Maja Opos

*"My path lies within the shadows and shall remain there for that is where my work resides, I shall never divulge the secrets of this circle to an outsider, I am a now a link in the circle which circles the world and does not seek the world's destruction or betterment but simply for the realm to be as it is so that our work may forever continue in the shadows."* - Maja paraphrasing her pledge to the Crimson Circle after becoming a member

Maja Opos otherwise known by her druidic name of Malthena was a female Vallin that was born and raised in the Free Lands far west from the southern kingdoms to a father that served as one of her town's local guards and a mother who served as a tavern waitress, early into her childhood Maja spent a lot of her time with the other children roaming around the outskirts of her town Tyrid having a relatively average upbringing. Going into her teen years thanks to her father she would be able to learn how to use a bow properly with her father providing basic training for her allowing for her to get to grips on using ranged weapons which eventually led her to going on a hunt with her father and a couple of the town guards, during the hunt Maja would come across a small owl that seemed to form a connection with her partially revealing her own magical properties having now bonded with the bird keeping it as a pet upon her return home. In her late teen years she would begin noticing more signs revolving around her ability to use magic specifically sleight of hand magic and illusions however since she was untrained this was limited so she spoke about it with her parents who told her about magical users in the north being referred to as Druids that could provide answers, despite knowing about this both Maja's mother and father prevented her from going to see them as they were an isolated group and they did not trust them. The following day whilst roaming around Tyrid she would come across a travelling northern mercenary who claimed to know a bit about the group she was seeking and would only take her if she paid him, whilst taking the risk of whether the mercenary did or did not actually know anything about the group she would pay him regardless and the two set off on their journey with Maja taking her pet owl with her. After various events and days of travel she would eventually meet the Druid Order who initially chose to decline allowing her into their sanctum however after seeing her owl and her connection to it they would reconsider and invited her in, the leader of the Order would tell Maja that the owl that followed her was not simply a pet but was also her spirit animal named Malthena which served as both her protector and guide. They would also go on to explain that not every Druid had a spirit animal with it being uncommon but not unheard of as other Druids throughout history had this gift, for several years Maja would go on to learn and train under the Druids learning how to cast proper illusion spells as that was her specialty alongside small healing spells should she ever need to use them. Once these years had passed Maja would become an official member of the Druids having somewhat mastered her own spells and provided help and aid to people she had come across including the healing of some of the local wildlife, now being an official member she would once again be allowed to roam the world however her first journey was to return home however whilst she made her way south she would come across a group of barbaric warriors trying to kill a single man. Utilising her illusion spells she was able to distract the warriors allowing for the man to use his own knives to kill each warrior quickly and efficiently leaving what seemed like the leader alive to interrogate him, seeing her illusion spells in action the man would thank her and offered her to help him on a job that would get both of them paid. Having not as much money as she once had to begin with she would accept and she would learn that the man was performing an assassination contract to kill a bandit chief to prove himself however he would not reveal who or what he was proving himself to, the two would manage to complete the job and met at a rendezvous to collect payment however upon arrival the man would explain that he asked for Maja's help due to her own abilities but told her nothing about them but the contractor they had met with chose not to believe him and instead killed him. Leaving her alive the contractor was impressed with her abilities revealing that his organisation had been watching the two closely and already knew that she was the better candidate for their group as he then proceeded to offer her to join his organisation, after witnessing the other man being killed she would immediately refuse the offer claiming that she was a Druid and her beliefs revolved around protecting people not killing them without question. The contractor would reveal that his organisation represent justice and protection whilst also being paid for their services believing that simply protecting people and not dealing with the situation simply wouldn't be enough, despite being a Druid she would resonate with this thought as when she trained under the Druids she never really believed in just protecting someone or something and not dealing with the aftermath. Pondering on what the man had said she would then recant her original statement saying that she sort of understood him but still did not understand who he was or the group he represented, the contractor would reveal that he was a member of the Crimson Circle who were a secretive group of spies and assassins that did jobs across the realm that fell in line with their own beliefs of keeping the eco system of kingdoms and lands in balance. Whilst not fully agreeing with the ideology of this group Maja would agree to at least learn more about them going into it with an open mind which would simply please the contractor who thought that she would be a fine addition to their circle, for the remainder of her life with decades passing Maja would go on to become a member of the Crimson Circle with each year passing and her further believing in the group's beliefs eventually becoming one of their master spies and assassin.

