1) What is your favorite food? Drink? What food does your character hate?
--Benedict doesn't have a favorite food, per se, but rather a favorite spice with which he invariably uses in almost everything he cooks. The spice is from a Shadow called Sinix, populated with humanoid 'cat-people'...rather, cats with human features, such as opposable thumbs, and walking on two legs. The spice itself is called Lar'rama. It's a potent little herb, so he uses it sparingly, unlike most of the more 'finer' dishes the Sinixians prepare, using liberal amounts of it...'pon first tasting the food there, he hated it. You could say it grew on him. As for food he hates? Bland food now, food without really any taste to it, though he'll eat just about anything that will give sustanence...that coming from long years on the warpath in innumerable Shadows...each with a different culinary taste.

2) Describe your First love affair.
--Affair would mean commitment of some sort. Most of his dalliances there wasn't any commitment, really, as he would move on once he was done what whatever he was doing. However, his most recent one I already described in a bit of detail, let me reiterate for this question.

Her name is Jess, from a vaguely Earth-like Shadow. I say vaguely here because although the inhabitants were human, for all intents and purposes, their philosophies and organizations were vastly different, huge sections of continents cut up into blocs. She was a combat photographer by profession, and was well suited to it. Requirements for this job include quick wits, and quick reflexes, as photographers and reporters like herself were shot on sight "just to be sure" because of one devious trick played during one of their combats (always civilized, the fates of nations were played out in arenas. Combat photographers took photos "down in the trenches" to bring the news to the people). She wasn't anything really special to look at, on the slightly better side of average, but she kept in shape (a plus! Ben doesn't have a preference to the type of ladies with which he spends his time, but he is starting to notice a trend attracting him to strong-willed and physically able women). Initially, she wanted to publish his photograph (being a armsdealer/creator in this particular place...almost a celebrity as far as they're concerned), he refused. Still, thinking back on it now, he thinks there was something more to her initial persistance in pursuing his affections...and yes, he does think that she was now, upon reflection. He believes she immediately sensed that he was 'different', and not just stand-offish...maybe even to the point of sensing his Amber heritage, though she knew not what it was that she may or may not have been sensing. Anyway, they hooked up through him trying to deal with an identity crisis, and trying to deal with his sister's death. She was sympathetic, and soon he spent every moment he could with her. For a few years they lived together, until he came home one night and found her actually Trumping Amber. She had found his deck of Trumps in his normally locked study (she picked it, yet another reason he loves her...she's incredibly resourceful and clever at times). He took the Trump away, and when pressed for an explanation, he left. Nice of him, hmm? Well, the boy freaked out with feeling all these emotions that he'd always been able to push aside before. He wasn't ready for a real relationship, and he freaked out. He did leave a Trump of himself behind on his desk, though, hoping she'd use it. In the year of her Shadow time (a year there being roughly a month in Amber, give or take), she hasn't so far. Recently, he's resolved to go back to her, and ask her forgiveness...start a relationship. He's also vowed to be completely honest with her this time around, if she'd have him back. However, things at the Castle don't look like they're going to get resolved none too quick, and he might return to find a greatly aged Jess...though he'd still love her just the same.

3) Did you ever have a pet? What kind of pet? Where is it now, or what happened to it?
--Benedict has had a succession of pets, mostly dogs, and of them mostly hunting dogs. He's had other pets in other Shadows, all of the canine persuasion, or what passed for them in the Shadows. He seems to have a preference for loyal breeds, like German Shepherds, and for breeds that can be trained fairly easily to defend it's master, once again like German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans, etc. His latest pet, Thor, and it's mate, Sif, were left behind with his last love. If nothing else, he should at least go back to get the damn dog!

