Part 4: “Normal” Quiz Questions
- You are plagued by a recurring nightmare/dream. Describe the dream.
I have had, off and on, a nightmare where I am being forced to walk the Pattern of Amber. I don’t know what frightens me more, the very fact that I, a Mistress of the Logrus, would be walking the Pattern, or the sense that I get that I _could_ be walking the Pattern as though I had the blood of Amber.
- What is your favorite thing in the universe? Second favorite thing?
Before you start thinking that I would respond “Myself” I must remind you that I do have concerns and interests outside myself. My most favorite thing is my passion for learning, especially the sorcerous arts (as opposed to the arts of the sorceress, which are equally as pleasurable and much more diverse). I prize my collection of sorcerous tomes, and I pursue both esoteric and practical examinations and applications of the art. Of course, given that several aspects of the art impinge on several other, more pleasurable pursuits, I find considerable amusement and enjoyment in mixing intellectual studies with practical applications.
As for my second most favorite thing in the universe, I must confess to a passion for sweets, particularly chocolate, most particularly Godiva Chocolates. I have established a large grove in my Shadow for the express purpose of growing chocolate. I am indulgent enough to allow my subjects to taste and enjoy this treat as well.
- Why did you walk the Pattern (or Logrus)?
You make it seem like I had a choice. No one in the Courts has a choice on whether or not to walk the Logrus if they want to play (or at least survive) the Great Game of State; all must walk it in order to do more than merely survive in the Courts.
- You have need of a transportation for a long journey.
Assuming you choose something biological, such as a horse, describe the steed’s size, coloring, build, training, and personality.
Any transportation I would require would have to be sturdy, fleet, and comfortable. I usually use a mount from my own Shadow. It is similar to an equine, except its ancestry includes a number of reptilian, feline, and amphibian elements, providing it with its formidable mouthful of needle-sharp teeth, its sharp horns and its claws. Its hide is a yellow dun color and is actually quite soft and pliable yet hard to penetrate. It has excellent night vision and a keen sense of smell. It is quite intelligent for an animal and is quite capable of defending itself and myself if necessary. In another’s hands it is very violent and prone to attack its rider, but under my reins or command it is quite docile.
- Assume that you choose something non-biological for the above question. Describe it.
If the corresponding Shadows permit it, I have a fondness for large, antique motor vehicles, such as appeared several decades previously on Corwin’s Shadow Earth. Such vehicles as Rolls Royce or Dusenberg, made for royalty to travel in exquisite style and comfort, would suffice.
For travel of considerably longer distances I would have to resort to the more elaborate and elegant zeppelins, in which I would be the only passenger and the entire crew would be constantly at my disposal.
- Did you ever have a pet? What kind of pet? Where is it now, or what happened to it?
I must confess that I have never had one pet in particular. I must also confess a certain partiality towards cats; their proud and aristocratic nature mirrors my own.
- Do you have a “home” shadow? If so, what is it like, and why is it home?
Lorrylliar is a fairy-tale feudal world of valiant and heroic knights, beautiful princesses, powerful wizards, and dangerous monsters, wherein I am Empress and Queen, Enchantress of Hearts, and Sorceress Majere. It has a patchwork landscape of forests, deserts, oceans and mountains, of baronies, duchies, kingdoms and wild territories without rulers or rules, but I am sovereign over all. My subjects love me and fear me, and would gladly die for me, should I ever require it, but that has never happened.
My personal quarters in Lorrylliar is a full-sized castle (think the fairy-tale German castles built on a city scale) of snow-white marble, with a number of conveniences such as hot and cold running water, heating and cooling (although I do not allow the climate of my Shadow to vary to great extremes) and other amenities that are provided through modest uses of magic. The castle interior is very open and clean, made of different colored marbles and rare woods with intricate metal work, all of which has been enchanted to remain bright and clean at all times. Light is provided by day by the sun shining through many windows of differing styles and composition and by a variety of magical light sources by night. Music, of many different forms from a number of unseen hands and instruments and throats, is but a gesture away at any time. Calling it akin to fabled Camelot would do it an injustice.
This should not be considered the Shadow that Morgaine was born in; that, of course, would have been the Courts. This is simply where she “hangs her hat” when not visiting the Courts of Chaos.
