Interviews with Afalar 'ail Asra
============================================================
Q: Do you agree with this definition of trust: assured reliance on the character, strength, or integrity of a person or thing. Why or why not? Lastly can you trust others and can you be trusted?
A: That's a good definition. It adequately addresses these questions:
1. Do I trust that food vendor to sell me unspoiled food? - Only if he has much to lose (i.e. he has a solid reputation).
2. Do I trust my back to a door open to the general public? - Never.
3. Do I trust an acquaintance to not reveal my secrets to others? - Only if I possess significantly more personal information about him.
4. Do I trust a ledge or foot hold not to give way? - Never, always spread your weight over two or more foot- or hand holds.
5. Do I trust Chal to look out for my interests? - Always, for without Chal's benevolence, one might be just a cockroach living on a dung heap.
Can I trust others? I arrange my affairs to minimize my reliance on others.
Can others trust me? I do go out of my way to not lose the trust of others if for no other reason than to hide my own paranoia of them.
============================================================
Q: Describe three of your most powerful memories and explain why they stuck with you.
A: My earliest powerful memory is that of swimming in a small stream with, at the time, my best friend. It had recently rained very heavily and the water was running swiftly. I got caught in the current and stuck under a log. As I yelled for help, my friend was frozen and could not or would not come to my rescue. I was nearly drowned when a nearby shepherd pulled me to safety. This memory has stuck with me and has made me very wary of depending on others.
I also remember one summer as a youth when I spent many days exploring and playing by myself in a large ruin a few miles away from the village. All the children from the village were forbidden to go there but it held an attraction for me. I would spend my days rebuilding walls and terraces from the rubble. Then one day I was startled by a vagrant who tried to hold me down. I escaped but didn't report the vagrant to my parents for fear of being reprimanded for being there.
More recently, I remember a lecture by a historian hired by my school to come and teach us about the political system of the Alms and how the system evolved to what it is today. I admired the man who gave the lecture and the knowledge he possessed and took a keen interest in the subject. I pursued the subject further in my own reading. I tried to contact the man on a number of occasions but never got a reply.
============================================================
Q: Why did you not join your family in the service of the Shadow Mages. What kind of relationship do you have with your family, if any?
A: As the youngest of three children (a relatively small family by Sru'haro standards), I am the black sheep of the family. I rebelled against all expectations and convention, including not following my brothers into the service of the Shadow Mages.
My relationship with the rest of my family is guarded but not acrimonious. I am not in close contact with them but I have been consistent in visiting them in past years for festivities during C'asal (the Winter Solstice).
============================================================
Q: What do you think are the most effective ways to get others to do what you want?
A: There are a number of ways depending on the situation, the personality of the person and how easy it is to manipulate them.
If the person is truly dumb-witted, then I will first flatter them (tailoring the flattery to be believable, to them) in such a way that the action that I wish for them to take follows in due course. For example, if I wish to move a large rock, I'll shower the dumb oaf with accolades on his strength and muscular prowess. Moving that rock will then be a natural outcome.
On the other hand, if it is an intelligent person, I might try persuasion. I would spin our respective interests so that they would align. With that, I then make a temporary alliance with the person and show them the benefits of the action I wish for them to take.
If neither previous method is appropriate or practical, the last course of action is intimidation. Whether intellectual or physical, the ends will justify the means.
Intellectual intimidation usually involves some sort of secret that I know that the person does not wish to be revealed.
Physical intimidation involves some sort of threat of pain. You have to be willing to inflict the pain because, often, the intimidation is more effective when the pain is real.
============================================================
Q: What is your favorite, food, colour, drink, hobby, sport, music, animal and bird. Please explain why, briefly.
A: Food: Ah, the bold scent of wathberry-flavoured spethume is enough to melt even the stiffest of spines!
Colour: Purple, royal - I like the smell, the smell of power.
Drink: Tangy, full-bodied wine from the Meshilam Atha grape.
Hobby: Politics - good practice for when I rule the empire!
Sport: See hobby. It is fun to read about the political sparring, the winners and the losers involved in the politics from around the Pirem empire.
Music: The Cassalian flute ensemble is by far my favorite for its boldly sweet melodic tunes that seem to put one into a trance.
Animal: Most animals are foul creatures and I am not fond of any of them.
Bird: As with animals in general, I am not particularly fond of birds. However, I do admire the hawk somewhat, for his speed, cunning and ability to dominate other creatures.
============================================================
Q: Provide an assessment of your two companions.
A: (If Afalar seems overly critical, that is his personality - no offense!)
My assessment of Sjer Mi'han is that he is a big talker who often cannot backup his talk, not with sword nor cunning. If it weren't for his gift of gab and ability to put people at ease, he would surely be scrubbing the bilge on some slave ship in the Var'Miji!
Zali'haro, on the other hand, can back up what little he has to say of import quite handily. But alas, between his odour that challenges an angry troglodyte and his penchant for foul-mouthed disorder, he does not make for enjoyable company.
============================================================
Q: What story do others like to tell about you and what is it?
A: The story most talked about is when I was with the household only a couple of days and a courtly man with a not so courtly tongue came to visit L'talus.
I overheard their somewhat heated discussion in the entrance. When the man verbally threatened L'talus with the 'Mighty sword of Allem', I sensed that this man needed to be cut down to size. Raising my courage and my voice, I said "Sir, you refer to the 'Mighty dagger of Allem', not the sword!"
The 'Mighty dagger of Allem' is a jewelled weapon, reputed to have magical powers able to slice through all types of flesh effortlessly.
With that comment, there was laughter all around which broke the tension. Embarrassed, the courtly man stormed off and I could see a glint in L'talus' eye.
Since then, I have heard several people refer to others' threats as 'Your mighty sword pf Allem' in jest whenever the threat is perceived to be overblown.
============================================================
Miscellaneous questions:
> 1. What is his birthdate
37th of Vazir'a'mazi, 355yp.
> 2. Parents names (are they alive or dead)
father: Sja'm 'ail Asra
mother: Fezoj'ozar
> 3. Number of siblings - names, location, alive?, age, married?
Two older brothers:
Iram, living in Sru'haro Alm, 22 years, unmarried
Eva'zar, living in Sru'haro Alm, 18 years, unmarried
> 4. Briefly detail the current relationship with each family member.
Father: Relationship with father is strained since I didn't follow the path of the Shadow Mages as did my brothers. However, the relationship isn't completely cut off and we are civil to each other. Beyond funding for my education, father sends me no money (nor would I accept any now).
Mother: I was the baby of the family and was always coddled by mother. I started rejecting the pampering as an early teen because it became a little overbearing.
Brother Iram: I never had much to do with my older brother because he left for boarding school when I was seven.
Brother Eva'zar: We often played and even through he is two years my senior, I could keep up to him both physically and mentally.
Grandmother: (Father's mother, now deceased): I am most comfortable with my Grandma because although she was protective of me, she was never bossy or overbearing (like my mother).