4) Describe your personal rooms in Castle Amber.
--His rooms in Amber are sorta sparse. He's only got three, first, a bedroom, a sitting room, and a bath. His sitting room has several comfortable chairs and a couch, all in a Native Americanish design in browns and oranges, arranged around a small, plain coffee table to accomodate guests. An Oriental rug covers the majority of the floor, in muted tones, and a rather elaborate desk, polished to a shine, and a dark maghongany (sp?). It's normally covered with whatever project he's working on, as well as a quill and a good supply of ink. Weapons of all sorts and descriptions hang upon the walls, complete with plaques giving the Shadow name and the weapon name from which that weapon originated. Some are war-trophies, and some are just for show, but all are kept neatly, and have a good edge to them, and coincidentally enough, are easy to pull off the small pegs that hold them there. A Japanese screen depicting a tiger hunt seperates his bedroom from the sitting room. In the bedroom sits a rather large (king sized) bed, with a firm mattress, and a quilt cover, done in a Celticish design... once again, in muted tones, tans and browns and yellows. There's no rug on the floor, just the bare stone of the castle. A rather huge wardrobe sits to one side, as well as a small table with a basin there. He doesn't expect company there, you see. His bath is done in greens and browns, with tiled walls and floor, in a rather pleasing geometric design. Here, he spared no expense, choosing a large oval tub, sunk partially into the floor. Flora would be proud of him...everything, the laquered mirror frame, the towels, the few rugs on the floor ALL MATCH, and look good.

5) How would you describe your perfect spouse?
--Someone who would understand his obsessive-compulsive behavior. Who would not be afraid to offer criticisms. Someone with a sense of humor, and one that understands his sometimes grim humor. Someone whom he would view as trustworthy, and who wouldn't 'leave' him, at least in his eyes. Someone who shares his interests, but not to the degree to which he takes it. Who is intelligent and pays attention to details.

6) Do you use servants? which is most trusted/liked/indispensable?
--Not on a regular basis. Those at the castle are fine when he's 'home', but when out in Shadow, he avoids it when possible, feeling it's better to be independant, rather than depend on someone else to do things for you.

7) What is your sacred item?
--Right now, he doesn't have one sacred item, per se. Nothing that he hold dear, but with everything that he does have, a memory is attached to it, even the designs (rather mis-matched) he uses to decorate have meaning for him, in some way. Reminds him of a Shadow here, a battle there, a fallen comrade...a lost love. This question would be entirely too long for me to go into complete detail of all his possessions.

8) How do you handle being the butt of a practical joke? cite examples if possible.
--He doesn't. Practical jokes should be abolished, in his opinion. But, it does depend on the joker. If an enemy, or antagonist, made him the butt of the joke, Benedict wouldn't be able to handle it well...he'd kill the guy, after destroying what the guy loved most (people are not included.. he's not quite a cold blooded murderer). Family or friend? He'd try to laugh along, but barring that (because quite frankly it'd depend on his mood at the time), he'd grit his teeth and take it, planning a careful revenge later on that he most likely wouldn't act upon. Still, any opportunities that would come his way to 'get back' at the person he would take.

9) Do you sleep well? what kind of dreams do you have?
--He used to, before the whole war biz started to wear on him. Now, his dreams are filled with anxiety...some of the worst dreams are of finding his brothers alive, and them not wanting to associate with him, or Dad kicking him out of Amber on general principle, or of other people he cares about disdaining his affections. For nightmares, which he has rarely (the anxiety dreams take care of that), he dreams of things he's done...sometimes...like the slaughter at Braxis. It was a necessary thing, but have all those people killed made him queasy, though he didn't show it. They were innocents after all. He dreams of them taking their revenge out on him. Or just plain old monsters he's seen out in Shadow...they're out there, he's seen em. Some have scared the holy hell out of him, not that it stopped him from killin' em... when they crossed his path. And as for pleasant dreams? Well, sadly enough, war permeates everything. He dreams about the successful campaigns he's yet to hold, and about finding a lady, and making love to her, and of simpler pleasures too, like his first puppy he had (a little Irish wolfhound...was one of his best friends til it got trampled by a horse).

