Richard Allen - Avalon Socialite
Picture by Toos

Richard's Twenty Questions

1 - What country are you from?
My dad’s Avalon and my mum’s Eisen but I grew in the Glamour Isles so I’m Avalon I suppose, although I got a bit of connection to Eisen.

2 - What do you look like physically?
I’m Tall (6ft 2inches), slim, reddish-brown hair in a ponytail. I try to be well dressed and seem to be regarded by the ladies as a bit of looker.

3 - Do you have reoccurring mannerisms?
Not any I’m aware of.

4 - What is your main motivation?
I try to do the right thing obviously but I’d like to be the sort of gentlemen who people looked up to; although I hate to say it - I wouldn’t object to being someone like Cyrano or Louis-Claude de Sinjin.

5 - What your greatest strength and greatest weakness?
I don’t know if I’ve got a great strength except I try to be a good, honest person and learn from my mistakes. My biggest weakness is I wade straight into things without thinking first. I wish I was able to think on my feet more and I had a witty answer to snobs like Idunn Von Laars. I wish I didn’t care what people think so much and I know that I come over as a bit of prat sometimes.

6 - What are your most and least favourite things?
I love music and fashion and quite like good food and drink. Music’s my real love. I wish I was a real music genius like Madeleine de Prevoye. Least favourite things are snobs and dirt although I suppose they’re not really things are they? I hate dirt and untidiness. I’m a really neat freak.

7 - What’s your psychology?
Sorry, don’t get what you mean. How do your emotions affect you? – I think I find it hard to reign in my emotions yes but I’ve been trained in the courts to do that a bit; it helps. I don’t like people laughing at me or thinking that I’m less than they are for stupid reasons. I mean people seem to think I can’t fight because I’m not a swordsman and I don’t matter because I’m not a gentleman. I find that hard to take, I suppose you could say I’m over-sensitive to being slighted and react badly.

8 - What’s your greatest fear?
I’d like to say letting people down and failing people I care about which I do care about. My great fear is probably is being publicly humiliated in front of a large amount of people. Not being liked by anyone is a big one too.

9 - What is your highest ambition? Your greatest love?
I would love to be a great, gallant heroic figure who people adored and the pretty girls all wanted to woo. That’s a bit of a selfish ambition though really isn’t it? My highest ambition is just to have done something really good for Théah – to save the world just once – people wouldn’t have know about it - but it would make me feel good to know I’d made a difference.

10 - What is your opinion of your country?
I’m an unashamed patriot; the more I move around Théah the more I realise that Avalon is special and I’m proud to be part of a nation where we know how to treat people. I love the fact that I’ve been lucky enough to be in the courts of Montaigne and in the Emperor’s court (although the man is evil enough to send shivers down my spine – believe every word) in particular but you don’t have the most observant gentleman in Théah to see where all the beauty at the top comes from. I like to think Queen Elaine would rather die than see people live in the kind of poverty that you see on the streets of Charouse, it’s disgusting really, especially the way that nobility behave like it’s the poor people themselves’ fault they’re starving. In Avalon most people are happy and no one is in need. Also we don’t play silly games with people in our courts like the Montaigne do; a spade is called a spade.

11 - Do you have any prejudices?
No, I don’t unless people have a prejudice against me then I’m very prejudiced. I don’t like people who don’t respect other people so I suppose I’m prejudiced against prejudice.

12 - Where do your loyalties lie?
To Sophia’s daughters and to Avalon, and also anyone who is truly my friend.

13 - Are you in love, married or betrothed?
No, but I’d like to be both in love and married as long the person loved me back that is and we had enough to live comfortably.

14 - What about your family?
My mother is Eisen and my dad’s Avalon. I come from an artistic family. The musical skill is from my dad although my mum sings like an angel, but I’ve not inherited that skill more’s the pity. They met in Charouse, when mum; who was quite famous back in those days; was performing for the Emperor. My dad was there because Avalon was occupied at the time and Charouse was the centre of the Avalon world. I look more like my mum than my dad although my colouring comes from my dad; my mum is the typical Eisen blond. I had a very happy childhood apart from the fact that mum was very upset about things happening to my uncle, aunts and cousins in “the Wars of the Cross”. That was a bad business what happens when ignorance takes hold and people start fighting each other for no good reason. Intolerant Vaticines are always bad news. I’m an only child so probably a bit spoilt.

15 - How would your parents describe you?
I think as a good son if a bit on the impulsive side. They know I’m a not an angel but I seem to be doing a reasonable job of making them proud.

16 - Are you a gentleman?
No, I’m not well born, artisan rather than genteel. Do I adhere to a code of chivalry? I think you actually have to be of gentle birth to be a gentleman don’t you?. I like to strive to live like that though I’ve got a lot of time for people who are like that.

17 - How religious are you?
What sect of the church do you follow? – I’m not particularly religious. I believe in Theus and his power to look after me but I suppose I believe that what you try and do with your life is more important to him than how often you turn up to pray to him. Maybe I could be more diligent in going to church it’s just that it’s difficult in Montaigne where no one believes or appears to anyway. I’m very much church of Avalon like most people back home you only have to look at the Inquisition to see the failings of the Vaticine Church, but there are some quality people like the Father Alejandro who are Vatacine, so I believe in live and let live to some degree.

18 - Are you a member of a guild, gentlemen’s club or secret society?
I am a member of Sophia’s Daughters which is strange being a man but my mother was and I’ve got the caul and so was recruited early.

19 - What do you think of Sorcery?
It depends where it’s from. Glamour is pretty natural so that’s alright. Sorte, Porté and the other one the Castillians stamped out don’t come from a good place but can be useful if used right. I’m sorry but Porté is physically disgusting; you just know something that involves that amount of bleeding is not good and just seeing all that blood makes my skin crawl, it’s just dirty and revolting and not right. I don’t know about the Vesten one and the Ussura one because no one’s sure where the Vesten one comes from and what Matushka really is.

20 - If you could what advice would you give your hero?
I think Francine really nailed it for me when she said I need to be a bit more confident and less concerned with what people think. Thinking before I speak might not be such a bad idea either.