Name: Opalina
Full Name: Opalina Shade
Pronunciation: oh - pah - LEE - nah SHAED
Nickname: Lina
Race: Human
Birthday: November 15
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Class: Witch
Deity: Annir, God of Change
Pets: None
Current Residence: The Raven's Nest Inn

Height: 5'10"
Build: Lithe
Skin Tone: Fair
Eyes: Amber
Hair Color: White
Hair Length and Style: To Her Waist and Straight
Clothing Style: Unless Performing, Plain Dresses

Parents: Single Mother
Siblings: None
Spouse(s): None
Offspring: None
History: She was born to a very traditional witch, coming from a long line of witches that were seers. Unfortunately, she only inherited a fraction of her mother's foresight. When her mother realized this, she left her training mostly to others and had little to do with her. Instead, the other members of her mother's coven taught her how to harness her empathic abilities and prepared her for her Search. When she was fifteen, she left her mother's coven and began her journey to find other witches with whom she could form her own coven. The very first night after she left, she had a dream of seven variously colored ravens all sitting in a nest together. The dream repeated itself several times over the next year, and it finally led her to The Raven's Nest Inn, where she was sure she would meet the others with whom she would bond. She convinced the innkeeper to hire her as entertainment, and once he saw that she could keep brawls, fights, and arguments to a minimum, he agreed readily to allow her to stay. She worked at the inn for two years before she finally met the other members of her coven.

Abilities/Skills: Dancing, Some Foresight, Empathic Magic, Diplomacy
Personality: She is usually quiet and prefers to observe those around her. She knows that she can seem odd to others, especially when she comments upon things that she knows that she should not. She hates conflict and attempts to settle any disbutes around her quickly without magic, but she is not above using her magic to settle them either. She is a good listener and often tries to help others resolve their problems or just offer advice when they need to vent their feelings. She hates the fact that she is not a proper seer and feels like a disappointment to her family. However, she tries not to think about it and loves those in her coven for accepting her as she is.

Lina has bonded with Reyrieth!

Name: Reyrieth
Bonded To: Opalina
Gender: male
Species: medium-short
Color(s): shimmer winged peridot-amber
Size Class: blue (green/very small)
Suggested Length: 37'7"
Suggested Height: 7'1"
Clutch: 34z
Sire: cream-spotted blue Parurth
Dame: clouded bronze gold Kedalth
Notes
Abilities
telepathy: can speak mind-to-mind with other sentiant beings
teleportation (between): can travel to a different location on the same world instantly (includes time travel)
assisted fire-breath: can breath fire after digesting a phospherous-bearing rock such as firestone
telekinesis: can move objects with their mind as per the spell telekinesis

Genetic Code: XGwdf[A] YGwdf[p] rr bb cxG|c txG|tx* Ee/ee IiKK PP o1S's|oS'S A1R|ap1R* U*u3 h'sh m+m
Species Rules: Alskyrian
Genetic Base: blue

Story: Opalina awoke with a start, excitement buzzing through her. She'd had the raven dream again, but this time, it had been clearer than ever. She could actually feel the magical auras that surrounded each bird, and she was now surer that they represented the other members of her coven. She smiled to herself as she climbed out of bed. She had a good feeling about today.

She quickly put on a plain tan colored dress before making her way downstairs to the common room of the inn. During the day, she assisted the innkeeper's wife and the maids in cleaning up the inn from the previous evening. While neither of the owners required it of her, thankful as they were that she was able to keep the fighting to a minimum, she hated feeling idle and useless and enjoyed helping, even if they were simple menial tasks. She had lived there for two years now, and despite being a witch, her magic had not forced her to move on as most would expect. She supposed that this was tied to her foresight and that her magic knew she was in the right spot to meet her other coven members.

"Good morning, Mrs. Brooks," she greeted the innkeeper's wife with a smile.

"Morning, Lina," the older woman returned before adding, "You seem to be in a good mood today."

"I believe it is going to be a wonderful day," she replied with a rare grin before moving to the kitchen to have some breakfast and then helping to clean up.

Opalina found that one of the wonderful things about the repetitive nature of cleaning was that it gave her plenty of time to think about things. She also found that one of the worst things about cleaning was that it gave her plenty of time to think about things.

