Ophelia

Ophelia Achouffe was born into one of the highest-ranking noble families in all of Solismenamus.

The Achouffe family is best known for producing many, many knight commanders across generations. Ophelia, too, had that expectation placed on her. From the day she was born, she has been continuously compared to Leone, an amethyst-eyed ancestor with the distinction of being the sole woman to lead the family, for Ophelia, too, was an "Amethyst Witch"her eyes were one and the same with the legendary figure.

However, the young Ophelia did not possess the legendary prowess with the sword or the magic of the previous Amethyst Witch, she was rather frail, and her progress with the sword moved at a glacial pace. The adults of the family grew more and more disappointed in her as she grew older. Ophelia was tougher than they gave her credit for, though, she met each and every disapproving look with unflappable composure and strict politeness. Her words were that of a hardened old knight, even though her face was still that of a fresh young girl. However, her gravitas comes from a heavy feeling in her heart, one that aches with the burden of everyone's expectations.

The Achouffe family is known for their characteristic skill with ice magic.

However, a family legend posits that only those born with purple eyes can attain true mastery. Being born with such eyes, Ophelia grew up under the expectation that her affinity for magic and swordsmanship would propel her to greatness. However, the cold truth was that the frail young girl could barely lift one of her family's swords.

After many long years of training, Ophelia was finally bestowed her own greatsword. Only the best of the family's young cadets were given a sword with their name engraved upon it, and it was supposed to be a moment of glory, a milestone for them to celebrate as they walked the path to knighthood.

But the sword was too heavy for Ophelia. Her form crumbled under its weight, and her swings wobbled in the wind. Instead of ice crystals forming on her blade, she could only form small drops of dew. So, the day that the second coming of the Amethyst Witch received her sword ended not in celebration, but on a rather foreboding note.

However, one person always stood by Ophelia, no matter what, her brother Ian. Ian was something of a prodigy with the sword and was incredibly attentive to his sister. Any time he came to a new realization or suffered a major setback, he would always share his findings with her.

He taught Ophelia about a knight's code of honor, and tried his hardest to shield her from their family's criticism. His steadfast presence made Ophelia determined to work even harder, if only for his sake.

"A knight's honor is worth just as much as their life. The fear of dishonor should be just as great as the fear of death."

Ophelia took these teachings to heart, and these words gave her the fire to push through her harsh training. With a steady foundation to work from, she made incremental progress that eventually put her ahead of her peers.

But one day, Ian vanished. Everyone in the family, Ophelia most of all, searched desperately for him, but they couldn't find a single trace of him; not even a note. Ophelia fell into a deep depression, one she couldn't express in words, for there was no one left to listen to her. The only thing that dragged her out of it was her own resolve, the resolve to go find her dear brother, even if it meant turning her back on everything else she had built, and despite whatever hardships awaited her.

Even though Ophelia hadn't seen Ian in ages, his words lived on within her. As she pushed on without him, her training was unbearably empty and each swing of her sword served as a reminder that her bladework was built on the foundation of his lessons. She missed him more and more with each passing day.

This was compounded by Ophelia pushing herself to train more and more to try and overcome her aching heart. Her family and friends' words of concern eventually turned into praise as her training paid dividends and she became stronger than any of her peers.

Her family turned their eyes towards Ophelia again, and her father, the head of the family, started to take an especially keen interest in her progress. Word that the "Amethyst Successor" had come back to life was whispered throughout the halls of the manor and even in the streets of the city, but Ophelia was in no place to bask in the glory. There was only one thing on her mind, and only one thing she had to do...

Some time later, Ophelia had the opportunity to show her skills before a panel of the family's elders. Yet her bladework was still imperfect; while her swings released chilling wisps, this was not the "ice" that the Achouffes were looking for. Even as disappointed onlookers gave up hope and one by one and began to leave their seats, Ophelia refused to lay down her blade.

With one last effort, she delivered a mighty swing, and conjured a wave of ice that froze the ground before her. The audience was stunned. Even the most hardened old knights could not help but let out a gasp. They knew the significance of what they had seen: the girl in front of them was going to elevate the family to new heights.

But Ophelia wasn't done. She brandished her greatsword and walked to the center of the training yard, staring down the elders, and in the firmest voice she'd ever mustered, she said:

"I will not join the knights! I will join Monster Tamers to become an adventurer instead!"

It should have been obvious to anyone close to Ophelia why she'd choose to become an adventurer. The job gave her the freedom to do whatever she wanted, and more importantly, often involved traveling to faraway places to look for missing people. She wanted to find her missing brother, and the rigid lifestyle required of a knight would hold her back.

Despite her family's protests, she declared that she would leave in a few days. Her father eventually agreed to let her go under two conditions: she would not receive any help from the family during her time as an adventurer, and she needed to come back in three years to join the knights.

Ophelia agreed to both and set out with his blessing, determined to use the three years given to her to find her brother and return triumphant.

From her family's manor, it took just over half of the day for Ophelia to arrive at the Manafall branch of the Monster Tamers guild.

She prided herself in making the trip on her own, she had never traveled such a long distance by herself before. She may have taken the wrong path a couple of times, but that was nothing a stone-faced turn and more walking couldn't fix! She did not know that the Monster Tamers guild was just a short walk from the Achouffe manor, short enough that some family servants made the walk there and back on their breaks.

"If only Ian were here, this trip would've been just four hours, not six..." Ophelia thought to herself.

Fortunately for her, the qualifications for becoming an adventurer do not involve being able to read a map. Ophelia's strength in combat was enough for her to quickly be admitted. However, in order to travel to the places she wanted to go to, she needed to raise her adventurer rank. And since her time was limited, she decided to prove herself by taking on a lengthy, difficult assignment: guarding a merchant caravan as they made their way to Hananis.

Ophelia eagerly embarked on her first assignment, certain that it would be the first steps on her quest to find her lost brother.