneers in the jungle below.

The settlers were very ill-equipped and untrained, and during the first two years most died, including Dolores Encarnacion. Her grief-stricken husband courageously carried on, but the settlers’ fate seemed sealed. A nearby Shuar indian tribe, however, took pity of the settlers and came in to teach them how to live in the forest. With time, Antonio Jose Bolivar went almost entirely native.

During his years in the jungle, he became one of the few men to survive the bite of a X-headed snake, and the Shuar then considered him fully initiated and a part of their tribe. He made a living hunting snakes for their venom, and occasionally peccaries to sell to settlers - generally living off the land.

However at one point he lost his status in the tribe. White men killed his best friends, and he didn’t manage to kill the killer in the correct way to release his murdered friend’s soul. The Shuar couldn’t accept him as an initiated man anymore, and the ageing Antonio settled in El Idilio, on the shores of the Nangaritza river.

Antonio Jose Bolivar became known there as an eccentric, reclusive man very knowledgeable about the forest and hunting. He was living his own quiet life when he discovered books - although he wasn’t sure why he could read. He especially enjoys reading about romance, though reading one book will take him many months.

Description

Antonio Jose Bolivar Pronao is an old man from the Ecuador jungles, who retains parts of his excellent physical condition and is quite dangerous. He wears dentures - though sometimes he’d rather not wear them. When he decides he will not talk or chew that day, he put them in a kerchief and in his pocket.

Personality

Antonio is a quiet, reclusive old man. He has long since given hope in humanity, which he considers a bunch of greedy, foolish idiots not worth of salvation. Only pure, tragic love seems worthy of redemption for him, and that is the main reason he enjoys reading about it in cheap romantic novels. He reads very slowly, trying to imagine what the words he doesn’t know mean, and greatly enjoying simple stories due to his lack of sophistication as a reader. It takes six or eight months of regular reading for him to finish a novel.

Antonio Jose Bolivar lives free and alone, with only a few friends (including doctor Loachamin, a dentist circulating on the Nangaritza from settlement to settlement). The mayor does not like him, but he and the villagers know that Antonio is knowledgeable about the forest, and will ask for his help when problems arise. Despite his pessimistic outlook, Antonio will usually help.

Antonio Jose Bolivar is a wise, very patient and quite perceptive man. He does not like foolishness, and appreciates people who care and listen. He’s in love with the Amazon, couldn’t live anywhere else and still enjoys pitting himself against it’s challenges despite his advanced age.