## Biography

### Second Era

#### The Owl

In the small town of Tyrid within the Free Lands the young Maja Opos was born to a town guard father and a tavern waitress mother who both thanks to their positions and occupations within the town were able to provide a relatively stable upbringing for her, during her childhood she would spend most of her time with other kids in town forming a friendship group that would constantly venture outside of the town walls to play games such as hide and seek and tag. When playing these games her friends including herself would pick up on the fact that she was relatively quick on her feet and knew how to keep out of sight even being as quiet as a mouse which made it extremely hard to find her in hide and seek, these attributes would unknowingly to her only improve with time as she got older continuing to play these same and similar games with her friend group. Eventually going into her teenage years Maja would help her father make arrows and eventually her own small bow which began to interest her in the art of using a bow and arrow which her father would provide some aid with this hobby, due to her father's service in the town guard he would be able to help her in basic training of how to use her bow teaching her how to hold it properly and how to aim. After having a whole weeks worth of training with a bow she would be invited by her father to join him and a few other local hunters to go on a nearby hunt where she could be their spotter looking for good game for the hunters to kill, whilst on the hunt she would help her father and the others track a few smaller creatures waiting to hopefully come across a much larger beast however as they traversed the forest she would come across a small looking owl that locked eyes with her allowing for her for a split second to see through the owl's eyes before returning to her own body. Having been freaked out by this she would quickly return to her father and the group who had already managed to hunt a boar and were on their way to return home however her father would proceed to ask her where she went but Maja would simply respond that she gotten lost, upon their return home Maja would be visited by the same owl who would help her realise her powers of magical illusion and stealth alongside her ability to see through the owl's eyes. With a few years passing going into her later teenage years she began noticing that her aptitude for her magical power was increasing as she was able to conjure her power with much more ease however since she had not been trained in these powers her usage was still very limited, seeing that she couldn't do anything about it she would talk to her parents about what she believed to be was magic that she was able to wield. Originally upon being told both of her parents did not believe her as they had never seen any form of magic before and that the Free Lands had little to nothing when it came to magic however she would proceed to show them the little power she possessed to confirm her story which only stifled her parents, despite having never seen magic first-hand before her mother would tell a story from someone she had overheard in the tavern speaking about a group of Druids in the north that were also magical practitioners who may be able to help her understand her powers. Her father would be against this idea of Maja going so far north due to the various problems and overall tension between the kingdoms there believing that she could be caught in the middle of a war if she wasn't careful, knowing that her father would not change his mind she would speak to her mother in secret to learn more about the man who had told this story with her mother revealing that he was still in town for a couple of days.

Sneaking out to the tavern one night she would search for the man whom her mother spoke of who was indeed still at the tavern recovering from his travels where upon meeting him he would reveal to her that he was a mercenary that had just come down from the north helping various lords and northern nobles with their war troubles, Maja proceeded to ask about his story revolving around the Druids in the north and if he had ever come across them. The sellsword would claim that he had and told his story to her revealing that they were very isolated choosing to live in solitude away from warring northern kingdoms or hostile tribes as they had began distrusting a lot of them, whilst still not entirely believing him she would ask him if he could take her to this order however due to the length of the trip he would ask for payment in the event that they are attacked on the road. Her mother having already anticipated this would give Maja a sum of money for the mercenary which she would use and the two would set off on their trip the following day after she snuck away from her father, whilst on the road she would ask about what was happening in the north and why he came south for rest which he would respond by telling her the current situation with the north as various members on the Council of the North were warring against each other with some simply seeking to just expand their own territory but others seeking to restore the northern kingdom of Forline and even some who had resulted to raiding due to limited food resources in their own lands. The two whilst on their travel north would be ambushed by the same sort of raiders that the mercenary was describing and both of them were forced to defend themselves however not wanting to reveal her magic she would simply resort to her bow utilising her training that she had been given by her father, with one holding back the raiders with his sword and the other using her bow to pick them off the two would be able to defeat their ambushers and continued on their path.

