The youngest of 8 children, Ezra was fighting for scraps and attention from the time she was born. Her father, an old confidence man now out of schemes, used to send the children out to beg. He said that people were less likely to let a bunch of kids starve. For many years, that was the life she knew; squalor, begging, and going to bed hungry and cold. The ones that brought back the most money were the ones that got the most food and that never seemed to be Ezra. She began to loathe everyone.
One day, she was searching for scraps when she overheard an argument.
Peeking around the corner, she spotted a group of men. Two of them were big, burly, and threatening a third man. As one of them lunged towards him, he struck out with flames. Screams and the smell of burning flesh filled the air and Ezra watched with hungry eyes as the spellcaster calmly walked away. He deigned to glance down at her as he passed and changed her life forever.
For months, she tried to cast a spell. Any spell. She kept away the cold and the hunger with determination and endless tries. Nothing worked. It was only a few short years later, when she was bringing coins back to her father and one of her brothers, Zandu, tried to take the money from her that something happened. Refusing to give up her hard-won money, she fought her brother. He won, knocking her against the wall. As he turned to walk away, the path of garbage in front of him suddenly ignited.
Ezra ran away that night. She had never forgotten the spellcaster from all those years ago. Every night when she closed her eyes, she could see his face. She tracked him down and threw herself on the ground in front of him, begging him to teach her. She promised to do anything just as long as he would teach her. He accepted with the promise that, after he taught her, she’d never have to beg for anything ever again.
She learned quickly under him. From dawn until dusk, her life became filled with constant lessons. He talked about raising the dead and that death could be an illusion. He talked about power and how most people were too afraid to reach out and take it. He rigorously put her through language lessons and tests – reminding her, continually, that if she couldn’t handle it, he could find another student. Ezra, slowly, became well acquainted with how to make deals with daemons or how to recognize them. Slowly, she began to learn more of Urgathoa.
Anything her mentor asked of her, she did. As she grew older, he talked of marriage. However, it was not meant to be. She awoke to screams and the smell of smoke. A mob, learning of his necromancy, assembled outside and she ran. She didn’t stop running until she came upon a small village. They were simpletons, superstitious and steadfast in their worship of Mitra. Yet, it was a place for a new beginning. She stayed there and began to further her studies.
However, she underestimated the inquisitive nature of her neighbors. She was witnessed “conversing with an infernal creature from the Beyond” as the official reports say. Ezra went out to quiet the witness, but was too late in doing so. When they came to arrest her, she struck out with fire and acid, screaming curses in Abyssal. Forced to the ground, Ezra watched them torch her home and all her belongings. She was escorted to Branderscar Prison shortly after.
Sir Balin of Karfeld came to see her, one last time, after her arrest. Arrogantly, he pronounced, “May Mitra have mercy upon your wretched, damned soul.” She spit in his face.
Now, with only the pyre awaiting her, she quietly prays to Urgathoa and waits for a miracle.