- If you had to choose between being exiled from your “home” shadow (if you have one), and Amber (or Chaos), which would you choose and why?
It is difficult to imagine being exiled from my home Shadow, as it not only is my Shadow, subject to my will, but it also exists and continues to exist at my will and whim. Therefore to leave it permanently would be akin to casting something I treasure aside forever to watch it wilt away. However, to be completely exiled from the Courts of Chaos is a fate I would truly hate, for I also know that everything else is merely Shadows of reality, and to be parted forever from one element of reality, and not to play the Great Game of Thrones, would be akin to killing me.
- Which would you describe as the greater evil, murder of a shadow person, or the maiming of an Amberite?
Maiming or murdering an Amberite or any other dweller of Shadow is about equal in my eye, from a theoretical standpoint. I, of course, would not extend that to a Courts dweller, however; that strikes too close to home. To me, doing any (permanent) harm to a dweller of the Courts is far worse than anything happening to any one else. Of course, considering the shape-shifting powers of the dwellers of the Courts, permanent harm is very hard to accomplish.
- Describe your perfect “date.” What events would it involve? With a group, or just one-on-one?
A date with a ‘group’? Surely you jest. A date is an affair for two and anyone else would be strictly superfluous.
My favorite date would be an evening in the company of a dashingly handsome gentleman who worships me and compares my beauty to the sun, the moon, and the stars. (I know also it to be flattery, but polite flattery, and it does help set the proper mood for the evening.) We would engage in many diverse and different activities: dining on fine foods and wines, dancing, the theater, a masque ball, long carriage rides through the park, moonlit walks in the gardens, intelligent and witty conversation, and sex. Oh, yes, it would definitely include a night of blissful, romantic sex. Did you expect anything else?
- Everybody has some little item that they regard as somehow sacred.
A piece of clothing, a memento of some event, whatever.
What is your sacred item? Tell the story of how you found it, or why it came to be important.
Do you see this crystal? [She takes the crystal that hangs around her neck in her hand and dangles it before her, turning it so that it catches the light and shatters it around the room in a myriad of rainbows.] Just an ordinary quartz crystal, with no arcane or mystical properties. Yet to me, it is very precious.
When I first found or created my Shadow, it was a wild place, as would be expected for being so close to the Courts of Chaos. In order to stabilize it I evoked my will against the very bones of the land, causing them to thrust up and form the mountains that were the very beginnings of the Shadow. In order to focus my mind on the task, I cast about found a simple piece of rock crystal in the chaotic land around me and used it as a seed to draw the world together. It is, in effect, the first thing of the Shadow. As such it has no power, only that it has special significance for me and me alone.
I have found other uses for it, since that time, other, relatively trivial uses. For example, do you see how the light seems to reflect from facet to facet, going deeper and deeper into its depths? It is purely an illusion, but a helpful one when I need to use a more delicate touch in capturing the mind of another within the snare of my will.
- Who is your best friend, and why?
Friends are most often a liability in the Courts. The closest person to a ‘friend’ I have is Shaerhonein, who has tutored me and assisted me in the past. While not exactly a confidant, he is about as close to one as one can have in the Courts. [Shaerhonein is her Chaos Devotee.]
- If your could choose any Amberite to be your parent (besides your actual one, if you know it), who would you choose?
I must confess an admiration for Corwin, if only prejudiced by the perusal of his chronicles. He showed a certain maturity and sensitivity throughout his ordeals, that somehow endear him to me. The fact that we share a number of similar features in no way influences me in this.
- Which Elder are you most similar to? Most dissimilar?
It should be obvious that the Elder Amberite I am most similar to would be the sorceress of Amber, Fiona. I would be most dissimilar to the dour weaponsmaster of Amber, Benedict.
- At one point Corwin said: “…It is an academic, though valid philosophical question, as to whether one with power over Shadow could create his own universe. Whatever the ultimate answer, from a practical point we could.” How would you respond?
As Logrus simply manipulates the stuff of Chaos and Shadow, I would definitely agree with Corwin. And to prove my point, I would use Lorrylliar as an example.
- If you could permanently exchange bodies with an Elder, whom would you choose? (All Attributes, skills, etc. are part of the bargain.)
