Opal is a key harbor city located on the southern coast of the northern continent, situated on the edge of the Sea of Torments. It is a member of the famous Jewel Cities collective and the only one of them not located in the southern continent. Though Opal is at least two centuries old, it is the younger sister city of Beryl, the ancient "Queen of the Jewel Cities" and the only other one of note in the Annals. Opal is a transit hub for people journeying across the sea to the southern coast. It has a Jewel Cities dialect as its language. Its famous Gardens establishment has exclusively served persons of refinement for two hundred years.
Five men from Opal would enlist in the Black Company at two different points in the group's history: the most important of these were Raven and Big Bucket.
The Black Company
For an unspecified number of years, Opal marked the southern border of the Lady's Empire, and was the main port for Soulcatcher's flagship The Dark Wings.
Raven was an aristocrat from Opal, a baronet, and like other youngsters of his status, he learned minor sorcery, which "was a diversion for wealthy youths who would rather play wizard than pursue legitimate studies". His wife Morningstar and her lovers (the Limper's subordinates) framed his uncles, cousins, and brothers for crimes for which they would be executed, left Raven for dead after an ambush, and stole his honors, titles, and properties.
Opal's port was where the Black Company first arrived on the northern continent. In the high-society Gardens at Opal, the Company had a tense encounter with the Imperial staff general Jalena. Moments later, Raven murdered his treacherous wife and two of her lovers.
Shadow Games
Croaker and the 5 other surviving members of the Black Company returned to Opal in Shadow Games. Now, Croaker was both an Imperial legate and general. He dined with the Lady at the Gardens, in the same spot where Raven had murdered his wife Morningstar at least 15 years prior. The Company soon picked up four new recruits from Opal: Big Bucket, Red Rudy, Candles, and Sparkle. Then, they embarked aboard The Dark Wings for Beryl.
The Silver Spike
Opal was sacked by the Limper, Toadkiller Dog, and their army during their destructive journey south across the northern continent. They remained inside the "ruins" of Opal for six days until an incautious sea captain entered the harbor to survey the destruction, and they commandeered the vessel. The Empire very quickly began rebuilding the city. Darling landed her windwhales at Opal, and forced Raven to have what turned out to be an anticlimactic reunion with the twin children he abandoned at least 15 years prior.
| Places in the Black Company's southbound odyssey toward Khatovar in Shadow Games |
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In the north and at sea:
In the south:
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