The door opens and a figure of man, looking somewhat grizzled, looks at you for a moment. He nods, "I've been expecting you", and gestures for you to enter.
"Take a seat. There is refreshment there, food, drink, help yourself." He takes a seat himself, taking only a glass of water.
I would like to take a moment here to thank xtroublex for the recent profile. I finally gave in and she did it for me.
I would be remiss, however, not to thank Raven370 for taking her time to respond to my questions and pointing me in the right direction for HTML use. I would also like to thank ElderDaniel for taking the time to write articles on it (found in the member articles section) that even a half wit like me could follow. Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank LadyDarque for helping me root out the problem with my files so that I could get back into them. And most recently Kat, who assisted me with the coding for the premium membership.
"So, you wish to know about me, yes? You are not the first, nor should I think, will you be the last. Allow me to answer some questions which are normally put to me, and then, should you wish, you may pose your own. Allow me this courtesy, as I may answer some questions that you may well have in mind.
"Oh. Please forgive the dim light. I am photomyopic, you see. That means that my eyes have astigmatisms that enhances light, so bright light tends to bother me. I'll typically wind up with a headache by the end of a workday because of the lighting. But my night vision is excellent, better, even, than my day vision. This, however, does not bother me as my body has always had a tendency of preferring to be active at night. I remember, even back in school, during summer break, I would automatically switch to sleeping by day and being awake at night. This works out well, though, since I tend to be uncomfortable in crowds and the night holds fewer people.
"But I digress. Most make note of the images of wolves you see about you. And yes, I do like them. They are a strange mixture. Fierce, cunning and beautiful. Yet very caring of thier young and very protective of each other. Some ask me why I call myself ShadowWolfGuardian. Well my love of wolves is but one reason. Another is that they are my totem animal, or so I'm told by those more knowledgable in such things. So, yes, I chose the wolf. But there is more to it than that. I often worked in the shadows, back when I was younger. Part of the military. I chose to enter because I was protective of my family, my friends and chose to protect the country in which I was born.
I also wanted to change the world for the better, and thought I could do so single handedly. Yes ... I was that arrogant once. Now, I know, that the world must change in it's due course and that I cannot do so alone. So I seek to protect those I can, from the shadows. Stalking and watching in the night, like the wolf of which I am so fond.
Now. Why am I here? Well, you see, vampires have always held a certain fascination for me. Not just the typical power they possess but the sheer sexual energy of them. Considering my visual condition and my tendency to be awake at night rather than during the day, I have always been .... how shall I say? One with the night? And, well, since vampires are stereotypically night creatures ... well ... they grabbed my attention.
Now, how about some more basic facts, yes? Movies, books, games, that sort of thing. Tells one a bit about the person and what they're like, yes?
Now, this will not be easy, as my tastes are varied. And understand that I watch little or no television, unless it's something that teaches me. Discovery, Nature channel, that sort of thing. Lets see, how about movies I particularly liked first, hmm?
Underworld (Both of them.)
The X Men (The first two, not as yet, the third)
Space Cowboys
Blade Runner
The Exorcist
Alien Vs. Predator (The whole alien series, though some more than others, and the Predators as well)
Camelot (Musical)
Man of La Mancha (Also Musical (chuckles) and some have compared me to Cervantes mad knight. I take it as a compliment)
Resident Evil (Both of them)
The Patriot
DareDevil
Elektra
Tomb Raider (Definitely more the first over the second)
Interview with the Vampire (Also Queen of the damned but Interview, I thought, was much better.)
A Time to Kill
Lord of the Rings (A movie that actually does justice to the book that it's based off of is rare)
Lady Death (Anime)
Hellboy
A few Good Men
Braveheart
Ben Hur
The Sixth Sense
BloodRayne (Also played both games of it)
Well, those are but a few, I could go on, but this is a brief interview, yes?
As for music, I will not even make the attempt. I am not one who says, 'Oh I like that group'. I might like ALOT of thier songs but as I do not read up on any of them then I cannot know if I like THEM. So basically If I like the song then it does not matter what category it falls under. Classical is the one exception. I am not actually looking for meaning as I listen to it, I am looking to relax. I find it soothing. Classical violin is my favorite instrument. I cannot play it mind you, in fact I cannot play any instrument. I had wanted to learn guitar. Oh, yes, I DO listen to country. It is a simple matter of the fact that I can understand what they say and I need the song to talk to me, again except for classical. My uncle played in a country and western band as well and so I had an early influence in it, that's why I wanted to learn guitar. He was teaching me, but when he died I just could not pick one up again.
As for books, well, you have seen the subjects listed on the shelves of the library, yes? That is what I read. Historically, however, Hannibal Barca is my favorite subject. A Carthagenian commander of the armies that fought against Rome in the 2nd punic wars. A man who kept an army in the field on enemy territory for 17 years, imagine trying that today. 3 times he was at the gates of Rome by his own strategies. His failure was only because his own kingdom could not get the siege equipement across the sea, which Rome had control of, and he was forced to withdraw. Yes he lost, but only because Scipio had used Hannibal's own tactics against him. He was such a brilliant leader that his tactics are still studied in the military colleges today, almost 2000 years later.
