Born and raised in Westcrown, Imogen started life as one of the many orphans on the streets of Rego Cader and theiving in the Markets. As she matured in age her knack at smooth-talking travelers caught the attention of a young half-elf priest of Iomedae named Arael. Passionate and idealistic, the young Arael acted as a foster father to Imogen, taking care of her education personally. He taught her the basics of Iomedae’s faith, swordplay and diplomacy. Arael was part of several rebel groups at the time, but he always refused to share more information about those groups with Imogen, in order to keep her safe. Arael taught Imogen how to read and write (not a very common feat among her contemporaries), the different religions of the Inner Sea region and provided her with the basics of the Chelaxian nobility. The two spent together about 13 years, before Imogen came of age. In the last two years, Arael had several problems with the authorities, and although he would not admit it to Imogen, the Asmodean Inquisition was keeping a close eye on him. Fearing for the fate of her adoptive daughter, Arael decided to send her on a mission in Andoran, where he asked her to cooperate with an old friend of his, a grizzled Andoren veteran named Ries Cuprianas.
Ries was a captain in the Steel Falcons, one of the three branches of Andoran’s Eagle Knights, colloquially known as the “Steel Fox” because of his daring and imaginative raids into Cheliax. Ries focused his efforts and ingenuity on smuggling individuals out of the infernal empire of Cheliax. Imogen’s mission was to assist him in this dangerous task, along with his small company of rangers, well known across Andoran. In Cheliax, his heroics go unmarked except by the officials tasked with bringing him to justice, and occasional hopeful whispers among less patriotic Chelaxians. Ries and his company of rangers haunted eastern Cheliax for years. Dissenters and troublemakers have a tendency to disappear in Cheliax, and while most of those who disappear do so in the clutches of House Thrune, a small number reach a better destination—Andoran. The Eagle Knights, through a network of informants, target and contact Chelish folk who appear to be on the verge of arrest and offer them a deal: safety in Andoran in exchange for any information or aid that could damage Cheliax. Hundreds took the deal, and Ries was their ticket to their new home. Extraction operations were perilous, since the defectors were often already under watch by the authorities. Running fights, dangerous diversionary tactics, and acts of civic destruction were all common occurrences. Ries was in good physical shape for his thirties, but his face was creased and leathered, and his hair retained little of its original brown, settling instead on a silver that helps make his sobriquet all the more fitting. A long scar mars the left side of his face from scalp to chin, a reminder and memorial. Ries is taciturn by nature and rarely smiles, though his eyes often convey a warmth at odds with his dour visage.
Imogen spent four years with Ries and his band, helping free the Chelish folk. During those years, she was exposed to Andoren’s ideals, and developed a strong determination to bring those ideals of freedom and justice to her birthplace, the haunted city of Westcrown.
While on her service, Imogen frequently received letters from Arael, but then the letters suddenly stopped. Though, for a month or so now, Imogen has discovered that Arael stopped sending letters because his position got suddenly worse and he got imprisoned by the Hellknights and charged of treason. Imogen decided to return to Westcrown, but while she was on her way to the City of Twilight, a runner reached her with a letter in which Arael announced his “liberation” and asked her to come back to Westcrown as soon as possible.
