House of Cards Contributions Log

Brita Quiz

posted by Monica at 08:55 PM, March 23, 2004 | Filed under : PC Quizzes | Comments and Followups

Brita answers a few tough questions. [I didn’t want to post this before her walk, it might have thrown off her balance]

1. Brita has had a chance to live in two forests: Arden and Idayoll. What is her favorite and least favorite thing about each of the two forests?

Idayoll – the name makes it sounds peaceful, doesn’t it? Well, it is. Sometimes it is too peaceful. Few venture into this forest beyond the normal forest animals. My father, Lord Vidar, made sure that this was the way of the world for Idayoll. He was not called the Silent God for nothing. Sometimes, the peacefulness was the best thing about Idayoll. It was a place to go and just _be_ with no one to harangue you about chores or duties. Sometimes, the peacefulness was the worst thing. I never really had any friends as there was no one to talk to or be with outside of my family. Even they seldom came to Idayoll to visit. When the winter snows blanketed the world, we would often get no visitors at all for weeks even months at a time.

Now I’ve had a chance to travel the span of reality and have experienced the vast forest of Arden, which I’m sure some of my Mother’s relatives would say is The Forest of which all others are mere shadows. Arden is real, I’ll grant them that. It is quiet at times, but it is not peaceful like Idayoll. There is an underlying current of stress in Arden. One must be ever vigilant and aware. That is my least favorite thing about Arden. You can’t just simply enjoy it. I think that Idayoll is not a shadow of Arden, but a shadow of something else….the Unicorn’s glade, maybe.

My favorite thing about Arden is that it has given me a sense of purpose. My work as a Ranger has allowed me to see what my Father had to go through to some extent – the work, the effort, to maintain order. I don’t think I appreciated what my Father must have had to do as the God protector of Idayoll in order to get it to such a peaceful state.

2. What is Brita’s impression of her mother and brother?

My Mother is…well, before I was reunited with her, I would have said she was rigid. She left me, abandoned me, when I was young because of a mistake I made, showing that I was not perfect. I felt, at the time, that she thought all things had to be perfect to be loved. Now, after traveling with Master Reid, seeing more of Reality and learning about the Battle and all that happened, I realize my initial impression was wrong. She didn’t leave me because of me, but because of outside pressures that she wanted to protect me from. Mother is not rigid, but flexible like a reed in the wind – able to bend under pressure but not break. She sees the bigger picture, I think. I believe that she felt the path she had chosen was the right one initially, but when she saw the harm it was doing, she was wise enough to reverse her stance.

My Brother is amazing. He is a good leader, able to direct others without incurring animosity. He is brilliant, but does not lord it over others. He has great depth of feeling and a good heart. I don’t believe a word of what the Rebmans have accused him of. He is not treacherous and would only kill in self defense. His intelligence may lead him to do things that others think of as devious, but I’m sure it is all for a good cause.

3. A number of Brita’s relatives are gods in their own homes, like Daeon and Ambrose and Ysabeau, and others have acted as Gods, like Bleys and Corwin and Brennan. How does Brita view godhood and what does she think of her relatives’ divine nature?

I think I answered this to one of my Cousin’s questions at some point. I think that godhood is a responsibility, a duty to the people that believe in you and put their faith in you. Ambrose understands that responsibility. Daeon seems a little flighty about it, but he does try to serve his faithful in the way they expect. I don’t understand how someone can ‘act like a god’, unless you mean that they take responsibility for a people and are revered for it. I can see that the abilities of some may result in them feeling superior to others and using those abilities to conquer others, but that doesn’t make them gods. A god does have abilities greater than the people he or she serves, but those abilities are used for the people to protect them, enlighten them, and generally promote them on the path of life. If the responsibilities are not met by the god, then he or she is not a god, but a usurper.

The divine nature of my Amber relatives comes partly from their responsibility to form reality. I think that without them, there is no life in Shadow. Some of my relatives realize that responsibility – Uncle Julian does; perhaps Uncle Bleys and Uncle Corwin do as well, although I know less about them. My Mother saw her responsibility as having to protect Asgard by leaving it.