10) What are your opinions on revenge...how do you usually extract it?
--Yes, let's have some. He's not had the occasion to 'get back' at family yet, but that won't stop him from teaching them a lesson, should they (Eric in particular right now) royally mess up and piss him off. Eye for an eye...and he's patient about it too, once he gets calmed down enough. He's spent several Shadow years plotting the perfect revenge...destroying the poor man's life, taking away wealth, causing his wife to leave him, just about driving the poor man insane...and all for a flippant comment that Ben didnt' care for. Still, it was just a Shadow person after all...no one of real importance..

11) What emotions do you express in public?
--All of them. He's still learning to school his features, though he is getting better at it. lately, with his emotional turmoil, they rise easily to the surface. Anyone who knows him marginally well can read him like an open book...at least until he gets a grip on himself.

12) What does your voice sound like? Any favorite expressions/curses?
--His voice is a mellow one. He has an accent from Amber of course, sounding normal to Amberites, but weird when he travels in Shadow. His voice can be quite soothing one moment, and chilling the next. He rarely raises his voice above just normal conversation level, and when he does so, that means his temper has finally snapped.

13) Are you left handed or right handed? Do you use the same hand for all tasks, or alternate for different tasks?
--Benedict is ambidextrous, but still prefers his right hand. He uses a sword with his left though, to gain more practice, with his "off" hand, and to throw people offtrack. See, the majority of people are right-handed, and a left handed fencer/swordsman tends to through them off. If the opposite is true, it's easy enough to switch hands in mid-combat. He tends to write with his right hand, and draw/sketch with his left, but feels comfortable with any task with either hand.

14) What style of clothing do you wear/prefer? anything unusual....accessories, undergarments, etc, etc?
--He prefers fairly loose, comfortable clothing. No particular style comes to mind, though most of his wardrobe is normally quite close to his body, not giving an opponent much to grab onto in the middle of a melee. The term "relaxed fit" would probably best apply to his clothing style. Also, in Amber, he dresses appropriately and tries to keep up appearances. Out in Shadow, unless he's leading troops, he's a slob...shirt not tucked in, mismatched clothing...he quite frankly doesn't care.

15) Describe what sports you play/watch/love/hate.
--Yes, let's have some. He hasn't found a sport yet that he doesn't like, because they're all competition. It's the rivalry, the challenge, the competition that he finds attractive in sports. He's taken a turn at most sports, all that he's run across so far. Excellent way to train troops, too, for basic dexterity and endurance, as well as giving them a way to relieve themselves of tension.

16) Describe what fine arts you perform/observe/love/hate.
--Fine arts...is a matter of opinion. As for drawing, he's more into schematics and blueprints, rather than painting or drawing for the heck of it. He can't say he really cares about much in the way of art, "I know what I like." And that's about it. But he does like music. During one of his trips, he found a teacher to teach him how to play the piano, of all things, finding it a delicate art of timing. He'll listen to most anything, once again, "I know what I like", but he tends to prefer lively tunes, rather than depressing ones. His latest 'affair' has recently taught him about 'swing' music, and the big band sound. If he didn't think he'd look ridiculous playing a trumpet, he might have taken the time to learn how to play. As it is, he sticks with practicing his meager musical ability out in Shadow, where no one else in the family can hear. He's not bad or anything, but...that's private. They needn't know.

17) What fields of study do you excel at/love/hate/stink at?
--Hmm. War, war, and more war. Tactics...chess. Strategy. He excels at anything strategic. He's not bad at most sports, but others are better. Study? Jack of all trades, master of none. He knows quite a lot of things, all sporadic. A little bit of everything, but nothing has caught his interest like strategy has. Again, recently, he's been starting to delve into the mysteries of Engineering, suspecting that he could be a passable mechanical engineer if he so chose. He's thinking about it.