As she dusted and swept the various rooms, she began to think over her dream and the individuals that it represented. There was the pink raven, which she knew represented herself. There was the multi-colored raven, which she assumed represented someone who was well-rounded in magic and would probably be the coven's leader. There was the white raven that always seemed to be chattering, perhaps someone young or a holy witch. There was the green raven that always seemed to be pecking at the white one, a healer or a woodland witch she assumed. There was the brown raven that hid beneath its wings and seemingly tried to blend in with the nest, a shy person and possibly another woodland witch. There was the red raven, a hot-tempered witch or perhaps someone that specialized in fire magic, and there was the black raven with the blue eyes, which had always intrigued her the most. It was always off on its own, sometimes even outside of the nest while the others were always inside. She could only suspect that the person had mixed feelings about joining a coven.

As she continued to work, she began to feel anxious. She had had this dream for years now, and she felt that she already knew these six women and would recognize them when she met them. But, the reverse was not true. They had no idea who she was. What if they expected her to be a great seer like the rest of her family when they learned her name and were disappointed when they realized she was not? Her own mother had certainly been disappointed to realize that her only daughter would not be inheriting her great gifts like the other children of the coven, and even though the other witches in the coven had taught her, she had always been the odd one out. What if they thought she was odd or strange as well? She could not control the foresight that she did possess and sometimes said things that she shouldn't, thinking that the other party already knew the information as well.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself as she paused in her chores. She was getting ahead of herself. There was no telling when she would meet any of these people, and besides, they would be her kindred spirtis. That had to mean something. She had seen it at work in her mother's coven. There was a deeper understanding between the witches that were bonded together through magic. Surely, they would be more accepting or at least give her a chance. She thought back to her dream. The pink raven had never been by itself, so that had to be a good sign. She nodded to herself, and with her worries assuaged as much as they could be for the time being, she went back to work.

As the sun began to set, she returned to her room and prepared for another evening of entertaining the patrons and keeping tempers in check. She donned a colorful dress in various shades of purple and blue before brushing her hair and pulling it partially back so that it would remain out of the way while she performed. She had always enjoyed dancing and had learned it from one of the witches in her mother's coven who had Romani heritage, and the fact that she was able to weave her magic into the dance steps was most useful. In general, she enjoyed her work at the inn even if she did know that it was temporary and did not like some of the attention her performances garnered her.

As the dinner hour approached, she made her way to the small platform in the corner of the common room and began her performance for the evening. As she danced, she allowed her mind to wander and get lost in the music, but she was swiftly called back to reality as she felt a strangely familiar zing of magic along her skin. She looked towards the door and saw a short, curvy woman with short, wavy, dark blonde hair. Her amber eyes met dark gray ones for a moment even as she continued to dance. Then one of the patrons called out for the newcomer to shut the door, and she moved to a table in the corner.

Opalina continued to cast the occasional glance at the witch. She couldn't believe that one of them had finally arrived, and her heart picked up its pace in her chest. She was almost certain that this woman was the multi-colored raven she had seen in her dream, the one she suspected would be their leader. She couldn't wait to meet her.

As soon as she was finished with her performance, she went back to her room to put on a less colorful outfit. She then took a deep breath and slowly made her way to the witch's table, where she was enjoying her dinner. She waited for the woman to look up before asking, "May I join you?"

"Of course," the other answered as she gestured to the empty chair next to her.

Opalina took the seat and smiled at the other woman. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you," she admitted, trying to keep her happiness in check. She had been waiting here for two years for this moment.

"Pardon? Finally," the witch asked in clear confusion.

"Oh, forgive me," Opalina said, and she could feel her cheeks heating in a blush. She hadn't even introduced herself yet! "I am doing things out of order again," she stated with a hsake of her head before holding out her hand. "I am Opalina Shade. You may call me Lina if you like."

The woman shook her hand. "Aileen Grimsbane," she introduced herself before pausing. "Shade? As in the family of seers," she asked, and Opalina did her best not to flinch.

"Yes, though I am not a seer myself," she replied as she felt her cheeks heat further. "I only get flashes now and then, and I usually cannot make sense of them," she babbled slightly.

Aileen nodded her understanding. "But, you knew that I would be here tonight," she surmised.

"I knew you were coming, but I did not know exactly when," Opalina explained before adding, "The others should be here soon as well. Though, soon could be in a few hours or a few months. The time is difficult to pinpoint," she admitted with a soft sigh.

