Benvolio Russo

Benvolio Russo was one of the three major protagonists of the Rift Arc. Blending in among the students at Ember Moon, he had made it his goal to get revenge for his father’s untimely death.

## Benvolio Russo

Benvolio Russo’s cover photo for Student Info and Tupperbot

## Biographical Information

### Relatives

* Unnamed Mother
* Luke Heartstruck (Father) †

## Academy Information

### Abilities

Heart & Soul- Feeds off of anger, draining his opponent of their physical strength, making them physically weak, and giving their strength to himself.

## Other

### Nickname(s)

* Gornio
* Benny
* Ben
* Russo

### Involved Arcs

* Professors Arc
* Rift Arc

## Personality

Due to his incredible masking, only a few got close enough to Benvolio to witness his real personality. That being said, most did see him as cold and reclusive, someone merely out for revenge. Even then, the slightest bit of character shines through his pale eyes and the way he discretely fidgets with his clothes.

## Appearance

Well kept, Benvolio prided himself on how he presents, feelings of doubt and self hatred welding up inside him if he didn’t keep up a put together appearance. Dressed in the finest silk and cloth, he tended to stick with lighter, monotonous colors to match his fair skin and light-toned pink hair, which hosted a small rat tail of hair in its back. Seemingly out of place, his eyes shone like the morning sun, bright and yellow as they worked their way into warming up the bland, elegant style. Down to his toes, he stuck to black leather shoes, though were barely visible beyond his robes.

## Early Life

Born and raised in his mother’s home in Venice, he grew up in a loving household. Being the only child, his parents’ love for him was plenty to shower in as he got spoiled with riches and a plentiful of presents. He took on his mother’s maiden name as to not cause an uproar from his peers, as he was of mixed nationalities.

When he got to be around the age of eight was when his parents’ love for him didn’t match up to their love for each other. His father was the one to take custody of him and they soon relocated to Rome. Despite the love he once had for his mother, he was grateful for the change, as he came to believe his mother to be manipulative of him and his father. This was around the time he became aware of his ability, using it to stop his parents’ bickering.

Once the two had moved away, his father was soon to hop back into the dating pool, if you could call it that. Benvolio had become accustomed to older women entering and leaving his life at the expense of his father, though he did have some part in a lot of their departures, stealing and growing distasteful of them. His father would lecture him after every break up and divorce how greedy and evil women are and warned him of their nature. Even more, he would constantly warn him of those out to get him, telling him to always keep one eye open.

When he was a bit past sixteen, his father’s injured eye became infected. He began to experience worsening headaches and vision issues in his working eye. He didn’t catch on to the gravity of his new injury till he came down with a bad fever. When the doctors broke the news to Benvolio, that his father most likely only had a few days or hours to live, he was struck with overpowering emotions, ones he barely felt. On top of it all was anger. Revenge. Hatred. He knew who was to blame, his father warned him of the man countless times—the man who hurt him all those years ago, who still haunts him now until his grave. Ender Hale.

## Relationships

### Ender Hale

After being told by his father for countless of years how a man named Ender Hale injured his eye, the cynical Benvolio held Ender responsible for his father’s death after he died from an eye-related injury. Not having the heart or soul to be a killer, Benvolio settled for hurting someone very close to Ender—the son of his. Pouring acid over Owen’s eye, he will now be scarred the same way Benvolio’s father was.

### Sapphira Hale

Holding some level of respect for the manipulative girl, Benvolio and Sapphira struck a deal once they had both learned of the other’s place of origin. After Sapphira had given him details about Owen, the headmaster’s son, Benvolio agreed to try to get a book for her from Toria, although he only agreed to try to get the book, a quest that had lead him to many awkward encounters.

## Quotes

* ”Ender Hale. He killed my father.”
* ”How strange to find you, so deep in the forest and all by yourself.”
* ”It’s interesting how much one’s own experiences can impact their world view. Makes me wonder how much differently those who experience deep, blinding pain are able to even see of the cynical world around them.”
* “You… you monster… all of you!”
* “ Oh Lord, before I leave to join you and my father, please forgive me of my sins… My life has been dealt with selfish cards… cards that I wish to repent. Return me to the dealer, oh my Lord. Return me to the Maker as I leave this new world just how I had entered the last…”
* ”Like father like son.”
* “An eye for an eye, right? That’s how the saying goes, right?”

## Trivia

* The disease his father experienced is a bacterial infections called meningitis.
* Though never specifically stated in roleplay, Benvolio is autistic.
* It was originally planned to have it explicitly made that Benvolio committed suicide after feeling guilty for his deeds, either jumping off of the island or reasons never mentioned. This was scrapped, as it was deemed too gruesome and less of a showy way to end the arc.
* Benvolio’s last words “an eye for an eye” were originally suggested by Kai to say after Benvolio had hurt Owen’s eye. Instead of using it there, Angel decided to save the line as a memorable last words to end Benvolio’s story.