18) Do you read? If so, what do you read? Do you write anything?
--He reads little fiction, but when he does, it's typically something like a penny-dreadful...suspense...drama...that sort of thing. Mostly, he reads reports and statistics, and boring books on Engineering, which aren't boring at all to him.

19) What was your first sexual experience?
--His first sexual experience was...disappointing. It was out in Shadow, with a lovely lass by the name of Sioneva, who was far more experienced than he. It was over too quickly, and he felt like he wasn't in control of himself at all. While he got off, mind you, it was still...not what he expected. Took some experimenting, in other words, for him to become a competent lover, not that some of his ex's would agree with that statement, but...

20) Describe your experience with Hi-Technology, and hi-tech shadows.
--Oh, god, there's too much! As I said before, jack of all trades, master of none. He's had a lot of experience with high tech Shadows, and high tech, so that he's not unfamiliar with it, but as to the specifics of each, it's less certain. He may know how to use a intergalaticgargleblaster, but how one works?

21) Describe your experience with Low-Technology, and low-tech shadows.
--Ah, a bit easier question, but not much. He's been in lots of low tech Shadows, and is inifitely more comfortable with them. After all, a lever is a lever, and a knife is a knife. They always work from Shadow to Shadow. Lots more than 'hi tech', I would say offhand, and varied as for culture.

22) What is your favorite shadow/type of shadow? Why?
--His favorite 'kind' of Shadow is one where he can slip into the crowd easily...because he looks like the inhabitants. Call him slightly prejudiced, but others he stands out like a sore thumb, and while that's not always a bad thing, it's not always a good thing either. So, I hesistate to say "Earth type" Shadows, because that's inaccurate. "Amber type" Shadows is more accurate...he may not spend time there, but he does love his home.

23) What hobbies do you have? what hobbies would you like to acquire?
--Hobbies...hobbies...well, this whole mechanical engineering thing is a hobby right now, sketching out and drawing designs for firearms. Yup.. The piano thing mentioned earlier is a hobby as well. He reads a lot, about a multitude of subjects, mostly what others would find dry, statistics, strategies, etc, though he has been branching into philosophy lately too. He collects weapons, that's a hobby...only the best, of course.

24) What type of people do you enjoy/hate the most?
--He hates self-absorbed people, which is ironic because he's self-absorbed...not in adulation, but rather he dwells too much on the problems he has...a trait he despises in other people. Arrogant people too. That is something he is not, and generally after taking them down a peg or two, he finds those formerly arrogant people to be fine friends. People he likes...well, practical people, and yet, conversely, light-hearted people as well. Perhaps it's because he's serious most of the time, but he'll often 'hang out' with seeming frivolous people (*ahem* Flora) and honestly enjoy their company.

25) What type of friends do you have? Describe your closest ones, and any other you want.
--Dead? Well, Gregory, before he died, was a family man, serious like Benedict was. He was a military man too, and they had a lot in common. While Benedict was 'older', from his time in Shadow, Gregory was the elder in that friendship, giving Ben advice and acting like a father figure almost, though in most things they treated each other like equals. He has numerous buddies in Shadow, due to campaigns he's had in the past. Most are soldiers who look up to him, but not necessarily all of them. Some are just people who bumped into Ben by chance, and struck up a conversation. Of those sort, Jess, obviously, is the one who stands out, but she's not exactly what you could call a friend anymore. He also considered Eric a friend up until recently. If I have to describe Eric to you, I'll hurt you Jake. :)

26) Do you prefer the company of women or men?
--Either really, no preferences. Well...romantically Ben isn't into men, so definitely women there. But he's found that women are just as easy to befriend as guys are, but more often than not it takes a special sort of woman to put up with Ben and his lack of conversation. Men, on the other hand, seem comfortable if he doesn't want to talk, but rather would concentrate on whatever. If pressed, really pressed, to pick between the two? He'd probably pick women, because they're far more interesting in the long run, though he tends to get along better with guys.

