Name: Ophelia Altair (Sitter, Former Head Clerk)
Age: 142
Nationality: Arafellan
Hair: Light Brown braids with silver bells on the ends
Skin: Fair
Eye Color: Brown
Physique: Slightly plump
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 140 pounds
Voice: Melodic mid-tone
Other: Thin gold circlet around brow
Personality: Ophelia is a rather pleasant person to be around. She almost always has a merry smile to give anyone. Not big on rules, she prefers to convince someone not to do something rather than tell them not to without reason. Loves knowledge and uses her knowledge to convince even the most hard-headed people to defer to her ideas. Afraid of all bugs. Loves birds. Is always ready for a discussion of any magnitude. As before noted, she is very convincing in her manner.
Character History[]
Ophelia was born in Arafel as a farmer’s daughter. She was a fragile little thing, so she would stay inside with her mother and learn to cook, clean, and sew. She enjoyed these simple little tasks and was never one to complain. She was content with her station and had no intention of trying to better it. She grew fond of reading during the cold winter months the Borderlands were famous for. Her father would buy her a new book every summer.
Close to her 17th birthday, she was attending a feast to celebrate a rather large raid from the Blight that was very successfully held off. She and some other girls her age were sitting along a long table and one of the Aes Sedai that was at the battle came to sit with them. The Yellow chatted for a few minutes and brought up the suggestion of testing the girls. All agreed to, for Aes Sedai are highly respected in the Borderlands. Ophelia and a friend of hers were both found able and were to go back with her in a few days.
Her novice years were good to her. Yes, she ended up in the Mistress of Novices once or twice, but she talked her friends out of a lot of their pranks. She was a quick learner and excelled at her studies. After nine years of Novicehood, she was taken to the silver arches and took the test for Accepted. Many tears later, she was welcomed to the Ring and took on an Accepted’s dress. Her friend, who took the test but a month later, never came out of the Arches. This was a huge hit on Ophelia. For nearly a year, her smile hid from the world, but through the combined efforts of a White and a Red, she realized the illogic of moping and was empowered to be strong, even during hard times.
The Brown Ajah took a strong interest in Ophelia and gave her many private lessons, all for which she was grateful. Eight years after the Arches, she was taken to the room to be tested for Aes Sedai. She passed. She swore the Three Oaths the next day and prepared to chose an Ajah. The other six Ajah’s almost all stepped back, for everyone expected her to pick Brown, especially the Browns. Eyes widened as she confidently strode toward the Sister holding the Gray shawl. Yes, she did love knowledge, but she felt she should use her knowledge to effectively mediate.
Three years later, she attached herself to the Ghealdanin throne for 15 years, advising several kings and queens. It was here that she changed her advisory status to the throne of her native Arafel. She was here for 35 years, advising two kings and a queen. She returned to the White Tower, hoping for a break in duties for even a short time. Well, it ended up being a very short time.
She wasn’t in Tar Valon three days before the Gray’s were hounding her to become the Ajah Head. The previous Ajah Head wished to go back into the world to advise a noble, which left the Grays without a Head Clerk. There had been several others put up for candidacy, but there was always some Sisters not in favor of her. And being the debaters they are, they were always able to talk the undecideds into voting against the other. When Ophelia returned, the Grays jumped to get her into the position. All sides favored her, she was intelligent, she had worn the shawl for over 50 years, she was one of the ‘undecideds’, and they thought her capable of giving the Gray Ajah a strong backbone. She was reluctant, but finally accepted the offer. She has kept her position for 55 years and has also kept a chair in the Sitters for nearly as long.