She was born in a London whorehouse in 1851 named Violet because that was her mother's favorite flower. Her mother doted on Violet despite protests from the other girls that the girl should be given away. When customers would appear she hid the girl underneath the floorboards of her room. Opal heard her mothers death there scrunched in darkness mice and roaches crawling around her. The screaming was intense and Opal was too frightened to move.
The group of sailors who killed her left, paying the head mistress before she could see the carnage. Violets mother was thrown into the river the next night. When her mother died Opal was given a choice, work for room and board or leave. With no money, family or education Violet became a prostitute at nine years old. When the men would come she would take as many as she could a night to punish herself for not taking action in preventing her mother's death. She often wept noiselessly until she became an empty shell. Emotionless, silent she sold her body hoping the pain would bring meaning.
"They would be above me, below me, pushing, pulling and grasping. It would hurt, but this physical pain let me know that if my body could feel pain that perhaps my mind could find feeling too."
When Violet was eleven a merchant came to the house requesting a woman. This man took Violet to bed but never finished the job. He became more fascinated with her mind than with her body. Violet was a sleeper and the merchant, Gerald DeLensia, awakened her to her mage nature that night. He saw her Avitar was beaten but not destroyed.
"He was tall with a black goatee draped in red velvet cloth. He spoke smoothly to the head mistress all the while looking at the group his eyes searching until they fell on me. His eyes were a yellow green that would come to remind me of the English sea on a clear day. He touched my arm and smiled."
He took her from the whorehouse to his ship, Saint Augustine, where he began to train her. He showed her that reality was an image, one that could be twisted and changed. Her Avitar manifested itself as the sea wind, whispering truths into her ears. DeLensia tried to heal the wounds of Violet's past but they were too deep for him to reach. They became casual lovers, mostly because DeLensia had no idea how to treat a child. They traveled to France, Spain and Italy trading information, goods and magic.
"I remember those days as the most carefree I have ever experienced. We seemed to be above the mortal plain dancing on truths we could change. Occasionally I would retreat into silence knowing the past was beyond me was impossible to change. Still the sea air and the whispered voice of the wind kept my heart at ease. Gerald showed me wonders of tastes and sounds I had never imagined in the squalor of the House.
"We were lovers but there was no romance between us. He treated me gently, though I could tell some of this was because he was unsure. He had no idea how to train a Mage nor what to do with a girl becoming a woman. I trusted him because there was nothing else but a past I didn't want to remember."
Gerald DeLensia had left a trail of deals gone sour both in the mortal and supernatural world. He smuggled drugs but more than that he smuggled magical items away from their owners. His disreputable service earned him enmity among many powerful beings. In 1865 a noble Ventrue took it personally when DeLensia overcharged him for stolen items. The Ventrue brought DeLensia and Violet before him determined to take both their lives. However, DeLensia was not helpless, many years of bargaining had given him the ability to squirm his way out of difficult situations. He left, having handed over Violet to the Ventrue.
"I thought I would stay with DeLensia until I died but he traded me for his life. I like to imagine he felt sorrow at having to give me away but more likely it was relief. I was becoming powerful and he had almost reached the limit of what he could teach me. Whitman found me as a shell that he felt could be sculpted into whatever he wanted. He found in me a child he had never had, one he could mold into whatever he wished."
Samuel Whitman was a powerful noble, owner of four large estates, and keeper of over 14 ghouls. Whitman was unsatisfied with the efforts of his staff calling them inefficient and petty. They constantly fought amongst themselves trying to earn his favor all the while earning disgust in his eyes. The young Violet brought Whitman a chance to, in his mind, sculpt the perfect servant. He allowed her to age until she was seventeen and gave her the more Catholic name, Sarah.
He sent her to private school during the day and taught her of the Kindred world at night. Sarah learned the feminine arts of cooking, embroidery, posture, singing, and the masculine talents of (remember this is 1865 the height of the Victorian era) finance, hunting, fighting and management. More than this, Whitman ingrained in Sarah the thought of Servant and Master. He taught her her role was an honorable and fortunate one.
At night, before she slept he read her stories of Servants who had done well and the rewards they reaped for this. For the first time in her life Sarah was being treated like a child, cared for and if not loved thought to be special. Nighttime was the best time for Sarah, where she basked in the attention of Whitman and morning she went to school which was interesting, it was the time in between evening and sunset that Sarah hated.
