Sid

Sid was a mysterious man who seemed to be part of the staff of the Strange and Wonderful House and once guided the Master of the House on an eye-opening tour of the Gardens.

Description

Physical appearance

He appeared as a “thick, solidly-built Asian man”. He wore a round, pointy hat with a wide brim and a simple brown robe, and first appeared to the visitor holding a large broom, although he quickly set it down. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Into the Gardens (Part 1))

Powers & abilities

The guide had the ability to appear and disappear at will. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Into the Gardens (Part 1)) He had a good understanding of the House's temporal fluctuations, having once displayed knowledge of a room with his visitor, despite being a noteworthy resident of the House proper, didn't know about yet. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Into the Gardens (Part 2))

Biography

In a bad mood after an argument, the Master of the House (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Will of the Creator) once stomped out of the House proper through the Sun Room. Ignoring the signs pointing to the Tree House and the Southern Veranda, he made his way to the Gardens, where a sign warning visitors to be careful of the Werepanda only needled him further. After entering, he was confronted by a strange man (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Into the Gardens (Part 1)) who, appearing out of thin air, offered to take him on a tour of the Gardens, enticing him to accept with the possibility of “tea in the shade of the Bodhi Tree” at the end of the tour. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Into the Gardens (Part 2))

He walked quickly, chattering happily to his charge about what they saw on the way and what else they might see yet, from the orchards and vegetable garden to the Topiary Veranda and we I. T. Haze's hedge maze. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 1)) When Sid showed his charge “the training ground of accursed springs”, the latter expressed surprise at such a seemingly malevolent thing being part of House. Sid tutted at his “mistaken impression that the House is essentially good” before adding that “even worse, like many new writers, you think you’re in control of every part of the story”; when the visitor replied that “we” did in fact “make” the House, Sid cryptically implied that this was a limited perspective. They continued walking and found themselves in a landscape which the visitor believed to be “in China, or Japan”, to which Sid replied that “all three are correct, depending on your perspective”. The visitor suddenly felt calmer and realised that in the distance, he could now glimpse the towering form of the Bodhi Tree. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Acccursed Springs))

Behind the scenes

Sid displays abilities consistent with being a shifter. In the comments of Accursed Springs, Jeanne Morningstar jokingly speculated that “perhaps ‘he’ might be a crossdressing Jenny Everywhere”, which would help to make him less of a stereotypical “Asian master” figure.