"Others," Aileen questioned in a slightly higher tone.

Opalina titled her head to the side in confusion. "The other members of our coven," she replied as the first tendrils of fear began to eat away at her. Had she gotten it wrong? "You are a witch on your Search, aren't you?"

"I am," the blonde confirmed with a nod as the door to the inn opened.

Opalina turned her head to see two women enter. The first was thin with platinum blonde hair and jagged bangs. The second was shorter and heavier than the first with shoulder length brown hair. Once more, she felt magic zing along her skin. They were two more of her coven sisters. Given the feel of their magic, she guessed that they were the white raven and the green one. "Ah here comes two more," she declared as the taller of the two bounded over to their table and was followed much more slowly by her companion.

"See, Josie! Here are some more sisters for us to meet," the first declared happily as she stuck her hand out to Aileen. "Alexandra Wraith. Call me Alex. This here is Josie. We met ouside the town," she said with enthusiastic energy before shaking Opalina's hand as well.

Her companion rolled her eyes. "Josephine Cromwell," she introduced herself with a polite nod and warm smile before turning a frown on her companion. "I told you earlier not to call me Josie."

"Josephine is too long," the girl complained as she plopped down into the seat next to Opalina. "Besides, Josephine sounds like the name of some old woman in her seventies. You may be older than me, but you're still too young to be called by an old lady's name!"

Josephine shook her head before turning to glance at Aileen and Opalina. "Do you mind if we join you," she asked politely with a pointed look at the younger woman whose manners she clearly did not approve.

"Why would they mind," Alexandra asked with obvious confusion. "They're going to be part of our coven, aren't you," she asked as she turned to them.

"I believe so, yes," Opalina answered quietly with a twitch of her lips as she tried not to laugh at the antics of the newcomers. She now understood why the green raven was constantly pecking at the white one in her dream.

"I am unsure how this will go," Aileen admitted slowly. "Perhaps, we should simply get to know one another first. The two of you must be hungry," she added with a glance at the remains of her own dinner.

Opalina felt a bit guilty for having interrupted Aileen's dinner and quietly apologized to the other woman who waved her off as the other two ordered their dinner.

"Do you want us to order yours as well," Josephine asked her in a kind, rather motherly tone.

"No, I have already had dinner. Thank you," she assured the brunette.

Their dinner arrived a few moments later, and Josephine broke her slice of bread in half and held out one portion to her. "You are much too thin," she declared with a signficant look at the bread she was still holding out to her.

Opalina smiled at her and took the bread despite not being hungry. This was clearly just Josephine's way. She then listened as the others began to talk about their journies and histories, excited to get to know these women that she had been dreaming of in a fashion for years.

Josephine was several years older than her and a healer. She had come from a non-magical but accepting family and started her Search when she was 18, completely unaware of what was happening to her. She had younger siblings and was a motherly and caring individual, though stern as well, especially when it came to good manners.

Alex was a year younger than her, though she looked even younger than that, and she was a ball of excited, happy energy. She was a holy witch and had grown up with both of her parents, which was rather unconventional. She also knew martial arts thanks to her father being a monk.

Aileen was a year older than her and a thread witch, which Opalina found rather interesting as she had never come across one before. She had been raised by her aunt, a rather traditional witch, and remembered very little about the rest of her family. She seemed to have a rather thoughtful and considering personaility, and Opalina thought that she would probably make them a good leader when the time came.

Opalina remained mostly quiet as the four of them talked for more than an hour with each other, and she could tell that Aileen was becoming more comfortable with the idea of forming a coven with them. Their conversation was interrupted once more, however, as the door to the inn opened, and a hooded figure stepped in. They paused and turned towards their table for a moment, and she could tell from that familiar zing that this was another of the witches that would hopefully join their coven. All she could see of her, however, was the strawberry bonde curls peeking out from her hood. When the door slammed behind her, she jumped before apologizing to the rest of the room and moving to sit at a table near the door.

Opalina shook her head slightly in mild surprise. "I really did not expect all of you to arrive the same night. It seems that we may be in luck, however. Perhaps the others will appear as well," she said in a soft voice, more to herself than to the others.

"Well, if she's one of us, then we should go greet her," Alex stated as she moved to stand, but Josephine stopped her.

"I do not think she will appreciate your exhuberance. I will go to speak to her," she said before moving unobtrusively towards the stranger.

