Lady Opal Copperscheme

"Greater men than you have threatened me, Ambassador. Challenge me if you wish. But know this: with a word from me, my faithful steward shall break your bones in alphabetical order ".

―Opal Copperscheme, addressing a Shadowforge Senator

## Physical description

### Eye color

Amber

**Lady Opal Copperscheme**, The Lady of Umhach Guim, is the leader of The Stray Embers and only living member of the once-prominent Clan Copperscheme. A noblewoman and information broker of considerable reach and resources, she is a reclusive, private individual, who directs the Embers in their search for magical artefacts across the face of Azeroth.

For many months, rumours had circulated concerning the true purpose of Lady Opal's quest for such powerful items. Some claimed she sought further defences against her enemies, while others saw her as an eccentric collector who specialised in ancient magics. The truth was revealed to the Embers that Lady Opal was suffering from an accursed affliction; an affliction that she would go to any lengths to overcome.

Sequestered within her home, the castle of Umhach Guim, Lady Opal stretches out her influence through her many connections and contacts throughout the world.

### Description

Layers of black hair curl around her shoulders like smoke, with burnt orange hues smouldering at the tips. Three weighted grey pins, each holding the image of a skull, chain her hair within tight, knotted braids. Two tattooed slabs of black ink mark her face; one begins at her chin, moving up and across her lower lip, while the other runs across her dark, heavy-lidded eyes. The colouring is fresh and crisp, and it is clear she has the ink regularly reapplied.

Her smile is like a knife that just caught the light.

She is articulate and well-spoken, with her Dwarvish accent barely perceptible under normal circumstances. Her skin is completely unblemished and she is imbued with a powerful Arcane essence, perceptible to anyone accustomed to magic.

She has a short stature, even for a Dwarf, with broad, square shoulders, small hips and a narrow waist. She predicates velvet tunics with a high collar and comfortable Spellcloth legwear. She typically carries with her a collection of grey and silver jewellery around her wrists, fingers and fixed in her ears. The one exception is a golden locket which hangs around her neck on a heavy gold chain. Wherever she travels, she wears a tabard the colour of magma that sports the crest of her lost Clan. She always attempts to keep it meticulously repaired, pressed and well-kept, even in the most difficult circumstances.

### Personality

One truth that most would agree with upon meeting the reclusive Lady Copperscheme is that she is a staunch pragmatist with a streak of ruthlessness even uncommon in the halls of the Shadowforge Senate. She is intelligent and well-learned concerning many erudite topics, from obscure history to the intricacies of magic, and she delights in knowing everything she can about a situation, considering all the angles before making a move. She is fiercely protective of those she considers under her protection, and though her it may not burn openly, the fastest way to earn her fury is to place anyone she considers under her care in unnecessary danger.

She has a fairly liberal view for a Dark Iron, and quite willingly accepts members aligned with the Horde into her service, and neither condemns nor entertains the use of darker magics such as Fel and the Void. Lady Opal does not care about the methods in which a task is completed, only that is is completed to her satisfaction.

### Public History

Little is known of Lady Opal's formative years, other than she was a sorceress of Clan Blackmantle of prestigious talent and had suffered from an affliction from her earliest days. She entered the public record after her marriage to Rendan Copperscheme, and she joined him in his modest estate of Umhach Guim. Now titled as Lady Opal, the new matriarch of the Clan had a shrewd aptitude for politics, and when Rendan began his Senatorial campaign, she put all her efforts in aiding him in this endeavour.

Rendan's campaign was successful and he joined the Shadowforge Senate, bringing wealth, connections and esteem to his family. It also brought envious eyes to look upon the new Senator, and Rendan and Opal garnered many enemies within Shadowforge City during his tenure; both jealous junior officials who vied for his position and fellow Senators and peers outraged at his radical policies.

Four years after the Third War, Lady Opal suffered a deep personal tragedy when a band of assassins infiltrated Shadowforge City and killed the Emperor Dagran Thaurissan. Though her husband stood in their way, they slaughtered Rendan and left his corpse lying before the throne room. Now widowed and left to contend with his estate and enemies, Lady Opal became a recluse. Through her husband's remaining friends and lasting trade agreements, she transformed Umhach Guim into a veritable fortress, and closed herself off from most of the world.

Instead, she expanded her influence with a variety of contacts, connections and servants which she garnered through intermediaries. Chief among them was her steward, bodyguard and right hand woman, Cassyla Westwater. She became a collector of ancient artefacts and arcane relics, and established an enviable information network across almost every continent of Azeroth.