Orpal

Vurdalak Form

**Orpal**, later known as **Meln Narchat**, is a Vurdalak (Vampire-Phoenix-Dragon hybrid), Night's current host, the disowned eldest son of the Verhen family, and Rena's twin brother. He is also known to the Griffon Kingdom as the **Balkor copycat** and the **Dead King** to the Undead Courts.

## Appearance

### Human Form

Orpal is nearly as tall as Lith at 1.82 (6') meters tall, with the muscular build of an athlete, black hair, and brown eyes. Night uses Body Sculpting on him to make their body fit his ego. He looks nothing like during his youth, to the point that even Elina might not recognize him anymore.

### Vurdalak Form

The Vurdalak has a completely black face and no hair. His features are still that of a human, but the blackness of his skin makes it hard to distinguish anything but his eyes and mouth which completely white. His arms are thicker and his hands end with small claws. His legs are reverse-jointed and a pair of membranous black wings come out of his back. Two small horns protrude from his forehead, pointing at the sky while three flames - black, yellow, and blue - float above his head, akin to an incomplete crown.

## Personality

Orpal is selfish and prideful, constantly believing himself as the victim of wrongdoings and misfortune and blaming others for his problems. He is cruel, apathetic and sly, claiming his sister would be better off dead and plotting a vicious beating on his own younger brother. When confronted about his behavior, he becomes apologetic and meek, but refuses to see himself in the wrong.

He is also sadistic and has a repulsive libido, even lusting after his own sister and mother. Like most of those who gain power without effort, Orpal feels entitled to everything, letting his pride and lust cloud his vision.

## Background

### Orpal

After Lith's birth, Orpal does not understand why his poor family was making more children when they could barely feed the people currently in the family, and therefore develops a hatred for Lith because he causes Orpal to have less food to eat. He dubs Lith "Leech" and steals his food while feeding him. He makes the cruel suggestion that Tista would be better off dead due to her illness, incurring Tista and Rena's hatred and Lith's indifference.

He is later disowned by his family for planning an attack on Lith and sentenced to four hours of pillory, where he is shaved of all his hair and whipped ten times for his crimes. After that, he spends three days in jail to reconsider his actions. He attempts to implicate Trion but is rebuffed by one of his co-conspirators and former friend Rizel.

Lith asks Count Trequill Lark to keep an eye on Orpal in case he ever returns or attempts revenge, and Lark informs him that Orpal renamed himself Meln, had joined the military and was honorably discharged after 2 years. After the voluntary military service, Meln leaves the army because after two years he had failed to become even a Private First Class. Meln had proven to be talented, strong-willed, and resourceful, but his thirst for power often interfered with discipline. He had several demerits for arguing with his commanding officers and starting fights with the other soldiers due to his squadmates being promoted faster than him. Meln liked to use his fists more than his brains during an argument, something that the army couldn't tolerate. Following his barely honorable discharge, Meln falls into a spiral of crimes that lead him in and out of jail.

He loses a leg in a prison shortly after moving to the Gorgon Empire and is forced to live as a beggar on the streets until Night find and bonds with him after her unsuccessful attack on Lutia and failing to convince Trion to become her host. She Awakens him and spends several months refining his body and core. He witnesses Lith's tribulation in the Lost City of Kolga but doesn't understand what it means. He becomes driven mad with envy after witnessing Lith's empowered Hybrid Form and Demons of the Flames bloodline ability until Night forces him unconscious.

### Balkor Copycat

Orpal mimics Balkor's MO of sending marked cards to his targets, Lith's allies: "Past" to Count Trequill Lark, Marchioness Mirim Distar, Professor Zogar Vastor, Professor Krishna Manohar, and Headmaster Duke Marth; "Present" to Orion Ernas, Jirni Myrok, Faluel, and Kalla; "Future" to the Yehval household. Having stayed in contact with Trion as his emergency contact, Orpal is contacted by the army with news of Trion's death. Orpal colludes with Kamila's parents Crefas and Kima Retta (meeting them after having been kicked out of a village inn) to visit Lutia under the guise of delivering Trion's "suicide" letter and apologizing to his parents.

Though Lith is in Jiera on his first visit, he meets Lith and Tista again on the second and attempts to provoke Lith unsuccessfully while pretending to want to be a part of the family again. He gives the false version of his life in the Gorgon Empire as the son-in-law of a blacksmith, but Jirni exposes the Rettas' criminal activities and arrests them. She also discredits Orpal's fake backstory after he reveals too much due to his ego and desire to outdo Lith. Orpal reveals his true colors and Jirni kicks him out of the house. Vastor proceeds to physically subdue Orpal, who attempts to retaliate but is quickly restrained by Night due to the presence of many powerful beings.

On the night of Blackest Day, Orpal attacks the Lark mansion, killing Count Lark and his household staff after claiming the Kingdom had taken everything from him after he had dedicated his life to it. He arranges the corpses and the rubble to form the word "Past", and hangs Lark's corpse in front of the main entrance from an x-shaped ice structure in a twisted version of a scarecrow, with his monocle in the eye socket and even combing his hair.

Following the Three Horsemen's attack on the Kingdom's major cities, Orpal ambushes an exhausted Mirim in her household. He leaves her butchered body in plain view, the word "Past" written on the wall with her entrails. He also hangs her intestines to the ceiling after wrapping them around her limbs, making Mirim look like a puppet held by an invisible hand through bloodied strings. It is later revealed that "Night" who had attacked the city of Vesta was actually one of her Chosen, while Night and Orpal ambushed the Marchioness.

