There are only two scenarios where you’re likely to have seen the name “Thoros of Myr”: in Game of Thrones, or as the anonymous artist for Curio Cards, the first digital art show collectibles on Ethereum.

As members of the Curio community recently pointed out, Thoros is a Red Priest of the Lord of Light and member of the Brotherhood Without Banners. He appears in all but two seasons of the television series, and is perhaps best remembered for being a drunk, fierce warrior capable of wielding a flaming sword. That, and resurrecting Lord Beric Dondarrion six times. (Spoiler alert: Beric eventually burns Thoros’ corpse after the priest has frozen to death, to prevent him becoming a wight — one of those frightening, frosty undead led by the famous “White Walkers.”)

That’s Thoros in George R. R. Martin’s books. But what about Thoros of Myr, creator of Curio Card 30, Eclipse?

Even after the Curio Cards Rediscovery in 2021, Thoros’ real identity remains a mystery. They’re the only fully anonymous artist of the project — Marisol Vengas had previously been anonymous, but doxxed themselves in 2021 as the social engagement artist, Max Infeld. And while Cryptograffiti and Robek World’s real names aren’t publicly known, both have shown their faces to the media.

Yet Thoros of Myr is a kind of mystical entity, perhaps as cerebral as the floating Curio head in their fully animated Curio Card. Searching everywhere will reveal nothing, because there’s no information about them online. But surely someone among the public knows something?

We asked cardholders to submit their best theories, in the hopes it might lead us toward Thoros’ real identity. After a bit of debate, here’s a look at the four leading candidates for the real identity of Thoros of Myr.

Eclipse commemorates the Great American Eclipse of 2017, and was released on the date of its occurrence, August 21.

Travis Uhrig

Travis Uhrig co-founded Curio Cards in 2017, along with Thomas Hunt (Mad Bitcoins) and Rhett Creighton. He was the organizer of the San Francisco Bitcoin and Ethereum meetup groups, before putting together a Bitcoin art show with Hunt called “Proof of Art,” in 2016. That show inspired the creation of Curio Cards on Ethereum a year later.

There’s no doubt Uhrig is a visionary. He was always into open source software. And he grasped the importance of Bitcoin early, as well as blockchain’s potential to support artists.

He also wanted to draw attention to Bitcoin through art, perhaps inspired by Cryptograffiti, a Curio Cards artist he met in San Francisco whose work does exactly that.

But that didn’t mean Uhrig wanted to make art. He saw no value in himself doing it, because he was already the guy announcing who the speakers were at the Bitcoin meetups, and answering questions about the technology. He was already spreading awareness. And he wanted to bring new people into the fold: even the artists who were supposed to bring others in would be new people themselves.

On the other hand, if Uhrig possesses any artistic ability, which is not unlikely given his involvement in art, he may have wanted to round off the collection with his own piece. A cardholder has also posted how Thoros of Myr bears a striking resemblance to Travis For Mayor, the words that make up Uhrig’s X handle.

Despite this, Uhrig has repeatedly denied he’s Thoros of Myr, even if cardholders don’t believe him.

Verdict: not impossible he’s Thoros.

Robek World

Robek World made three cards for the Curio collection (21, 22, and 23) based on three character archetypes found in storytelling and games: the Wizard, the Bard, and the Barbarian. Robek has long been a fan of mediaeval-type characters and settings, going back to collecting Magic, The Gathering cards while at school. This type of influence is present in some of his recent work, rwx quest, too.

So, it wouldn’t be surprising then, to think Robek could have adopted the persona of Thoros of Myr. After all, Thoros is a distinct, medieval character in a magical world. While it’s not known if Robek is a fan of the Game of Thrones show or books, if he is, it would add further credibility to this theory.

There’s also the fact that Robek is a skilled visual artist who went to college for it. The Eclipse card is exactly the type of animation he would be capable of producing. The card also features Curio the raccoon, the mascot depicted in the project’s logo. This insertion speaks of clever branding strategy, something Robek is also adept at giving his experience as a marketing professional.