4. Of her paternal relatives, which does Brita get along best with? Why?

This is a tough one. I mean, they are Family and all, but most of them are loud, boisterous, and…well…rude. When we are in Asgard, I am mostly in the company of my Cousin Thrud (Uncle Thor’s daughter – her name means ‘power’). Her brothers, Cousin Magni and Modi, are always picking on her because of her name. I don’t like
Modi – he is god of battle and really pushes the berserker mentality of the Vikings. Cousin Thrud really has a bad lot in life. Her dad, Uncle Thor, tricked her fiancé – the dwarf Sir Alvis – into staying up until he was caught in the sun and turned to stone! Cousin Thrud took it kind of hard, but she was only marrying Sir Alvis to get away from her family.

I don’t know if she is really a relative, per se, but Lady Snotra (don’t laugh, it means ‘wise’) was probably my best confident while I was growing up. Without mother there, Lady Snotra (goddess of virtue and self-discipline) provided me with the first guidance I had on how to control my Berserker. Lady Snotra is one of the attendants for Lady Frigg – Uncle Thor’s wife. She helped me gain some self control and often helped me deal with my anger at Modi’s harsh treatment of his sister, Cousin Thrud.

When we are in Idayoll, I don’t get to hang out with anyone since no one comes there very often. When I am doing my god duties, though, I see Lady Rind (she puts out the frost in the morning) and Lady Laga (goddess of springs and wells) fairly often. Sometimes, in the Spring or Fall when Lady Rind was less busy, we would go to one of Lady Laga’s hot springs to relax. Cousin Thrud came with us a couple of times.

5. Brita’s mother and her brothers were deeply involved in a treasonous plot to remove Oberon from the throne. How does Brita reconcile this with her personal experiences with her close relatives and the loyalty they show to friends and family? How does Brita view her membership in a clan that has a reputation, in some quarters, as being as tricky as her Uncle Loki?

I truly believe that Mother felt this was the only way to save Amber. Probably Brand’s arguments initially sounded… sound. Mother is not stupid. She must have felt that the choice she made to join Brand was the only way to go. She may have also felt that her influence would help control Brand’s less sane tendencies. When Brand got too out of control, she realized her mistake and worked to correct the problem. Mother will always do what she feels is best for all.

[she is chaotic good, in my opinion, or maybe chaotic neutral ;)]

The rest of the Amber ‘clan’ does have a reputation for disloyalty to family and trickery. I think it is due partly to the disparity of origins. With so many different mothers and the example of a father that discarded people on a whim, it is not surprising that the Elders have formed clicks. The fact that Grandfather Oberon played favorites did not help any. Like King Henry VIII, Grandfather Oberon forced a constant switching of heirs, regardless of whether one was specified or not, with the resulting bad feelings and distrust. Most of my generation are from Shadow and grew up away from the infighting, so we are less inclined to fighting for the power in Amber. That is not to say that it won’t happen, just that we are less inclined. Those that were raised in Amber under the miasma of distrust may have more of a tendency to follow in the footsteps of the Elders. I hope not.

6. List up to ten quirks Brita has.

a. Brita uses titles, except possible with her immediate, nuclear family. Brita will always use titles when referring to her nuclear family though. The type of title can sometimes indicate what she is thinking (Uncle versus Prince, Lord versus Cousin). No title attached to a name (like Cleph and Dara) is a sign of disrespect.
b. Brita is pretty rigid. She feels she has to be in order to control the Berserker in her. She only shows real emotion with Family.
c. Brita really likes red. It is her favorite color – kind of weird since she actually sees red when she is Berserker.
d. Brita is a morning person. She gets up before dawn most days. She spends the pre-dawn time doing breathing exercises taught to her by Master Ngyen and practicing with her sword or bare hands.

Follow up: the trackback URL for this entry is: http://www.whiterose.org/MT/mt-tb.cgi/3202

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