Open hostilities between the kingdoms of Taldor and Qadira ceased more than 200 years ago, but subtle squabbles and sub-rosa schemes continue to the present. Often these intrigues take the form of economic influence or political stratagems, but occasionally, when the stakes are high enough, they extend to outright atrocities. Triggering these strikes (or answering them in kind) without sparking an open war requires an agent with particular expertise. The world of Golarion teems with misguided folk who can be turned from darkness, but it also contains multitudes who are beyond redemption, who revel in evil, wickedness, and selfishness.
Zadim is one answer to their depravities, and his response comes with an unmistakable air of finality. Zadim was born into Qadira’s influential Cult of the Dawnfower, a militant sect devoted to rooting out evil and spreading Sarenrae’s light throughout foreign lands cloaked in the darkness of ignorance. He excelled in battle training, easily besting his young peers in combat. He also proved himself an expert in observation and understanding, often taking advantage of personality quirks and tells among his fellows that they weren’t even aware they had. The cult’s leaders knew exactly what they had in Zadim—a weapon to strike killing blows against their enemies.
Zadim’s masters revealed the scope of their designs not just on familiar foes like the creaking “empire” of Taldor to the north, but also on places like Osirion, Katapesh, and Absalom. Zadim was trained to stand in the shadowy vanguard of their efforts throughout the Inner Sea region, clearing away enemies with blade and garrote long before the more visible elements of the Dawnflower Cult made their presence known.
As the depth of the cult’s plan became clear to him, Zadim began to realize that his masters were just as interested in spreading the political influence of Qadira—and its distant puppetmasters in the Padishah Empire of Kelesh far to the east—as they were in spreading the doctrine of the Everlight, but the revelation came too late to inspire a change in Zadim’s direction. He had trained for years to become a killer, and kill he must, in the name of Qadira, Kelesh, or the cult. Sarenrae had blessed him with unique talents, and he intended to put them to use in the field.
A chance encounter with a fellow servant of Sarenrae, an earnest young cleric named Kyra, triggered a crisis of faith in Zadim. Kyra reminded him that Sarenrae herself valued goodness, redemption, and healing over murderous tactics, no matter the quarry. He assured Kyra that he would not strike against a target until he could look him in the eye and judge the quality of his character for himself. The so-called “Shadow of Sarenrae” now travels the lands of the Inner Sea as an associate of Sarenrae’s church, providing deadly solutions to problems the religion cannot resolve through diplomacy and forgiveness.