Elf Wizard — the original concept art submitted by Robek World for Curio Cards.

Then there’s the motivation of revenge — kind of. Robek had originally submitted an animation as a concept for his cards, known as the Elf Wizard, but it was rejected by the founders. The reason? Too many frames. So, Robek had to make do with two frames. Although he views this as something of an injustice to this day, he accepts that the founders figured out the technical requirements to allow Card 30 to have twenty-four frames. So, either Robek is in fact jealous of Thoros’ additional frames, or he is the one that was allowed to finish off the set, effectively bringing his feud full circle.

Verdict: there’s a good chance.

Mad Bitcoins

Mad Bitcoins, the Curio co-founder responsible for marketing the project, has often expressed his involvement as a kind of artist, too. Like Uhrig, he’s certainly a visionary. But he also collaborated with phneep on the first ten cards, providing continual feedback and direction on the story of mankind’s evolution into art creators. office

Even before Curio Cards, Thomas Hunt created Mad Bitcoin’s signature look — the Mad Hatter Hat, motorcycle goggles and Burning Man costume leftover ensemble. He is also a fan of Steve Jobs, Apple products and their marketing, has studied English, and appreciates literature deeply.

Perhaps coincidentally, as the same Curio cardholder pointed out: if you take the first three letters of Thoros of Myr, you get ‘Tom’, which is short for Thomas (Hunt).

Combine all these elements, and it’s possible Mad Bitcoins may be Thoros.

The founders also struggled to make money from their project, so it might’ve been prudent to keep any further art creation in-house. Hunt, putting on his business, marketing and art hats simultaneously, might’ve crafted the Eclipse card to save money and scratch his creative itch.

Yet, what about the level of his artistic ability? It seems Hunt has always played the director, in any kind of artistic collaboration. Often, he’s had the vision, and then handed it over to the artist “to do the real work,” as he says. This was the case when he first worked with phneep to produce Mad Bitcoins’ posters.

Eclipse is certainly an artistically clean image, alive with art. It’s a professional piece, and it’s not clear if Hunt has that level of animation art skill. Did he have a hand in the direction for it? Almost certainly, along with Uhrig. But did he make it? There’s no good evidence to support that.

Verdict: probably not Thoros.

Some random artist from the internet no one knows (like Moon?)

Some cardholders have speculated Thoros may be XCOPY, the renowned NFT artist who had submitted his art to the project but failed to make the final cut. Uhrig has repeatedly denied this. But that doesn’t mean it’s not another NFT artist, or even someone obscure that is, in fact, unknown.

Someone that no one expects, and has no art reputation beyond this one-off animation piece for the first art show on Ethereum.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s Moon.

Moon is officially the first fan of Curio Cards, and introduced Robek World to the project. Recently, Moon retweeted our tweet on X about Thoros of Myr. Below it, Robek World commented, “Can I answer this?”

Although Robek may just be shitposting, it’s not unlikely he knows something, given his early involvement as a fan and Curio artist.

Is Robek responding to Moon, too, because he knows it’s him? Thematically, it would make sense if Moon made Eclipse, given the subject matter of the artwork. One could argue that the solar eclipse contrasts Moon’s name; perhaps it explains why he’s remained in the darkness about his art for so long.

Or, he might just be a fan, after all, and enjoying the recent speculation about his favorite historical NFTs.

Verdict: Slightly more than likely.

In the dark, still

We still don’t know the identity of Curio Cards’ Thoros of Myr. Even after various suggestions and theories from fans.

Even after taking a closer look at what the Curio Cards founders have said, and the unique history of the project, pre- and post-Rediscovery.

And we might never know.

Or, perhaps on the anniversary of the Great American Eclipse, like Batman seeing the Bat signal, Thoros will reveal himself from the shadows of the internet to answer our curiosity.

Until then, we’ll have to satisfy ourselves by holding their card, continuing to speculate, and waiting for that day which may never come.