27) Describe your characters body language, mannerisms, and affectations.
--"Conservation of movement" is a favorite phrase of his. He moves conservatively, as if saving his strength. He does use body language a lot, when he doesn't want to speak. More often than not, when not wanting to go into a subject for whatever reason, he shrugs slightly, adding some small frown to indicate this. That's a common gesture of his. He usually keeps his hands in sight of others, if possible. Just a weird little thing he picked up in a really Hellbound Shadow, where people were willing to shoot another for the smallest thing, so he learned to keep his hands in sight while there, to help diffuse any sort of misconception on their part that he wanted to kill or hurt anyone. It stuck with him. Another gesture that he's fond of is wiping one hand over the back of the other, saying without words, "I wash my hands of you." When he gets really disgusted with people for whatever reason, that's the one he uses. Most of the time, recently, his features are schooled, not trying to give anything away, but still, he's expressive though he tries not to be. He often frowns, and rarely smiles. When he does smile, it's normally very small, just a slight twist of his lips, reflected more in his eyes and body language (leaning near the person, nodding slightly, etc) than in the actual smile itself.

28) Do you have any known children?
--No. Question 28a.) Do you have any unknown children?
--Yes, dammit, because you're mean enough to do that to me. :)

29) Do you have any wives/husbands/mistresses.
--He had a mistress. The story is above...you read it... girlfriend, whatever. Not currently.

30) Do you have any allergies, or weird physical ailments?
--Um, no? He has had numerous scars in the past, but normally they've healed and faded in a matter of weeks, if it wasn't too serious. He carries only small scars, mostly on his hands (from swordplay--he doesn't wear gloves because normally he doesn't get cut a whole lot). 11/21/99 Amendment: Yes, he does. However, due to the plain old ickiness of the disfigurement in question, I will not disclose it here. He has taken to wearing gloves everywhere, however, or long sleeved shirts.

31) What kind of relationship are you in/looking for/wanting?
--Jake! More of the relationship stuff??? GOD! In how many words need I describe it???? ARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!! (aka, see above, it's all there, rather detailed, but to add..)

The last relationship he had was weird. Just weird. First, she staked him out. No use denying that. Then, turned her back on him, until he had to go to her. They talked, and within a week were lovers. Just...weird. That sort of thing normally doesn't happen to him--he's too private for that. Then, they settled into a comfortable, almost married like routine. They did things for each other, were solicitous of the other's needs, taht sort of thing. Then, he screwed it all up by freaking out and acting like an ass.

32) Describe a bad/normal/good day.
--A bad day? One that he's bored. Usually he can amuse himself, or has some project going on, but when there's nothing to do? Beware. A normal day is one with him either working on a project of some kind, or running a campaign, dealing with troops, fighting a battle somewhere. A good day... hmm. Winning a decisive battle. Completion of a project he spent too much time on. Visiting family...yes, that's good for him.

33) What or Who, has influenced you the most?
--His brothers...and Father and Grandfather. His brothers in the fact that he dreamed what they were like (imagining all good stuff) when he was younger, and tried to act like he thought they would. Another idol of his when he was younger was the Chancellor, because he had everything in control! Ben felt that he had nothing under control when he was a kid, and that really upset him, so, naturally...

Father, of course, and grandfather both were big influences on him. From them he got his sense of duty and responsibility. He wasn't blind, Jake, he knew that Dad wanted to spend more time with family, but that his duties kept him away. It wasn't more important, but it had to be done, and dammit, if it had to be done, it got done.

In a more worldly sense, many great generals and philosophers had a hand in molding a young Benedict. Too numerous to mention, but he got his philosphies and ideals from a LOT of different places.

34) Has your life ever been endangered?
--That's a silly question for me. YES. Multitudes of times. Been captured once too, but he actually arranged that to get into the fortress and check out it's defenses.

