Opal

Suggested Music: Apani B - A Million Eyes, Jean Grae - 8

Basic Information

Name: Opal
Type: Dragon-Blooded Exalt
Age: 27 (Mission 1), currently 34
Player: NPC
Aspect: Earth
Concept: Grass-Spider, thrill-seeker
Motivation: Force Creation to confront the harsh reality that violence and peace necessarily go hand in hand.
Political Affiliation: The Hallowed Order of the Grass Spiders
Anima: (Subject to change based on caste)
Likes: Exploring new territory, climbing trees, spontaneous trips, baths, alcohol, Gateway
Dislikes: Eating (especially meat), politics, being forced to take charge, meditation, being teased about her hair

Background

Opal spent her earliest years as part of a traveling performing act that circled the eastern area of the Confederation of Rivers. With no parents to speak of, she was owned wholly by the act's sponsors and quickly became the show's feature attraction - a child prodigy who had no reservations performing death defying aerial stunts and acrobatics. On a particularly fateful day, Anton, a made member of the organization, witnessed her performance and recommended her to the Three Elite Fiends. Her kidnapping from the traveling group was arranged, and within the year, eight year-old Opal was in the custody of the Grass Spiders. Already an expert gymnast, she was trained to be an effective killer and infiltrator from that point forward, raised by the assassins who would later become her colleagues and indoctrinated to the Order's attitude.

She accepted her first contract at age 14, and was formally inducted into the Order a year later. Although she is not the oldest member of her circle, she is the senior-most member. Even among Grass-Spiders who have been members of the organization for a longer time period, Opal is highly regarded, as her hits-per-year is one of the highest of any in the Order. Her athletic ability is nigh-unparalleled, and she is one of the Order's best acrobats.

Opal, for her part, is a pretty normal young woman most of the time. She usually takes a pragmatic view in politics and daily life, and takes some joy in pointing out when others are being impractical or hypocritical. She craves adventure, and finds great pleasure in the fact that her work often provides for an ample amount of excitement. Although the jovial attitudes of her foster family shielded her somewhat from the macabre nature of her work, her ultimately brutal upbringing is apparent in mild neuroses that lie just beneath her overtly 'casual' exterior -- she is a heavy drinker, avoids eating, and in her most private moments, is prone to bouts of depression (only Rizuka is aware of this, and the two never speak of it).

She's recently become involved in a tumultuous relationship with Naru. She's less certain of her feelings for Naru than vice versa, and is occasionally remorseful of the grief this brings Naru. Perhaps as a result, she is extremely protective of the astrologer, and reacts harshly (even violently) to those who would seek to harm her, physically or otherwise. Ironically, this drives another rivet of tension into their relationship, as Naru resents being "looked after". Nevertheless, she often tries to return the defensiveness with mixed results - despite her best efforts, her mortal nature makes it difficult for her to protect Opal from something that would seriously threaten the Dragon-Blood. Opal usually asks Naru not to do this, but it is to no avail - deep down, Opal appreciates her efforts, but rarely says so.

Unsurprisingly, outside observers describe their relationship as 'complicated'.

Opal doesn't know her birthday.

Despite being born with stark red hair, she did not Exalt as a Fire-Aspect. She is extremely touchy about this.

How I Became A Grass Spider

Opal remained expressionless as she accepted the bowl from Mesa. She struck a match against the table without looking at it, dipping it into the bowl. After a few puffs, she shrugged and spoke the through cloud of thin white smoke.

"Mostly, this is all I've ever known. I've been told I was born, or found, in Nexus. I was sold before age two to a traveling circus owned by a Scavenger Lord - you probably robbed him at some point, Mesa - I spent the first six years of my life becoming an audience attraction. The rats who ran that circus barely bothered to raise me; so long as I could make it from one trapeze to another without killing myself - and do a back flip on the way - they scarcely cared if I could read, write, or even bathe myself. I got used to not eating; table scraps were a luxury. I suppose - "

She shrugged again, puffing another hit, " - There is something to be said for their persistence... I'm a hell of an acrobat, I'll admit that. By age eight, I was one of their feature attractions - 'The Weightless Wonderchild' or some bullshit like that. It didn't go unnoticed, though - Anton was on recruiting duty when he caught my act in Nexus. He didn't make a move right away, but after he put in a good word for me, Valen sneaked into our camp and snatched me. I had no idea what the hell was going on, but I fucking hated that place, so I didn't put up a fight. I remember, when we got to a safe distance, she asked me my name. I never knew mine..."

Opal trailed off briefly at the overwhelming sadness of the statement, but spoke quickly through it, caring not to remember.

"... I had a necklace, this necklace," Opal set the bowl gently on the table and held up the small golden-framed trinket she wore on a thin chain around her neck, "One of the few circus performers who was kind to me told me that my mother had given me that necklace before I was sold. The response I had for Valen was to ask her what kind of gem was in my necklace. It's an opal. From that day forward, I became a child of the Grass Spiders."

She left a brief pause. For the gravity of the situation she was describing, she still managed to remain fairly casual about it - the weed helped. She continued her story after another puff on the bowl.

"I had an odd childhood after that. My aunts, uncles, parents, and so forth - they were esteemed killers. My brothers and sisters were other hopefuls, other children who had some kind of prodigal talent the Fiends thought might be useful someday. Heh, if you think about it, it's actually kind of a sick operation. Anyway, it wasn't that my childhood was bad - I learned to read and write, basic history, math, everything a kid learns at primary school. I learned all the things a kid - a girl, whatever - normally learns. Rizuka taught me to ride a horse, Aleni taught me to braid my hair, and Oak showed me to how to make basic repairs and build simple tools... You name it. They did the best they could to give me a normal, if even pampered, in some respects, childhood. But I learned other things, too. Valen showed me how to pick a lock, Tiamat and Anton taught me how to fight, and as I got older, Ryn taught me about death - how to create it, how to make one death look like another, and why it had to be respected and used properly. After awhile, they decided I was ready."