Opalina watched Josephine approach the newcomer, who seemed rather startled at being addressed. After a moment, she motioned for Josephine to join her, and the two began to chat. The strawberry blonde seemed rather awkward and embarrassed. This, then, must be the brown raven who was always hiding in her dream. She turned to Alex who was fidgeting. "Josephine will convince her," she assured the younger woman.

"I don't see why I couldn't go talk to her," Alex complained with a small pout as she crossed her arms.

Opalina patted her arm and smiled at her. "Your heart is in the right place, Alex, but you would have frightened her. Cannot you see how nervous she is," she asked gesturing to the other table. "That's why Josephine went," she explained patiently, hoping to soothe the other witch.

Alex nodded. "Alright, but I hope she hurries up and convinces her. I want to meet all my coven sisters," she exclaimed, causing Opalina's lips to quirk in amusement.

Opalina watched as Josephine's kindness finally convinced the new witch to return with her to their table. The nervous witch knocked over a chair as she left her table and nearly dropped her dinner, but luckily, Josephine was on hand to help her. She placed her dinner in front of the seat next to her own at their table and gave the other an encouraging smile.

"I'm Gwen... Gwendolyn Redwood," the witch introduced herself as she fidgeted by the chair. "Are you sure... I mean... you don't mind if I sit here... with you," she managed to ask.

"Of course not," Alex greeted her happily. "We're all going to be in a coven together, so make yourself comfortable!"

Opalina winced slightly as Gwen froze and looked at the younger girl in astonished terror. That was certainly not the best thing to say in the moment.

"Nothing has been decided yet," Josephine assured Gwen. "We're merely talking and getting to know one another."

Gwen took a stuttering breath before taking her seat and turning her attention to her meal. Her shoulders hunched forward, and she stared resolutely at her dinner as if waiting for them to change their minds about her joining them while she ate. As she did so, Josephine shared what Gwen had told her about herself. She was 23, the same age as Josephine, and was from a family of woodland witches, so her strengths lay with communicating with animals.

"I'm not as good as the others are, though," Gwen stated quietly. "I have trouble with smaller creatures. They speak rather quickly."

Opalina was surprised when she heard a voice speak from near Gwen. Somehow she had missed the approach of another woman. "I'm surprised you're eating that if you are a woodland witch." The speaker was rather beautiful with long dark brown hair pulled up into a high ponytail and dark brown eyes. Given her blunt approach to the coversation, Opalina assumed that this was the red raven from her dream.

"Malise Le Rouge," she introduced herself as she set her pack down and joined them. She then turned to Gwen. "So, are you going to answer my question about your dinner choice? Most woodland witches I've known only eat vegetables, can't stand the thought of eating a creature they might have spoken with."

"Oh... well," Gwen stuttered a moment. "There are some like that, yes. I was like that a while back... I mean it was several years ago, and I don't really hunt myself. I prefer fish, but I had a rather enlightening conversation with a wolf once that changed my perspective. Humans can't really help the fact that we need meat to live healthy lives, so it's not very practical to avoid it, especially in the winter when vegetables and herbs are nearly impossible to find."

"A practical woodland witch? Now, I've seen everything," Malise stated with amusement as she signalled the barmaid to bring her a bowl of stew. "So, are we all here, or are there still more?"

"There is one more," Opalina stated with a smile. It seemed Malise was well aware of who they were and why they were talking with one another. She heard the door open once again and looked up to see another hooded individual enter the inn. She could tell immediately, though, that this was their last member, the black raven. "There she is," she said standing immediately and moving towards the hooded stranger that had just entered. For some reason, she felt like she needed to be the one to approach this woman.

The stranger clearly saw her intentions and lowered her hood as she drew closer. She had brown hair that hung in a braid and dark blue eyes. Her features were angular and rather androgynous. She had a muscular frame, and a sword was strapped to her back, which Opalina found rather odd for a witch. Still, she kept her opinion to herself as she reached the woman.

"Hello," she greeted the taller woman with a small smile. She then held out her hand. "I'm Opalina Shade. It's nice to meet you."

The woman reluctantly took her hand into her own callused one. "Rosina Winter," she replied before releasing her hand.

"We've been waiting for you, Rosina," Opalina stated quietly. She couldn't believe that all of them were now here. It was nearly overwhelming. "Would you join us?"