The other Ghouls of Whitman's estate were jealous of the attention Sarah had and tormented her before the sun set. They put roaches in her dinner, let her sit on tacks and worst of all didn't speak a word to her. On a huge estate Sarah was alone with all those she lived with united against her. She learned how to be alone, to meditate on life without interaction, how to make her goals her friends.
She became independent in every way except for a great dependency on her master. Whitman had intended this dependency believing her only thoughts should be her education and the prosperity of her master. In 1891 Whitman appointed her the head of his household. This position gave her power over her tormentors and management of Whitman's estate. This situation continued for thirty-eight years.
"My time with Whitman was all education. I learned talents' women were not supposed to know and how to hide those talents. I kept a low profile to the Kindred world dealing only with the internal matters of the estate. I devoted my free time to the improvement of my personal talents. I enjoyed this improvement of myself. It was something I could control and would allow me to control my surroundings."
In 1929, the older Ventrue realized he had come to depend on her. Whitman realized that if he kept Sarah he would lose his edge, and become lazy, a trait which would eventually lead to final death. Whitman decided to sell Sarah to the highest bidder. The talents and training of Sarah had not gone unnoticed, she now could play three instruments, speak Italian, French and Spanish, ride Cheshire horses, read and write beautifully, paint, and manage a huge estate. Bids for these skills were high and she quickly passed from owner to owner. A Toreodor named Kristan Quinton owned her for three years during which time she used Sarah primarily for performance purposes.
"Kristan did not recognize any talent I had except for that of the instruments I played. She would often order me to play for guests showing the artistic talent she kept around her. She was captivating enough on her own light gray eyes and golden hair. Her voice was rich like golden church bells. Her drab house staff dressed in black hiding from the eyes of her visitors, enhancing her appearance."
Kristan bored of Sarah and sold her to Harold Ristan, a Ventrue. When Harold realized the talents Sarah possessed he knew she was worth much more than he bought her for. Ristan had her sold for a significant profit to the Tremere.
"Harold Ristan was intelligent. He knew Kristan would only mention my artistic talents leaving out practical ones she felt were useless. When he learned both my backgrounds as a Mage and my experience with finances he immediately called upon the Tremere clan. As I remember he gained quite a bit in money and favors."
The Tremere taught her basic blood magic allowing her to learn only as far as they thought proper for a servant to know. Sarah spent most of her time managing the assets of the Tremere clan. Where Kristan and Harold had advertised her existence the Tremere sought to hide it. She sunk into the secrecy they provided more comfortable in the silence and darkness of autonomy. Sarah lived with the Tremere in Vienna for seven years gaining attention from very powerful figures.
"The Tremere know the meaning of duty and service the glory of magic and the power of silence. My time with them was structured and purposeful. I spent many pleasant evenings talking of the joys of being a mage and the supernatural creatures that occupy this world with us. I found the direction the Tremere gave me to be comforting."
One night in 1943, as she practiced the violin an elder Tremere came for her. He asked her to pack her things and come with him. She obeyed quickly as she had been taught to do. They traveled for two days before they came to the meeting place of the Inner Circle. Cloaked figures stood in a circle around her for ten days observing her as she slept, spoke, begged and finally thirsted. Sarah began to age from her appearance of seventeen until she reached middle twenties.
At this point, as she writhed on the floor in the agony of rapid aging, that the Ventrue elder fed her from a chalice of mixed blood. She looked into the face that had both held her and saved her and felt devotion. Her love expanded into ecstasy and pain was added to the pleasure of powerful blood. Her eyes bled as they changed shape and her right arm burst at her side veins popping under the stress.
When her transformation was complete three days had passed in what seemed like a moment. She spent two years with each of her masters her devotion becoming stronger each time she drank their blood. Gangrel showed her wilderness, how to survive without modern tools, how to speak to animals and learn from the earth. Toreodor taught her the art of life, unlife and everything in between.
She learned how to have a discerning eye for beauty and blood. Ventrue taught her of her responsibilities to the Inner Circle and to herself. She was shown failure and success; punished and rewarded for both. Tremere taught her of the supernatural how it hides and screams, and what creatures lie beyond perception. Malkavian showed her perception through madness taught her to hear the whispers of the network and how to let go of the truth to reach a further truth. Nosferatu taught her secrets where they lie in wait of discovery.
She learned fear and the loss of fear. When this was done they named her Opal for the shattered but beautiful qualities of that gem. Her second name is Servos referring to her devotion to the Inner Circle. They often take and give her blood further mixing the bond between each other.