Benhart is a warrior from the land of Jugo, a desertous land filled with massive corrosive ants, sorcery and "honorable fighting men". He has traveled from land to land eventually reaching Drangleic, claiming he is on a mission to perfect his swordsmanship.
It would appear that if Jugo has an official order of knights, Benhart was not part of it. He wears armor almost identical to Creighton of Mirrah, and based upon descriptions of his armor pieces, it is implied that much of his attire was collected during his travels (much like the player character). Only his small shield and sword were originally his. The shield is emblazoned with a family crest that has been around for several generations, while his sword too has been in his family for generations.
It is not too difficult to draw some conclusions. Benhart's family were once powerful. They may have been nobility, but at some point they have fallen from grace and privilege, keeping only what was too precious to give away. They kept their family crest as a reminder of their bloodline and the sword, as they believed it was born from moonlight and held great power, an item too precious to lose.
It may be that the family acquiring the sword and their loss of privilege are intertwined. Perhaps an ancestor of Benhart's squandered the family fortune on a weapon that they believed was unique and powerful, or perhaps this weapon was stolen from a higher lord of the land. Whatever the case, Benhart believes in his sword, and somehow it has become tied to the redemption of his family in his mind. If he can just unlock its true power, he can return to Jugo and restore his family's honor and privilege.
Many in the land of Drangleic observe his sword to be wondrous, but on closer inspection realize that is fraudulent, a truth Benhart is too stubborn to see. So it seems that Benhart is on a futile mission, destined to wander from land to land dying upon his sword.
It is interesting to note the connection between Benhart of Jugo and Creighton of Mirrah. What combines these two otherwise seemingly opposite warriors, is that they both wear armor sporting the same crest. This crest almost certainly belongs to Benhart’s family, as we know this from his parma description:
Benhart’s Parma description:
Small shield of Benhart of Jugo.
This parma, emblazoned with a family crest of some sort,
has clearly been around for several generations,
but has no special value.
And we can see that the parma has the horns of a stag emblazoned upon it. So how is it that Creighton came to be wearing armor that so closely correlates to Benhart? Benhart is a travelling warrior who has picked up his armor on his travels. He is also perhaps a famous warrior, as everywhere he goes he leaves people talking about his ‘legendary’ blue sword. It therefore seems possible that Benhart made his way to Mirrah in his travels and perhaps fought there, in an attempt to tease out the true strength of his weapon. We know that Jugo is to the far east and Mirrah to the east, so geographically it would seem that one must pass through Mirrah on their way to Drangleic when travelling from Jugo. In Mirrah, knights who distinguish themselves on the battlefield become famous. It therefore is likely, if Benhart ever went there, that he became famous in Mirrah. Creighton, wanting to draw suspicion away from himself after escaping prison may have at one stage attempted to impersonate Benhart. Creighton’s armor has some “odd differences that catch the eye”. Does this line refer to the crest of Benhart? Both Creighton and Benhart give you the same reason for coming to Drangleic: to hone their blade. While this certainly rings true for Benhart, it sounds hollow coming from Creighton. While there are certainly reasons against this, such as Creighton never introducing himself as Benhart, and the fact that it does not seem wise to imitate someone so famous for their conspicuous blue sword without carrying said blue sword, there is certainly an interesting connection between the two characters that remains unexplained. It should be noted that in the unused content of the game, Creighton is seen wielding Benhart’s sword. We do not know how he came upon it, but it may be that this lends support to the idea that Creighton is trying to impersonate Benhart.
Benhart's Mission.
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Benhart, True King.
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Character Symbolism
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