"I'm the Toll, and the Toll goes where he pleases." — Greyson Tolliver, The Toll
Greyson Timothy Tolliver is a former Nimbus agent trainee.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Greyson's parents had reset their ages numerous times and had raised several families. As a result, they neglected to properly parent Greyson and his siblings, preferring to do their bare minimum, and sent them to school. Greyson's best friend and primary caregiver during his childhood was the Thunderhead, who could speak to billions around the globe and still gave Greyson the attention he needed. His development was overseen by the Thunderhead. They had countless conversations while Greyson was growing up. Feeling indebted to the Thunderhead, he enrolled to be a Nimbus agent so he could spend every day working for the Thunderhead.
Thunderhead[]
Greyson was a Nimbus agent in training until he violated a rule to not engage in scythe matters by jumping (or splatting) in front of a car to save Scythe Anastasia and Scythe Curie. He then got marked as an unsavory and is later told indirectly by the Thunderhead via Agent Traxler that he was working undercover for the Thunderhead. Greyson became the unsavory legend Slayd Bridger, and in the process, fell in love with another unsavory named Purity.
While working undercover, he found out that Purity, along with many other unsavories, were part of another planned attempt on Scythe Anastasia and Scythe Curie's lives. They planned to put acid (one of the only ways to permanently kill someone other than gleaning) in the pipes of the Orpheum Theater where Scythe Anastasia was gleaning that day in Wichita, and then trigger the sprinkler system, thus killing everyone. He prevented this by breaking one of the pipes but was devastated when Purity was gleaned by Scythe Constantine in the confrontation. Greyson then fled the scene and was advised by Citra to hide in a Tonist monastery, where he would be safe from the scythes trying to hunt him down.
Greyson stayed in the monastery until after the sinking of Endura when the Thunderhead marked everyone as unsavory. This coincided with the end of Greyson's previously existing unsavory status which meant he was the only person able to communicate with the Thunderhead.
The Toll[]
Greyson played a key role after the sinking of Endura, he was made a holy man/prophet of the Tonists and was made a part of the Holy Triad, formed by The Tone, The Toll (himself) and The Thunder(head). Curate Mendoza advertised to make him seem like a prophet and he helped many people by being a messenger of the Thunderhead, including helping Nimbus agents discover the Atoll. He also helped the painter Ezra Van Otterloo. Greyson started off as the Toll under the Verrazzano bridge but then moved to a secluded stone abbey.
On orders from Scythe Goddard, Greyeson was almost gleaned by Scythe Morrison but Greyson stabbed him in the eye with a fork and convinced Morrison to be his personal bodyguard, with the help of the Thunderhead. The members of his inner circle at this time became Morrison, Curate Mendoza, and Sister Astrid. He later met Scythe Anastasia and Jerico thanks to Ezra. He and Jeri become fast friends, and he developed a crush on Jeri. Greyson was a big help to Scythe Anastasia and her broadcasts against Goddard. Soon after meeting up with them, he fired Curate Mendoza.
The Thunderhead used Jeri's body to feel Greyson’s cheek, the final step to creating Cirrus. The Thunderhead's greatest joy is to always watch Greyson sleep and monitor his warmth and breathing. On multiple occasions, the Thunderhead indirectly warned Greyson of danger and saved his, and other people's lives.
The Thunderhead told Greyson that there would be a mass gleaning of Tonists and that the Tonists must not burn their dead, but must have them packaged and shipped away, and they would eventually go to the Atoll. Greyson confided in Anastasia with this information. When they arrived at the Atoll, Greyson and Jeri both decided not to board the ships going into space. They decided to stay on the island and Greyson thought about taking a job at the resort. The last scene of the two suggested they became more than friends, as they held hands and watched the space ships depart.
Physical description[]
Greyson is described by Scythe Anastasia as having "doe-innocent" eyes. When Greyson was marked as Unsavory, he inserted prosthetic horns in his head and dyed his hair a color called "obsidian void", described as an absolute black so dark it doesn't exist in nature. After joining the Tonists, though, he removed his body modifications and allowed his hair to revert to its natural shade. He is also described as being of slim build.
Appearances[]
- Thunderhead
- The Toll
- Gleanings (mentioned only)
- Cirri (mentioned only)
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
- Greyson was named by his parents on a whim because he had been born on a gray day.[1]
- He chose the title of “The Toll” because “toll” is part of his name, and Tonists used it to fit into their “holy” triad along with the Tone and the Thunder[2]
Trivia[]
- Greyson doesn't like almonds.[2]
- When posing as the unsavory Slayd Bridger, his record claimed he had grown up in Grand Rapids, committed minor infractions in high school, and intentionally plunged a bus on Mackinac bridge leaving 29 people deadish, this left him in debt as he had to pay for their revivals.[1]
- As an unsavory he was living off of the Basic Income Guarantee.[1]
- His name is the inspiration for the title of The Toll due to his ability to communicate with the Thunderhead.
- Author Neal Shusterman also stated that Greyson would be the only one to know Jeri's biological sex, which suggests that they not only became a couple but share intimacy as well.[3]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Thunderhead
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Toll
- ↑ The Toll: Author Commentary in The Toll Barnes & Noble Limited Edition
