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| | <br />Several map cases. | | <br />Several map cases. |
| | <br />Bag of jade | | <br />Bag of jade |
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| − | ==Background==
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| − | Opal Saltwell, the only daughter of a noble family of Maukai, one on the bottom of the top rung of society... never the closest to House Cynis's people or aims, perhaps that was why.
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| − | Opal was certainly not fond of them and had to practice a lot to hold her tongue, being direct and passionate by nature. She was far from a society maiden, sailing on the family's vessels to learn one of the ways they made money, overseeing their interests on trading voyages.
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| − | One such voyage brought her more than profit to the family... a lusty port affair soon became much more and she returned home with her lover, Li-Ting. Thoughts about noble marriages could wait, and she'd find a potential husband who would understand.
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| − | Someone else was less understanding... Vandar Cynis was an ambitious patrician whose family had sent him west before another relative took his head off. He had the classic beauty of a Dragon-Blooded and their raging passions, but none of their talent or common sense. He felt that he could impress his aunts by bringing the Saltwell family closer to their sphere of influence, and what woman could resist his charms?
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| − | Vandar arranged for Li-Ting to “vanish” into the hands of a slaver band, neatly paying off a debt he had to them and made his move on Opal at her townhouse, hinting that there was no longer anything coming between them now. He pressed himself on her over her verbal protests... She made a more forceful rejection after that, and once his hand was pinned to the table with a knife he confessed everything!
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| − | Opal ran for the docks... the ship he described was gone! She dashed onto one of her family's ships, rallied the crew and set out in pursuit! The longest week of her life later, they overtook the slave ship and she was the first one over the rail. The scuppers ran red with blood, not a single slaver survived. She cut her way into the hold, hundreds of slaves looking up at her... not one was her beloved Li-Ting. But in a way ALL of them were Li-Ting, all torn from family and lovers, made to suffer and die for greed. How could she turn her back on any of them?! Her heart was breaking as she declared “You are all free now... and someday, EVERY slave will be free.” The dark hold lit up with the light of the sun as the Zenith crest appeared on her forehead. “This power is to defend those in need” came a voice in her head, the voice of her father and favorite teacher and first captain, warm and understanding as the sun.
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| − | Adopting the alias “Captain Stormhawk,” Opal set out to become the scourge of slavers and raiders throughout the region, not just on Ashrapur... but the opium cartels there were a frequent target of her wrath. Her parents cover her extended absences as “spiritual retreats” and “trading voyages.” Captain Stormhawk is gaining her own influence on the island as a force for liberation and more direct action against the enemies of the state that can't be officially acted against, within and without... Few are able to make the connection between her two lives and those that do have no motivation to reveal it.
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| − | She has encountered others touched by the Sun in her voyages and they have banded together in a way that feels natural, as if they have done it before. One helped her discover an island that was shrouded in mist until their arrival. On the beach was a cairn marked with a golden sword, one that called to her across the ages, a mighty weapon from her past life.
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| − | Opal established a port there, a secret town to provide a home for those she has rescued who cannot go back to their old lives.
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| − | Opal is a lean young woman with deeply tan skin and deep blue hair, her eyes nearly as dark. As Captain Stormhawk, she wears a reinforced buff jacket and tall boots, her hair in a thick fighting braid. She maintains a frightful presence as the Captain, like a bared blade pointed at anyone who might do her harm. When ashore and acting as a Saltwell family member, she favors simple dresses or even pantaloons.
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