Appearance: Height: 5'3"; Weight: 105 lbs. Alis's black hair is waist length, though she keeps control of it through intricate braids. Her eyes are a light brown, almost amber color under dark arched eyebrows. Ardebal is a vaguely Middle-Eastern Shadow, and Alis has the dark skin characteristic of people from such an environment. Her figure is petite but full-bodied.
Typically, she dresses in heavier versions of her native Ardebal fashions, simple dresses with bands of embroidery around the neck in a yoke, at the cuffs and hems, frequently down the front and less frequently along the seams of the sleeves and or skirts. Around the waist is a girdle tied in the back with embroidery matching that on the dress. Rich jewel tones predominate, with contrasting background for the embroidered panels. The embroidery is usually done in the color of the dress and an appropriate metallic thread (almost always bronze for Alis) and, occasionally, another color as well (Use of metallic thread is a matter of wealth and status in Ardebal, poorer women usually have only the dress color and possibly another complimentary one). Alis does make her own clothes and has outfits that will not stand out so much against the more standard run of Amber clothing to use when necessary. She always wears a bronze amulet with Ian's symbol on it.
Personality: Alis appears quiet, kind and competent. She loves her homeland, but her loyalty is to Ian. Instead of acting to elicit responses, like Ian, Alis sits back and observes, collecting information. Alis has a somewhat wry sense of humor and has no problem showing the sharper side of her tongue to those who need to be set straight. Sometimes the sharp tongue and the wry sense of humor can be confused for one another. Sometimes, they are one and the same.
History: Alis is the daughter of a merchant lord of Ardebal. Her family descends from the unbroken line of the Shahanshah's of Ardebal, but is a distinctly cadet branch. Only those of the royal blood of Ardebal are able to hold certain positions, thus the importance of families like Alis's. Like most such families that wish to continue, Alis's had to find some niche. Some are functionaries, some are warriors. Alis's family became merchants, trade factors for the Shah, who holds several important monopolies such as the rugs and other woven goods held so dear in other Shadows and in Amber. The family name is Benis, the Shah's Son from whom they claim descent. "dha'r" means "daughter of the line of". ("Sha'as" is the equivalent masculine term.)
Alis and Ian met while he was on a mission for the Crown of Amber slightly over a century ago. [The people of Ardebal have lifespans comparable to those of Amber, especially those of royal blood.] The attraction became mutual after a very short while. Her father approved of the match (still something of a surprise to her), and Ian seemed willing to face down Oberon himself on her behalf . (He was, but, luckly, Oberon hadn't been heard from in over a hundred years).
Alis returned to Amber with Ian. Soon thereafter he was granted title to their manor, which the two of them began to design and construct. Since then, her life has been one of running a farm (not something common in Ardebal, but an interesting challenge), running her and Ian's business interest, attending court and waiting while Ian throws himself into danger on behalf of a realm he dearly loves, but does not seem to reciprocate in kind.
Current Activities: Alis is Ian's business partner. She helps to run the manor (an on-going concern in the unforgiving land around Amber, even with Ian's imported notions). She also serves as his trade factor when he works the Golden Circle. She has some business concerns of her own, and uses all of the above as a way to keep tabs on what's going on. Alis is definitely keen on what's going on. Since the start of the current mess, she has been staying close to Vialle (part insurance, part bodyguard, part confidant). With the advent of the new power structure, she undoubtedly has increased duties relevant to the palace social sphere. Neither her nor Ian gets back to the manor as much as they'd like.
Alis does have some hobbies besides her business adventures. Like all women of Ardebal, she's a demon at embroidery, weaving and the like.
Friends: Alis and Ian are one of those couples that share friends, not "his" or "hers" but "theirs." These would include Martin, Auric (though we're being more careful now he's taken up with Aros), especially Morgan, Caine, Julian, Gerard (of course), higher ranking officers in the Amber garrison and any retirees from the War, fellows of Ian's from his prior escapades. Since she has become a part of Vialle's court, she has been making a number of new friends as well as strengthening her ties to old acquaintances in the court.
Trump Portrait: There is a Trump of Alis, drawn by Auric. There are
not many copies of this Trump in circulation. Ian has one (of course), as does
Alis. Others currently known to posses copies: Auric, Gerard, Morgan.
The Trump as seen
by Ian
I see a woman standing before a window, looking at me, though her body is turned slightly away. Framing the window are walls of heavy gray stones. The window is a large one, she stands before the right of two bays. At the cornice of the window, in the uppermost left hand corner of the picture, is the seal of Amber, the Unicorn rampant. The woman stands at the right side of the window with the wall to her left and the window to her right. Through the window can be made out a distant scene, mostly of cerulean sky and clouds, framed below by the dark green of a mighty forest juxtaposed to the white and blue of the sea.
The woman has dark eyes that glint with amusement and intelligence, framed by delicately arched brows. Her skin is a dark olive and her hair a lustrous black that tumbles down her back. It is held in place by a delicately woven fillet of scarlet and bronze about her brow and a few small but intricate braids woven from her hair. She is garbed in a simple dress of scarlet, with wide bands of complex embroidery at the cuffs, across the shoulders in a yoke and in a broad band down the front. The embroidery is abstract designs in bronze and scarlet against a background of black. The dress is gathered in at the waist by a black girdle with bolder designs similar to those on the embroidery of her dress. Her hands are clasped together before her, holding an embroidery loop holding a mostly finished work, a coat of arms, on the right the rampant Unicorn of Amber, white on green, on the left, a set of eight tined antlers encircled in bronze, green within the circle, gray without. The motif of the encircled antlers can also be made out on a bronze amulet at her throat. She is smiling.
Other Notes:Currently, Alis has given her personal copy of her Trump to Vialle (it is more important that she be able to return to Amber at a moments notice than to the manor).