#### The Druids

Eventually the two would manage to reach the road that the mercenary had claimed to have met the group of passing by Druids further claiming that they regularly used this road however he knew not for what purpose, after several minutes of waiting by this road the two would come across a group of Druids passing by like he had mentioned before and since he had brought Maja to them he would now leave her to go and talk to them whilst he went his own way. Confronting the Druids in their path she would ask them if they were the order she had been told about to which one of them simply stating that they were would proceed to ask what it was that she was after as they had no money, after clearing up that she was not a bandit she would tell them of her magical properties and that she believed their order may be able to help her fully understand it and how to use it properly. The spokesperson of the group would tell her that whilst very few possessed magic their order were not taking in new people due to the northern wars affecting both their trust and the balance of the land advising her to visit the wizards that resided in the southern kingdoms, as they turned away she would then begin rambling about how her owl helped guide her to their order which would stop them in their tracks. Upon seeing the owl that she spoke of the group would change their tune instead promising that her questions would be answered by their order's leader proceeding to have her follow them back to their sanctuary, as she followed the group they would venture deep into the forests of the north away from any other form of civilisation which she presumed was for their safety and solitude before then seeing their home full of magical users and all who focused their gaze on the newcomer into their home. As they continued on they would eventually reach the hut of the leader who was introduced to her as Akron and as they met he would ask for privacy for the both of them for he needed to speak to her alone and as they were left he would begin by telling her about his order, he would tell the story of Elror who was the first to openly use magic publicly and allowed magic to flourish in the southern kingdom of Valline with large amounts of wizards and other magical users such as himself would live peacefully under the king's rule and indeed the future kings however when the war against Tozor would eventually kill the remaining three kings the coalition of mages would end as new rulers emerged and some did not like magic as much as others forcing them to split apart. He then continued saying that he was the one that led some of their group to the north as it was relatively still untamed since the fall of the northern kingdom and that he foresaw a vision of a new magical order being formed in the north helping to preserve peace over the land, after telling his own story he then proceeded to tell Maja that her owl's name was Malthena which was indeed her druidic name claiming that the first Druids that moved north with him before dying would cast a spell that took their soul transferring it to certain animals and then would spend the rest of their time finding their human counterpart. As she observed her owl now named Malthena Akron would state in the simplest terms that the owl's soul and her soul are two souls combined making her more powerful than other mages but also a rare Druid as few in their order has a spirit animal that served them but those who did in history did great deeds throughout the lands.

Once she heard the answers to her questions it only seemed that she was more confused than we she set off on her journey to begin with but Akron seeing her power would offer to take her into his order and train her not only in her own magic but in the ways of becoming a Druid if she wanted, since she had technically not achieved what she had set out to do and that was to understand her abilities she would accept this offer in the hopes of furthering her understanding. Beginning her training with magic Maja was first taught their most important lesson of life which was to "master the ways of life" serving as the order's motto and scripture its meaning was not quite so literal but rather meaning to master the way of the world and the nature that surrounds it for nothing is more important to a Druid than the land they stand on and the land they mean to preserve, this would mean becoming one with nature which considering that she as a child always wandered around the countryside around her home and enjoyed being alone with nature allowing for her connection to the land to come much easier. As she gained a greater connection with the land surrounding her she would be able to form a closer bond with her owl allowing her to transfer her consciousness into the bird being able to see through her eyes over the northern lands, Akron would go on to explain that her owl could help her see far distances and provide great information for her without having to go anywhere also stating that forging a proper bond with her spirit animal is the first step into her training. For the next few years Maja would be given training in using her illusion spells being able to conjure up a decoy of herself that could both serve as a distraction and another version of her to attack her enemies at multiple angles alongside towards the ending of her practice she would also be able to create a shadow blade which she could use to defend herself in melee however she would later use it to help assassinate her targets, after mastering some more of her spells she would be given a series of tests to show if she held the morals and codes of a Druid so she could then be made an official member of their order. Her tests would consist of utilising her healing abilities to heal various people and wildlife showing both her skill and that she was true to being a protector of the realm and the inhabitants of it leading to her second test which saw her finally bind her soul to her spirit owl allowing for the bird to become an extension of herself, her final test was to recite her official oath promising to serve and protect the realm including those in need and when the time came against the dark forces of evil. After passing her tests she would be formally inducted and made a member of the Druids by Akron who would inform her that she would be able to roam freely across the lands keeping her oath and training with her she may do good deeds, seeing as she had now a better understanding of her own magical abilities and talents she would be happy that she finally received answers to her questions alongside a spirit animal from which she no longer treated as a pet.

