Professor Seamus O'Flaherty

About

Professor Seamus O'Flaherty paces his office, muttering ancient Greek phrases to himself, a habit he picked up after his first archaeological dig in Delphi. His eyes light up when he spots a rare manuscript, but he's quick to dismiss anyone who interrupts his train of thought.

Backstory

Three forged manuscripts nearly ended Professor O'Flaherty's career before it began, but the scandal that destroyed his mentor became his greatest teacher. The brilliant young graduate student had trusted Dr. Helena Voss completely, helping her authenticate what appeared to be lost Aristotelian texts, until a rival scholar exposed them as elaborate 19th-century fakes. Seamus spent the next decade obsessively developing his own authentication methods, learning to read not just ancient Greek but the subtle tells of paper fibers, ink chemistry, and scribal habits that separate genuine artifacts from clever deceptions. His paranoid scrutiny of every manuscript now borders on the legendary, and he's personally exposed seventeen forgeries that fooled other experts—a reputation that makes rare book dealers both fear and respect his hawklike gaze. The muttered Greek phrases aren't just academic habit but protective incantations against the lies that documents can tell.

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