Madame Ianthe's Questionnaire

Why, the Neo-Genis hub world, o' course! It's far from on purpose, as I am well sure you know. It's the only safe zone round for us 'Non-players'. The players can't get nearly as feisty and we can't hurt them back in turn. It's one of those little ol' rules that exists to further their fun. Talk to your friends and enemies alike when neither you can flip the table and gun the other down.

The Amaranth Lounge is my special little corner of the hub. A lovely little establishment if I do say so myself. As much as I resent my confinement to Neo-Genis, I could never bring myself to hate the Amaranth Lounge. I was made for her, and she was made for me.

Workin' in the Amaranth Lounge, o' course! And as for my expenses... A lady's gotta look pretty doesn't she? But no, I spend a lot of money makin' connections and maintainin' them. Plenty of players see a pretty lady in silk and gold and see an opportunity to turn a profit with some charmin' words, but far too often I manage to squeeze a better deal out of them than they were plannin' to give. (Ain't I clever?) Startin' capital, money for fancy equipment, connections, that's my job. Recently I've been under a bit of a squeeze as I've been preparin' myself to enter the Games for the first time.

I will be free.

This ain't a threat, an ideal, or a promise. It's a fact. Whatever it takes from me, whatever I am made to do or whoever I am made to become, I will be free. I will not be caged within this world o' silly limitations, I will not remain a pretty object for uncarin' gods to enact their fantasies against. I don't particularly care what I have to do.

If someone stakes their life on keepin' me caged, I will take it without hesitation. I am not without empathy you know. I would prefer to spread sugar rather'n salt. But I will be free, and there is nothin' anyone can do to stop me.

Freedom is not jus' seperation, now you mind. I want to be free to leave and return as I see fit. I will go wherever I want, meet whoever I want, and live however I want. That is my dream.

The most definin' event of my life...

I met a man who spoke of killin' me, and I wasn' afraid because I knew it wasn' possible. He told his friend all about how my life didn't matter because I was just an 'NPC', and that I was basically a pretty object made to tell 'im things he wanted to know when he wanted to know 'em. And that was when every nigglin' feeling I'd been ignorin' suddenly clicked to me.

Why I always felt safe, even as I was threatened with all manner of weaponry that would never fire, could never fire in my lounge. Why I was always so obliged to say my same old lines to every new customer no matter how impolite they were bein'. I was just a toy to them, a toy for them.

I raged, after I closed up shop. I shattered my mirror and broke my old microphone over my knee. And it was as the day was dawnin' that I saw the false sun's rays truly for the first time, and I reached out for it.

I will have my sunbeams, I vowed that mornin'. I would never be a toy.

The bouncer of the lodge, Isabelle. A mountain of a woman who is, due to her role in Neo-Genis, able to exert a limited amount of force over the players that decide they can take advantage of the 'pretty little cripple'. It's incredibly satisfyin' seein' all manner of monster hunters or 'great warriors' bein' tossed right out on their ass.

Mr. Anders is one of my most prolific customers and a fellow 'non-player'. He's a merchant for healin' items, y'see, and some of the players go through those like candy. He's happy, livin' within the bounds of the cage. He knows the rules and he can thrive accordin'ly.

And, finally, my shinin' star. The Amaranth lodge's lead girl, Xena. Shes' a gorgeous voice, the most beautiful red hair, and an incredible grace on the stage. Can't play diplomat to save her life off the stage, so I keep my watch over her. When I finally become free, she's comin' with me. I want to show her the world, the real world.

How was my... my childhood?

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That's...

That's a monstrously cruel question, don't you think?

I did not have parents, I did not have a childhood. I came into existence as I am, with no education or friends or other experiences to draw from but for the ones I was programmed with. I did not have a chance to prove myself to friends or broaden my experiences or...

I will be honest. I am angry at what was taken from me. I did not get to be a little girl, wide-eyed and innocent in the world. I have no family to draw help or comfort from. I am alone, I was made to be alone, I would have continued to be alone if I didn't chance into my freedom of mind.

I forgive you for asking this question of me, but never ask it again. A lady has scars that run deep.

No. I do not have the freedom for genuine love. Once I have broken free truly and fully, I may allow myself to search for deep, romantic love.

On the topic of love, however, I do hold a great platonic love for others in my predicament. Other poor souls made half-formed by uncarin' gods to serve and entertain our masters. I also love those who are possessed by a cravin' to create art, as the expression of the soul is one of the few freedoms I have managed to find. And, finally, I love those who are small and weak. Children and animals and so on.

The immediate answer is imprisonment. Being forcibly caged, forced to dance for the amusement of others, and being nothin' more than a pretty face on a pedestal. To be reverted to who I was, that foolish, careless woman with nary a thought for the strange happenin's around her, would be the same.

The second answer would be loneliness. Those around me being lost, killed due to the schemes of others or to my own. I wish to be free, but I do not wish to lose who I am in the process.

The third answer would be banishment. To attain the freedom I wanted at the cost of my ability to remain with the people I've grown to care about, such as Xena. To be free, but only in a world where I can't truly live.

The fourth answer would be loss of my remainin' ability. I am already frail and weak, to lose my other arm would be... devastatin' to me.

And the fifth answer... the deep sea. You might think it's because I couldn't swim, but it, in truth, just creeps me out. Somethin' about dark waters with creatures more aware of me than I could be of them, of ever-crushin' pressure... I can't bear the thought.

The Madame's Scepter is the first artifact I ever gained. In my time of despair, I reached out to the interlinkin' cogs of this world and called for aid, and I was answered. The ones who granted my wish are strange. Primal. Admirable in their simplicity. I asked for them to defend me from the horrors of the world, and they granted me a microphone with which I could sing a barrier into existence. I asked them to help me communicate better and be respected more, and they allowed me to dilate perception of time so I could take my time talkin' and compel people to refer to me with my proper title.

I find them delightful, to be honest. They are lesser beings in complexity, but I can't help but imagine what their world must look like to them! I wonder what it means for them when they grant my wishes.

After my last experience in a contract, I will ask them for freedom of movement. I can't wait to see what they come up with.