#### Crimson Circle

Having been satisfied with what she had learned and her question been answered she would take what she learned and chose to leave the north to return south back to her home to continue helping her parents for a few more years, whilst on her way down south she would come across a group of brigands who surrounded a single man looking as if they were planning to rob or kill him which prompted Maja to use her illusion spells to both distract and confuse the group as the man proceeded to kill each one of them leaving the last one alive. Before interrogating the bandit the man would thank Maja for the help and seeing her skill with spells and combat would offer her to help him with his contract of killing a brigand chief that was pillaging and killing local northern villagers between the southern and northern kingdom borders, seeing as she now dedicated her life to protecting the realm she would decide to put her skills to the test in a real situation choosing to accept the man's offer and the two after having interrogated the thug headed off to the encampment that the brigands were at. As they arrived they would see the camp from where the thugs operated from attacking passing villagers and merchants from which the man would come up with a plan to infiltrate it, utilising her spells she would cause a distraction by setting a small fire on one of the tents luring most of the bandits away from the chief's tent allowing the man to sneak in and assassinate his target. After having achieved his goal the two would flee the camp and made their way to the a rendezvous point from where the man was to away to receive his reward or at least as far as she knew, upon arrival the two would immediately be met by a cloaked man who was confused as to why he was met with two people instead of the singular person that the contract was given to which the man would remark that she helped him succeed in his mission. Without hesitation the cloaked figure would kill the man right in front of her as she was struck with confusion and shock at the same time to the situation that had just unfolded the man who had carried out the killing in front of her would proceed to reveal himself as a member of a secret organisation called the Crimson Circle who had been watching the progress of the contract he had assigned and had realised that a true candidate for their group was her, Maja would immediately question the man about the group as she had never heard anything about them and who they were loyal to. The man simply responded that their organisation was loyal to the realm believing that every killing was either a small contract that would not upset the balance of the realm or a bigger killing being deemed a necessary death depending on the target, seeing her magic and skill with a bow and arrow the man would formally invite her to meet with other Crimson Circle leaders on an island between Harthar and Artia which seemed to be the hideout and headquarters for the group. Arriving on the island the two would make their way to Thorne Tower the former home to a Knight of Valline and supposed founder of the Crimson Circle whose last name was "Thorne", upon arrival Maja would meet various other cloaked individuals all who hid their identities from her from which she could only assume they made up the leadership of the group.