I am mot sure I would care to exchange bodies, as none of the Elder Amberites have the power to changes one’s shape, a power I am most accustomed to and the one power that I would be loathe to lose.
- What is the most traumatic event in your past?
I would have to say the invasion of my Shadow of Lorrylliar. Not only was it an attack on something precious to me, it was a direct insult to my person, one that was reflected in the way I was treated for decades afterward in the Courts.
- You’ve been beaten, bruised and battered in a recent adventure, not to mention frustrated by a rather vile ending to the affair (a scorched earth situation where you won but your objectives were destroyed). You now find that you have several weeks to recover your health and composure. Since you only wish to shadow shift once, what shadow would you pick for your retreat, and what activities would you pursue? (And don’t say Disneyland.)
Why should I not say Disneyland? Is is a place of rest and relaxation, is it not?
I would not have, however, since such a place is devoted to families and a certain level of mundanity that I consider beneath my station. No, I would simply go ‘home’ to Lorrylliar: every one of my wants and desires can be satisfied in that place, no matter how serious or extreme, for I have constructed it so.
- How do you think your father would describe you? And how would that description differ from the description given by your mother?
Not really knowing my parents I would be difficult, if not impossible, to answer this question.
- You get into a discussion about death and dying. How would you describe the perfect death?
A high-ranking member of the Courts of Chaos is potentially immortal. Hence, if they were to die, it would most likely be at the hands of their enemies. This is far from a perfect death, even if it would be with ones hands locked about the throat of one’s mortal enemy. No, death can never be perfect. Outwitting, outlasting, and outliving ones enemies is the only perfection.
- If you wanted to become famous on Shadow Earth, what would you pursue?
The world of Shadow Earth, as I know it today, is a boring place, lacking the life and luster that would accommodate me. There are no larger-than-life figures any longer, no gods and goddesses who walk the earth. If I did want to become famous on Shadow Earth, it would be in a more wide-open period, as some great mythic figure: a Warrior Queen like Boadaceia, perhaps, or a film star like Marlene Deitrich or Greta Garbo, or maybe a famous courtesan or spy like Mata Hari.
- Who is the one person in the universe you want dead most? Why? How would you kill them?
Many years ago, a powerful military force attempted to invade my Shadow. It was repulsed only through great personal cost and uncounted lives and resources of my Shadow. I do not know who was responsible, or why, but if I find them, their deaths will be slow and very painful, unless they are such a threat that their prolonged existence might prove immediately threatening to myself, in which case they will die as finally and as expediently as possible.
- Is there anyone who would like to see you dead? If so, describe why that person would want such a thing.
How tied up are you; do you have the rest of the year to listen to the ranks of members of the Courts who would gladly see me dead to further their own causes or advancement towards the throne? I might as well name the totality of Chaos, for even those closer to the throne would gladly see me dead to prevent me from doing the same to them as those below me would do to me.
- Who would you like to see on the throne of Amber?
I see no reason to desire a change to the rulership of Amber; Random has treated me in no other manner than which I am accustomed, nor has his policies or aims as monarch of Amber conflicted with my goals and desires. Therefore, I would just as soon see him remain on the throne rather than inject a random factor (no pun intended) into the Great Game of Thrones and tilt the balance between Chaos and Amber.
- What are you best at? Is this something that you want to keep quiet about, for any reason?
In all modesty I do claim a small superiority in not only the applications of sorcery but the fundamental theories behind it, as well. It is from this fundamental understanding of the arts mystical that I have developed such a wide variety of spells for my personal pleasure and defense. I also take much pleasure from the performing arts, particularly music and dancing; I have a superlative singing voice with an incredible range, and I am familiar with a wide variety of singing styles and musical instruments. It is well that I do have such formidable sorcerous weaponry at my command, since my own personal skills at the martial arts (not the marital
arts) is quite lacking compared to many others.
- When the inevitable “Cat & Mouse” movie is made on Shadow Earth, who should play the part of you?
There an actress, one Lynda Carter by name, who, if she were to wear her hair longer and color it to match mine, might prove to be an adequate facsimile. Of course, I would be just as pleased, if not more so, to play the part myself.
- What would you rather be doing now than filling out this character quiz?
Getting on with my life. I have a great deal to yet, things I am sworn to accomplish.
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