Opal looked around the room, gauging everyone's expressions quietly. She glossed over the details of her first hit - that was another story altogether.

"Anyway, after my first job, I got my legs ((Cultural note: "Getting your legs" = becoming a made member)) and I've been a working girl ever since. Do I like the work? Sure, well enough. It's exciting, that's for damn certain. But at the end of the day, it wasn't my choice, but that doesn't matter - this is what created a life for me, so this is the life I live."

She grinned slightly, taking a final hit, a little embarrassed over her willingness to share her feelings on her past - something she rarely did. She pointed to the collective group, admonishing them not to grow accustomed to her candor.

"Hang on that story as long as you can - it's about as deep as you're gonna get with me."

Ash, suppressing an audible smirk just long enough to deliver his line with a straight face, replied quickly.

"Somehow I doubt that."

Opal's head dropped back limply, her gaze meeting the ceiling with a sigh. She had a haunting suspicion this was only the beginning.

Opal handed the bowl over to Ash, shaking her head.

"Alright, wiseass. Your turn."

What She's Been Up To

Over the past seven years, Opal has continued to do what she does best, which is provide a lethal element to any assassination or infiltration mission. She is one of the Order's best acrobats and continues to be among the best fighters in the Organization's younger ranks. Like Valen before her, Opal has a more advanced knowledge of the Eight-Legged Harvest Promenade than any Grass-Spider her age, although Zealot is catching up. Although her social skills are passable and getting better, her training focus has remained on physical prowess. In more recent years, spurred on by her regular missions alongside Ash and Mesa, she has taken an interest in firearms, and has been practicing shooting with Ash. During the Veil War, Opal was one of the members who remained at the Range Homes and continued to keep the Order's reputation strong by running impressive and difficult missions. The Veil War drew some members of her circle, especially Ash and Mesa, away from the Range Homes often. As a result, Opal began running missions with some members of the Shaded Templar, and has solidified a good working relationship with Aleni. The two don't always get along personally, but have proven to be an excellent team in the field. Given her more serious focus on training, she has spent a lot of time with Valen, Zealot, and Ryn. Along with Aleni, the five often joke that if circles weren't arranged by caste, the five of them would form the Order's combat circle. Opal is seemingly well-positioned for a successful career as a lifelong Grass-Spider and shows no signs of interests elsewhere. Despite her success as a member of the Order, however, her personal life has hardly been so stable over the past seven years.

After the events of Mission 9, the return to "business as usual" (prior to the start of the Veil War, which began five years after Mission 9) allowed the Grass-Spiders a bit more leisure time in between missions. This gave Opal and Naru the chance to spend more time together, and a few months after Mission 9 considered themselves to be in a functioning relationship. Although they spent a three happy years together, Opal's interest in Naru again began to wane. Their fourth year together was marked by a considerable worsening of Opal's alcoholism; she would spend most of her time outside of missions in a drunken haze, trying to deal with the stress of keeping up a relationship she was no longer sure she wanted. After spending a fourth miserable year leading Naru on, Opal couldn't keep up the facade any longer, realizing that Naru's devotion to her would never fade. A year before the beginning of the Veil War, Opal ended the relationship. Although Naru was predictably devastated, her obsession with Opal did not end. Even after their split, Naru bent over backwards to please and defend Opal, insisting she didn't care if Opal didn't return the treatment. This caused a tremendous amount of guilt in Opal, who was faced with the choice of accepting love she couldn't return or rebuking the already-heartbroken Naru. This only exacerbated Opal's rarely-mentioned but ever-present psychoses; her own depression and alcoholism elevated to even greater heights in the year that followed. Finding that the easiest way to handle Naru was simply to not be around her, Opal spent increasing amounts of time in Nexus, where she'd usually seek refuge in Mesa's various hideouts, getting belligerently drunk at all hours of the day. Although she still completed missions during this time, she carried her excesses to a concerning extent, even for a Dragon-Blood. It was finally Mesa, of all people, who decided to intervene, after bearing witness to many of her episodes. Having Mesa tell her she was drinking too much was a bit of a wake-up call for Opal, and she decided finally to confide in Mesa her thoughts about the previous few years. In return, Mesa shared some of his own doubts about the Order and his own path in life. Although their conversations were platonic and therapeutic at first, it gradually became something more, and the two became somewhat romantically involved. This romantic involvement has grown stronger over the past two years, although neither of them acknowledges it as a proper relationship, and they quarrel often. This has occasionally interfered with missions, although never to a serious extent. Many Grass-Spiders still don't know they're sleeping together, although the Circle the No Name does.

After some time together with Mesa, Opal was able to return to the Range Homes and have a civil conversation with Naru about their relationship (as ex-lovers, co-workers, and friends). Naru agreed to back off her attempts to please Opal and also to try to find love elsewhere. Their relationship remains complicated, however. Naru hasn't entirely kept her promise, and will still defend Opal rabidly and help her in any way possible. As a result, Opal still feels remorse over the state of their relationship, and remains incredibly protective of Naru. This was most recently demonstrated when she flew into a violent rage after Naru's kidnapping, going as far as betraying the Order to get Naru back.