Orpal follows those he sent his cards, aiming to kill one of them on the winter solstice, but fails to find a proper opportunity to attack. He infiltrates Lutia on Lith's 19th birthday but is deterred from taking action against the Yehvals by the presence of Salaark, Leegaain, the Master, and his Chosen. When Vastor's anger at his shaky relationship with Zinya is shared with the hybrid Eldritches through their bond they scour the area, forcing him to retreat in fear. Night and Orpal learn about Lith's evolution to Tiamat, leading them to relentlessly train, she her magic and he his spearsmanship. She drives Orpal to train his body enough to move beyond the deep cyan core and for her to give birth to a better Tiamat by replacing the Abomination side with an undead side.

Orpal receives Archmage Velan Deirus's request for the assassination of Quylla Ernas and accepts it, sending one of the Lost Magi Tiennon Zavra to do the deed as one of Night's Chosen. Quylla's death is later revealed to have been faked by Jirni to eliminate Deirus.

Orpal orchestrates an attack on Lutia using numerous mercenary groups. He disguises himself as Zinya's late abusive husband Fallmug to torment the Yehvals, learning to mimic his voice from the public recordings of the court hearings. He kidnaps Frey and Filia Yehval and confronts Zinya, though Zinya sees through the disguise. Tezka saves the Yehvals and engages Orpal long enough for Vastor to arrive on the battlefield and decimate the mercenary groups. Night is forced to take over Orpal's body to survive against Tezka. She Spirit Warps away amidst the chaos of one of Tezka's spells with a Spirit Warp.

### The Dead King

Night orders one of her Chosen to turn Orpal into a Thrall and give him a blood core, giving his mana core and life force time to adapt to their undead counterpart. When he reaches the deep blue core and awakens his dormant Guardian bloodline, it swallows the undead energy, giving birth to something completely new.

## Quotes

* *"No one gives a damn about me wasting my time and sweat doing all the farm work! Gods, why did you let him live? Why you didn't give me any talent?"* (Chapter 8)
* *"This is not my brother, this is a Leech that is sucking my life away! I wish you died that cursed day!"* (Chapter 9)
* *"Everything he does is a slap in my face. I never get the respect that I deserve as the firstborn, and it's all his fault!"* (Chapter 12)
* *"I'm the eldest brother, I'm not supposed to beg runts for favors. I'm supposed to give orders and be respected for it! That Leech now has turned even the cripple against me! And I can't put Tista in her place, otherwise she will make me look like I'm the bad guy who picks on a sick little girl. Manipulative b\*tch!"* (Chapter 14)
* *"If I must go down, I'll bring them all with me. We'll share the same destiny, so I won't be alone. I refuse to be the only one to pay for this!"* (Chapter 16)
* *"And admit that I'm inferior to him? Never! Everything he can do, I can do it better."* (Orpal to Night, Chapter 1341)
* *"[Tista] was nothing but a parasite that sucked the life out of us. And Leech is a monster! From the moment he came into my home, he took away from me everything that made it home and you let him! How can you disown your own blood and keep a monster under your roof?"* (Orpal to his parents, Chapter 1341)
* *"I've given all my life to this shithole and what have I gotten in return? Nothing. The Kingdom has taken everything from me, it's only right that I take it back. I did warn you, Lark. You should have listened."* (Orpal to Lark, Chapter 1345)
* *"In my defense, I haven't seen Mom in years and I grew up without her. To me, now she's nothing but a nice piece of ass."* (Orpal to Raaz, Chapter 1854)
* *"Are you telling me that not only is my brother a powerful Divine Beast but also a potential Guardian?"* (Orpal to Night, Chapter 1857)

## Trivia

* Legion's thoughts on the character: "Ngl, Orpal is not Thrud or Vastor. He's bad to the bone and written to be hated. The more you want him dead, the more I've done my job well."

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 1249: Natural Undead (Part 1)
2. ↑ Chapter 1765: Light vs Darkness (Part 3)
3. ↑ Chapter 16: Revelations
4. ↑ Chapter 1337: The Prodigials' Return (Part 1)
5. ↑ Chapter 3: Unrelenting Practice
6. ↑ Chapter 14: Conflicts
7. ↑ Chapter 20: Ambush
8. ↑ Chapter 86: An Old Friend
9. ↑ Chapter 1271: Family and Gifts (Part 1)
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Chapter 1339: The Prodigals' Return (Part 3)
11. ↑ Chapter 1252: Demons' Horde (Part 2)
12. ↑ Chapter 1255: Spoils of War (Part 1)
13. ↑ Chapter 1318: Call Me Grandma (Part 2)
14. ↑ Chapter 1265: Black Sheep (Part 1)
15. ↑ Chapter 1345: Into Blackest Night (Part 1)
16. ↑ Chapter 1401: Pain and Sorrow (Part 1)
17. ↑ **REF NEEDED**
18. ↑ Chapter 1444: Master Plans (Part 2)
19. ↑ Chapter 1449: Too Much of a Good Thing (Part 1)
20. ↑ Chapter 1477: Lost Magus (Part 3)
21. ↑ Chapter 1488: Means and Ends (Part 2)
22. ↑ Chapter 1584: The Pain of Loss (Part 2)
23. ↑ Chapter 1766: Light vs Darkness (Part 4)
24. ↑ Legion on Discord