But ... here are a few, and I do mean a few, of the books I like.
Vampire Chronicles (Though Pandora was actually my favorite character, I wish there had been more about her)
The Ship Who series (This is actually by Anne McCaffrey of Dragonriders of Pern fame, but is science fiction rather than fantasy. I found them to be a very entertaining)
The Dragonlance series (I've read most of them, but not all. It seems my lot in life, to pick up a good book and then find it's part of a series)
The Legion of the Damned (Yes, first book in a series. Very well written future tech military Sci-Fi)
Genevieve (Oh yes, another series. They even tried to hide one of the stories about her in a vampire stories compilation.)
Durham Red (Series. You are seeing the pattern here? She was actually based on a United Kingdom comic. I just recently got the fifth book and am finding it to be some enjoyable, light reading.)
Thieves World (You guessed it, series. This is an interesting one in that there was a collabiration to design the world in which it takes place and multiple writers made up characters and write stories in this world. They may reference or use other's characters as long as they don't kill said character off)
The Swords (If you haven't figured out this is a series then you need a bit of work in the area of mental capacity. God forged blades, given to men as a game for the gods in question. A game that turns against them.)
Some of my more favored ones that are not, thankfully, a series.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead
Livy's War with Hannibal
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Wisdom of the Mystic Masters
The Book of the Damned
The Encyclopedia of the Strange
Don't know much about History
Chronicle of America
The World's Last Mysteries
Shakespeare's Works
The Poetry of Edgar Allen Poe
The Complete works of Robert Frost
Again, these are only a few of the books I have read as I enjoy most every subject. I do not believe that you would care to take the time to look through them all, and therefore, I shall move on.
Games next Mostly they are war strategy games, though there are a few others that I enjoy.
War strategy board games.
When I can play them, that is. Of course they take so long to set up that people lose interest by the time it is set to go.
Shogun
Conquest of the Empire
Axis and Allies
Broadsides and boarding parties
Fortress america
Risk
Backgammon
Most likely my favorite game. I had actually found it boring at first until I found a book called 'Backgammon for Blood' (yes the real title) by Bruce Becker. He really explained the strategy of the game. Yes there are random dice rolls and even an experienced player can lose if the rolls are against them but that 's part of the excitement of the game.
Video games
The Tomb Raider series
Resident Evil series
Twisted Metal series (Two was most likely my favorite)
Bloodrayne 1 and 2
Champions of Norath 1 and 2
Baldur's Gate
Gallop Racer
Computer games
Age of Empires 2 and 3
Civilization, 2,3, and 4
Empire Earth 1 and 2
Dungeon Siege 1 and 2
Warcraft 2
StarCraft (My favorite. I loved the storyline and the play. Kerrigan was my favorite character in it)
1602
Dungeon Keeper
I have done a few muds, though not currently in any. My other big online addiction is NationStates. You create a country, using certain starting criteria and then are asked various resolutions to vote on. Based on your answers your nation is given a U.N. category. One based on actual U.N. criteria. You can do as many as you like, I have five, just to try different rulings. The third paragraph on each one changes each day, or most (sometimes on the weekends or if I'm off I do not get a chance to log on to it) as I answer resolutions.
"And last, but not least, Dungeons and Dragons. Presently there are not enough people to play, sadly, but it's still my favorite game. I actually started some time ago with Chainmail. Have you heard of that? Then I went to basic, then intermediate, then expert, then advanced. A friend of mine got me into advanced 2nd edition and then I got 3rd edition on my own. Alot of people I know did not like third because of the different rolling system, but having played Gamma World I was already used to it.
Finally, a few favorite quotes. Quotes tend to define the individual in some way, yes?
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"'To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.'"
"The mind sees what it needs to see. The soul sees what the soul sees."
"Understanding is a three-edged sword."
"A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from the bristles."
"The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote."
"See yourself for what you are, not what others try to make you."
"I did the necessary thing. That is not always the same as the right thing."
"I didn't know that similarity was required for the exercise of compassion
"We are all the sum of our tears. Too little and the ground is not fertile, and nothing can grow there. Too much, the best of us is washed away."
"The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion."
Now, then, I appreciate the welcome here. I do not think I have ever been in a forum or site that has been so receptive. I feel truly welcomed here, thank you. And now, I fear, I must take me leave. You may stay or go as you see fit. I have some rounds to make.
ShadowWolfGuardian stands up, finishing his water and opens the door. Disappearing into the shadows.
P.S. Amber asked me to add in that she's the greatest to talk to on Rave, SO HERE YOU ARE. *GRIN*
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