Norma was born to a elven mother and human father in the lower middle class of Korvosa. Her mother passed away soon after birth, so Norma was raised by her father.
Her father ran a carpentry shop and the first 10 years of her life passed by without incident. Norma never had an easy time making friends, the elven thought her too stupid, and the humans thought her too weak. But that was the nature of children, something about Norma understood this. People felt and judged rashly. She often complained how foolish they all seemed to her father as he labored over his craft.
Life in Korvosa can be treacherous. And unfortunately for Norma her life would soon be turned upside down. Gang members began coming around to her father's shop demanding 'protection' money. They said the neighborhood was changing and he best make sure he changed with it.
Her father was a prideful man, raising a daughter on his own and keeping business afloat was no easy task. He delayed them, turning them away time and time again. They promised retribution... But Norma's father wasn't going to back down--business had been declining and he couldn't pay them even if he wanted to.
Norma at this time was enjoying a habit of taking midnight walks. Something about the night comforted her. She had to sneak out of course--her father wouldn't have let her go if he knew. But she never felt like she was in any danger. The darkness was just so...calming.
One fateful night however he walk was interrupted as smoke billowed into the night sky and the red heat of flame arched up into the dark blue. She raced home to find it and her father's shop in flames. She was paralyzed as she watched a few gang members vanishing into the night. They were laughing.
She waited and watched, paralyzed with fear. The inferno died down and in the morning the authorities arrived, guardsmen investigating the cause. Norma still hid in her alley-way. There was no sign of her father, she heard them say. In her stomach she knew he was dead.
That night she followed the guardsmen. She couldn't think, for some reason all there was to her was the desire to keep moving. So she did. Norma followed the night-patrols, and watched them. Hoping they would catch those responsible.
Norma never learned exactly which gang it was that ruined her life, but over the course of the next ten years she would learn much about criminal underbelly of Korvosa, and how justice could be all too often sluggish.
When she turned twenty Norma got more bold in her tracking of the night-patrol. She felt secure in the shadows around her, but that night something told her she was not alone. Not entirely. It threw her off her game.
The patrolmen her busting up a small gang-fight, when one of the brawlers broke away form the pack and ran straight for Norma's hiding spot. She froze, and he crashed right into her. The brawler attempted to grab at Norma and lash out. But in the darkness his blows her poorly aimed and misdirected. She found herself--despite a racing heart-- in a state of unnatural calm.
She stepped around the big man, and in a swift motion placed some rope about his neck and with all of her might began to pull. The man struggled for a long while, but Norma was dexterous enough to stay on his back, out of reach. Eventually he slumped over. Norma felt a distant panic at what she had done. But it was overwhelmed with a sense of righteousness.
She could hear the authorities approaching from around the corner, so again she hid in the shadows. They arrived to find the man unconscious--not dead to Norma's relief.
She waited in perfect silence until they left. As she too was about to depart, the feeling of being watched settled on her. She again wasn't alone.
Despite her best efforts however she couldn't determine who or what had eyes on her. So like always Norma waited until she felt safe to move, and after the sensation of being watched passed she departed.
Over the years Norma would grow more daring in following the night patrol men, often she found herself getting a little too involved in their affairs, and often it proved risky, earning her bruises or cuts.
And almost like clockwork, every month, she would get the feeling that she was being watched. Whether it was hostile or benign Norma didn't know. But she knew something was out there on the midnight rooftops of Korvosa.
