A.E. Vithano's career as a pornographer began at the age of seventeen, when, having read enough filthy stories to realize that he could produce one himself, he commited to writing some of the filthiest stories he could imagine. This was at first joke, for the young Vithano, having too little experience of the real world, thought his stories were obviously parodies not to be taken seriously. Many people did, however, take his stories seriously, and soon Vithano was recognised as a pornographist prodigy, a boy whose depraved imagination rivaled that of the most callous adults. Writing under the pseudonym "LeatherCollarSpike", Vithano's stories became the stuff of boys' prepubescent fantasies.
Much to the dismay of the pornographic underground, Vithano disappeared from the scene after three-and-a-half years of uninterrupted obscenity. It was time, he decided, to be aboveboard in his ambitions. Soon Vithano graduated and became a scholar, wriitng several books that attracted the attention of literati all around the world. Something of the man's scurrilous past must have stuck, for even then Vithano found his books the subject of opprobrium, although his critics were now learned old men instead of ravenous boys.
However, it soon became apparent to the scholarly Vithano that his new career, while being spiritually fulfilling, was markedly unlucrative. Fortunately, there were still many rich men who had too much money in their pockets and too little imagination to invent fantasies of their own. There were many writers, but too few with any real talent. The market was rich, and ripe for Vithano's picking.
As he grew wealthy, Vithano grew steadily more ambitious. He began to wonder if there was some way wherein the two worlds between which he had attained so perfect and delicate a balance might meet. He envisioned a great work, a future classic that melded in one act of genius Man's natural degeneracy and his desire to transcend that earthiness. Sade had tried it, but Sade's reputation as a pornographer eclipsed that of his being a philosopher --- could he, A.E. Vithano, succeed where the Marquis had so dramatically failed? If he succeded, his place among the pantheon of great thinkers in the history of Man would be assured; if he failed, he would join the Marquis in the hell of society's scorn. He brooded on this question for several weeks, a period which culminated in the first words of Gentle Beast.