35) What makes you happy?
--People being kind to him, and those who worry over him.. rather like a mother might. Once again, a decisive victory. The thrill of the 'hunt', so to speak, planning out that first strike against the enemy...chess. He loves chess, and other strategic orientated games. He loves his dog(s). Flora and Deirdre can quite often bring him out of a depression just by smiling to him.

36) What are your worst/best traits?
--Best: He's kind to others. He's trustworthy. Honorable. Truthful (mostly). Loyal. Charitable. Generous. Intelligent. Determined.
Worst: (oh god) He's obsessive/compulsive. Selfish (at times). Self-centered (he thinks of how things will affect him first, then others). Jealous. Vengeful. Thin-skinned (about some things). Stubborn.

37) Do you have any superstitions?
--Nope. He's been around enough to believe that a man makes his own luck.

38) What is your opinion on killing Amberites/Shadow-folk?
--Killing Amberites is bad. Don't want to do it, and get exiled or sent to a front line of a war. Bad. Killing Shadow schumucks...wasn't a bad thing when he was younger. They were just Shadow schumucks. Now, currently, he's brooding on the problem that any action you take out in Shadow has a ramification for someone out there, possibly in other Shadows. This had led to a reluctance to kill. At least, he does only when he feels it absolutely necessary now.

39) What do you regret most about your life?
--Benedict regrets the most, the absolute most, that he couldn't please Father or Grandfather, no matter how hard he tried.

40) What skills do you have?
--*weeps copiously* Jack of all trades, master of none. He's got general skills in about anything that you can think of, and specific and localized skills in a lot of things that have to do with war. Especially weapons skills in just about everything under the sun.

41) What "lives" have you lead in shadow?
--I hate to poop out on you, but as a soldier, general, ruler (for a brief time), weapons designer. That's it.

42) Have you ever met a shadow version of yourself? of any other Amberites?
--Yes, that's what kind of started the whole mess about him thinking of Shadow people as real people...and leading to a reluctance to take life. I shan't go into details here, but think of a situation similar to the death camps of WWII. Then think of Benedict facing himself as the leader of said death camp. Now, psychology folks? How does that make Benedict feel? Bad, bad, bad. Unfortunately, a Shadow of Deirdre was right next to Ben's shadow, and well...that really didn't help either. 11/21/99 Amendment: He's met a more recent shadow of himself as well, another one that's icky and all rotted and gross and basically dead. But moving. Why is it that he always meets the "bad" shadows of himself?

43) What do you do that annoys people?
--What doesn't he do, it seems! Everything...especially the whole war thing with dad and Dworkin. He also has a tendency to just shut UP and not talk when pressed on something. That really pisses 'em off. Or walk away, which is worse. He has another tendency to just start telling people what to do. It's that bossiness of being the eldest sibling coming out.

44) How many/What kind of enemies do you have?
--Lots. Mostly deposed rulers or generals.

45) What is your relationship with your mother like?
--What relationship?

46) What items/ideals/theories/whatever have you brought back from shadow to Amber...and how were they recieved by the Amber populace?
--None, other than what they might have picked up by him. He's brought nothing back, really, nothing to 'contaminate' home.

47) How do you treat Family/Amberites/Shadow-Folk?
--Family is described in a bit of detail on my page. Others, if he's treated nice, he'll treat them nice, and vice versa.

48) What is it that you, or others, do that embarrasses you?
--When people make him out to be a fool. He's deathly afraid of people making a fool out of him, whether it's deserved or not. Other than that, acting inappropriately. Especially when dealing with a new culture.

49) Have you, or do you, done any kinds of drugs...including alcohol.
--He drinks, but not extremely heavily. Strong flavoured drinks though. He doesn't do drugs, unless the occasional pain killer counts. He doesn't smoke.

50) What are your short term/long term plans?
--Fix the problems in Amber. Find Dad and Grandad. Keep the throne for Dad. Ask forgiveness from Jess. Marry the damn woman, and hopefully raise a family with her, wherever she wants. Hopefully back in Amber.

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