Character History
![[Sketch of Opa]](sm-opa.gif)
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Name: Opa Character created: December 1993 Current position: Craftmaster of the Weavers |
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Previous positions:
Previous postings:
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Family:
Firelizards: |
Nerat was Elyan's last stop in the north. Shortly after his liaison with
Marcina he boarded a ship and returned, finally, home. Shortly after,
the young woman discovered that she had conceived, and within three
seasons, Opa was born. The girl grew up knowing very little of her
father apart from his roots in the south and a few other details which
her mother was able to tell her. Marcina devoted her life to her work
and raising her daughter, and never married or conceived again.
Naturally the small family of two grew quite close, though Marcina's
powerful love for her daughter often extended into overprotectiveness.
Nevertheless, Opa was a happy and delightful child, dutiful and patient.
She grew up in the caverns of Nerat with Wilhem's famous chicken to
nourish her and many everyday tasks to keep her busy. She learned to
swim, fish, gut packtail and cook, but her mother preferred her to
perform chores which kept her close and safe in the Hold.
From a very early age, it was evident that Opa's favourite activities by
far were those involving crafty hands and an artistic eye. Her deft
fingers kept her occupied at seam-sewing and needlework for hours on
end. Excelling in such simple occupations, she was soon moved on to more
complex tasks such as tailoring and tapestries, and she became a great
help when the drudges needed new shifts, or the young ladies of the
Blood new blouses.
By age sixteen, her talent was flourishing, but her mother still could
not bear to let her go away to try for an apprenticeship at the
Weavercrafthall in Southern Boll. However, an event soon occurred which
took Opa away from Nerat permanently.
Opa's period of Candidacy was quite an adjustment for the holdbred girl.
She was required to observe quite a different lifestyle from what she
was used to, and was given a chance to observe dragons close-up for the
first time in her young life. Having a sweet personality made her many
friends, including two fellow Candidates named Allis and Molly. The three
girls became fast friends, and as Hatching day approached, promised each
other that no matter what the outcome, they would always remain close.
When the dragons began to hum and the Candidates were shoved onto the
sands in a whirlwind of excited chaos, blue Celerith strode confidently
to Molly, and green Maenth literally knocked Allis down in her eagerness
to Impress. However, although many of the fledglings looked Opa over,
she was left dragonless by the time the last shell had cracked. With
mixed feelings of sadness and disappointment, she left the sands with
the other unacceptables.
The next evening, Opa took her place with the other apprentices at
dinner, and was startled to find Jacella, the daughter of Nerat's Lord
Holder, sitting straight across from her. Never having had the
opportunity to meet before given the great difference in their statuses,
the two found they had much to talk about, given their common origin.
Opa's disappointment of the day before was soon eased as she began to
fit in. As Craftmaster Lenore appointed Cleona as her Craftsecond and
promoted Zelez from journeyranker to Mastertailor that evening, Opa and
Jacella exchanged low whispers of friendship across the table.
When her apprenticeship formally began, Opa found herself in her element,
and delighted in her work. Within a season she had been promoted to
journeyranker, Jacella's promotion soon following. Opa was assigned to
Benden Weyr and Jacella to Southern Boll Hold, but Jacella was twice
taken on Search, eventually Impressing green Phaeth at Ista.
CHARACTER HISTORY
Table of Contents
Opa's Beginnings
Opa is the only child of Marcina, a kitchen-woman at Nerat Hold. She was
unexpectedly produced during a brief affair with a wanderer from the
Southern Continent by the name of Elyan. Previous to his arrival at
Nerat, he had travelled rather extensively across the Northern
Continent, 'sowing his oats,' so to speak, as he went. This has left Opa
with several half-siblings around the world, although she is quite
ignorant of their very existence.Candidacy
While Opa was on an errand with a group of Neratians to the
Mastersmithhall, green Tayefeth and her rider D'riana, of Igen, happened
in Search to the Crafthall at the time the girl was there. Tayefeth showed
great interest in Opa, snuffling at her skirts until she was quite
distracted. When D'riana asked her if she would consent to becoming a
Candidate to the hardening eggs of Lemarath's most recent clutch, Opa
was filled with elation. She knew that she could not refuse such a
summons, regardless of her mother's reaction, and consented. She was
flown to Igen after a brief stop at Nerat to console a proud yet
heavy-hearted Marcina, and to collect her few belongings.The Weavercraft
Perhaps it was fate that she happened to bump into Master Cleona of the
Weavercraft during the Hatching celebrations, perhaps not. Nevertheless,
made uncharacteristically bold by her jumbled feelings and determination
not to return to Nerat a failure, she asked the master if she could be
considered for apprenticeship. After a glance at a sample of Opa's
handiwork, Cleona whisked her off to Southern Boll without another word
and gave her an apprentice's knot.Benden Weyr
Opa arrived at Benden on the back of Weyrwoman Merla's golden Kimbrith,
at a time when F'hlan was still Weyrleader from Tiamanth's last flight.
Throwing herself into her work, she soon gained friendship and respect
from the varied Weyrfolk. Through her subsequent promotions first to
Apprentice Master and then
Craftsecond,
she remained at Benden, working her Craft diligently.
Mere sevendays later, the reason behind Lenore's summons became apparent. In a private conversation, the Masterweaver revealed that her health was failing her too badly for her to continue as the Weavercraftmaster, and that she was passing that appointment onto the younger Opa, since she felt it was time the Craft be passed on to younger blood. After being initially overwhelmed, Opa accepted, on the condition that Lenore would use her retirement to rest, enjoy the Southern Boll sun, and improve her health. Thus did Opa ignominiously become the leader of her Craft, appointing Master Varina as her Craftsecond, and determinedly setting about to do the best that she could for her Hall.
The one sour note in her otherwise successful life are her mother's repeated complaints in their correspondence about Opa's lack of a husband. Marcina constantly frets about her daughter being as alone as she herself is, and puts an undue amount of pressure on Opa to produce some grandchildren for her. If asked, Opa will airily laugh her mother's cares away, but, now in her mid-twenties, the laugh is beginning to take on a twinge of worry, barely detectable, but there all the same.
Opa's player's home page Weavercraft home page