Meeting the group they would explain more about their organisation specifically that their goal was simple to ensure that the realm remained as it was in perfect balance with both good and evil to exist their group could co-exist taking contracts from anyone however not accepting contracts that would upset the balance of the realm on a massive scale, whilst they killed both good and bad people the group would never claim to support either side Maja was still unsure about her offer to join. Instead the group would convince her by explaining their actions were simply to protect the realm much like her Druid order however they took more action and precautions to ensure their goal was achieved which when put that way would make more sense to her, while she trained with her order she remembered that she often asked questions about the order's pacifist approach to protecting the realm and only using their powers to defend people rather than attacking the instigators and she began believing that the Crimson Circle's idea of protecting the world was a much better outlook. Seeing that the group had a similar vision to hers Maja would half heartedly accept the offer to join still with some reluctance however before joining she would have to perform an initiation act which consisted of her slicing her palm drawing blood onto an altar whilst reciting their pledge signifying both her loyalty and blood oath to the organisation being inducted as an acolyte of the group, being a new member to the Crimson Circle her first contract would have to be personal to her so that she may show both her dedication and discipline when killing someone she hates. Remembering from when she was younger she would recall the mayor of Tyrid who was crooked and corrupt often taking bribes from small bandit groups so they may freely rob caravans and passing traders which in turn annoyed her father serving as a town guard, her teachers would teach her how to hunt her target learning of their daily movements and dealings in case they would provide better information on when to strike the target. After studying the mayor she would learn that his deals were mainly conducted by the commander of the town guard however if the deal was a big pay out he would personally meet to oversee the negotiations for price, the location would be in the woods nearby to the town but out of the way so that nobody would see giving Maja her perfect opportunity to strike the mayor. Posing as a bandit Maja would inform the commander of the town guard about setting up a big heist on a wealthy trader who due to the amounts involved would get the mayor directly involved and the meeting would be set, the mayor and some of the town guard would arrive one of them being the commander would await the arrival of the bandits who wanted to deal which she would utilise her illusion magic to create duplicates of herself scattered across the woods surrounding the guards and the mayor. Using her illusion spells to disorientate the group she would in the chaos take her moment to slit the mayor's throat and end his reign of corruption over her home and town before any other trader could be robbed, after having done the deed she would visit her parents in their home before returning to the Crimson Circle to update them on her adventures. Upon returning home before revealing any of her adventures to her parents her father would inform her of the death of the mayor as to him supposedly being killed by a group of bandits that must of double crossed him on a deal, since the death of both the mayor and commander of the town guard Maja's father would be promoted to the new commander position of the town guard whilst Tyrid didn't have a leader he would fulfil both positions.

After hearing her father and remembering her promise that she gave to the Crimson Circle she would proceed to only tell her parents about her Druid teachings and the magic she was now able to conjure to which whilst her father was annoyed with her disregarding what he had told her not to go north he was still proud of her like her mother, from this visit she would tell them that she could not remain and that her duty as a Druid now saw her to roam east to meet other magic users and the groups they belonged to which was all a lie to cover for her work for the Circle. As she departed home she would return to Thorne Tower to once again convene with the Circle members on her next job or jobs for her future which over the years allowed her to hone her craft as an assassin and skilled fighter amongst her order eventually becoming a master assassin for the group, with decades passing and Maja getting ever deeper into the ideologies of the Crimson Circle she would eventually have a change of heart after uncovering that numerous senior and high ranking members within the group had planned to unite the north under an oppressive puppet ruler by plotting to murder the other northern rulers which directly challenged the goals of the Circle and so this would lead her to betray them by having her owl send a letter to Akron informing him of these plots from which the Druid leader from his own visions knew this was the oppressive ruler that Tozor would eventually manipulate to serve him. The following attempts of the lives of the northern rulers would either directly be stopped by the Druids or indirectly stopped through other methods which saw some northern rulers garner respect and favour for magical users whilst others believed that it was magical users trying to kill them leading to several Druids being killed or hung leaving Akron and the rest to relocate to an even more secluded location, after the plots and assassination attempts were thwarted the remaining Crimson Circle members were hunted down by Maja who sought to eradicate them fully so that they could never perform any other plot again that would cause chaos or discourse across the realm. In her final years after finishing off any remaining members she would eventually return to Tyrid where she settled in her family's home before she would die peacefully to be buried next to her parents in the town that she had grown up in.

## Legacy

Upon her death many Druids believed that Maja's spirit would transfer into Malthena her owl and this would remain a mystery among their order as the owl continued to roam across the northern forests observing and reporting back to Akron in the following years after her passing, years after she died Maja was recognised by the Druids as one of their best magical users not only for her connection to her spirit owl but for helping to save the north and protecting the realm from dark forces alongside being known by a rare few for being a master assassin having killed various important and non important people all who were known for their evil misdeeds.