Rosina lifted a brow at her as she glanced at the table behind them. "You may be a seer, but I am sure that they will not want me to join them."

"I'm actually not a seer," Opalina admitted with a small blush, and Rosina had the decency to look apologetic.

"I should not have," she began and then shook her head.

"I am used to it," Opalina assured her, but she could not look directly at her. "I am sure the others would like to meet you, though."

Rosina remained silent for a moment before stating, "I will join you for now."

Opallina's smile grew. "Follow me, then," she said as she led the way back to the table, hoping that things would go well.

"Whatever it is you are offerring, I want no part of it," Rosina stated with finality as they reached the table, much to Opalina's disappointment.

"Now, Rosina, are you really going to break your promise to me," Malise asked with one raised eyebrow.

Rosina's head snapped in her direction, and she paled slightly. "Malise," she greeted neutrally.

Opalina glanced between the two, who apparently had a previous acquaintance. Perhaps that is why the red raven was usually the one that approached the black one in her dream.

"You gave me your word that if fate dictated that we meet again that you would seriously consider forming a coven with me. Now, see how fate has already done all the work for us! Here are the rest of our members," Malise declared as a waitress brought her her dinner. She moved the chair that sat between her and Aileen out with her foot. "Sit and at least chat with us."

Surprisingly, Rosina did as she was bid, and a few minutes later, she had her own bowl of stew to eat. Opalina had to wonder if, perhaps, the other woman should have greeted Rosina instead of her since she clearly knew her already.

Opalina sat in her seat silently, wondering what to say as she glanced between the others at the table. Now that they were all here, she knew that they would form a coven, but she didn't know what the next step was.

After a few moments of silnce, Aileen finally turned to the witch next to her. "So, what type of magic do you specialize in, Rosina?"

"Why ask a question you already know the answer to," the other returned with an unimpressed glance.

"So, you're really a dark witch," Alex asked with wide eyes.

Rosina rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to curse you," she stated in annoyance. She then took a closer look at the younger woman. "You're a holy witch, aren't you," she asked before moving to stand. "I've already had enough," she said to Malise, who grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving.

"At least finish your dinner and let them all introduce themselves," Malise argued. "I haven't gotten their names yet either."

Rosina muttered something under her breath but turned her attention back to her meal. After a few seconds of silence she groused, "Well, get on with it. Introduce yourselves if you're going to."

"I'm Aileen Grimsbane. I'm a thread witch," Aileen replied as she straightened in her seat.

"I'm Opalina Shade," she stated as she looked at Malise since she had already introduced herself to Rosina. "I'm not really a seer. I'm an empathic witch," she finished as she turned her eyes to the table top. She waited for the responses that usually garnered, but there was only silence until Alex continued the introductions.

When they had all introduced themselves, Alex asked in a chipper tone, which seemed to be her usual one, "So, what is our coven going to be called."

Rosina stood. "Thank you for your company, but I am not looking to join a coven right now or ever," she stated before turning and stomping away.

"Don't worry. I'll convince her," Malise said with a wink.

Opalina felt herself blush. She'd had no idea that the too were quite that well acquainted! Luckily, Gwen seemed to suffer no embarassment. "We'll leave it to you then."

Once Alex had stopped giggling, she turned to the rest of them. "Seriously, though, what are we going to call ourselves?"

"The Sisters of the Raven, of course," Lina stated as if it were obvious. "We all met at The Raven's Nest, so it suits us." She'd known for some time that it was the name of the coven she would join.

"I like it," Alex declared with a grin.

"If everyone else agrees, then it is fine with me," Josephine stated with a nod.

"I'm not sure," Gwen admitted as she began to fidget. "I mean about joining. I'm sure the name is fine," she clarified.

Opalina glanced at Aileen, but she seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. Before she could say anything furhter, she heard a call of her name and looked up to see Mrs. Brooks quickly approaching.

"Lina, you should have been back onstage half an hour ago," the woman chided her as she glanced over the table.

Opalina jumped from her seat. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Brooks," she immediately apologized before saying a quick good-bye to the others and heading for her room. She changed back into her dancing outfit before quickly heading for the platform and beginning her second performance of the night. She could barely concentrate, however, as she thought about each of the women that she had met that evening. She could only hope that she wouldn't have to wait long before they truly would form their coven.