Zerika the Immortal's page

Source Pathfinder #55: The Wormwood Mutiny pg. 72
A cleric of Besmara may give up one domain in exchange for a bird, blue-ringed octopus (Ultimate Magic 117), king crab (Ultimate Magic 119), monkey, or any of the familiars presented in the Core Rulebook. The cleric uses her cleric level as her effective wizard level for this purpose. A ranger who worships Besmara may select any of the creatures listed above as a familiar instead of choosing an animal companion. The ranger’s effective wizard level for this ability is equal to his ranger level – 3.

In honor of Zerika’s mother’s many years of service to the tribe, the elders allowed Zerika to remain with them until her twelfth birthday. Desperate to save her child’s life, Hadassah insisted her daughter be allowed the tribes sacred raptor-scale scarification rite. Although the elders at first considered this nearly blasphemous, they soon relented; rationalizing that the girl would not survive long enough in the cold to bring any dishonor to the tribe. As soon as her daughter had healed, Hadassah immediately began inscribing every protective glyph, warding, or sacred tattoo she could recall, conjure, or , in some cases, invent, across her daughter’s back.
On Zerika’s left fore-arm, Hadassah inscribed her clan-mark and her name, admonishing Zerika to never forget her. On her right hand, Hadassah inscribed an image depicting bright white skull and crossbones. “Some day, you will return to me. For now, travel south. Run fast as the arctic winds. When you find water, look for this symbol. I have heard in my wanderings that there are people called ‘pirates’ far south. They take anyone, even you. Go to them. When you can, come back to save me from the cold.” With a final hug, Hadassah placed her daughter on a mighty dire wolf, and bade the creature to deliver Zerika as far south as the creature could run. Bundled in furs and near delirious from the pain of her scarification and tattooing rituals, Zerika can recall nothing before she found herself in the warm waters of the Steaming Sea.
Her mother was correct. Finding someone who recognized her skull and crossbones mark took no time at all. Zerika would spend the next three years in jail. It was heavenly. The cell was eternally warm, she was fed three meals a day, and the jailor’s wife took a liking to the young woman and did her best to teach her some valuable lessons in skills like reading and writing. Although she was able to grasp the concepts, it quickly became apparent to Zerika she was not what you would call ‘smart’, but she did have gear insight.
When the small costal town was raided, again the tattoos saved Zerika, as well as the jailor and his wife. Zerika’s promise to serve the captain of the small raiding vessel was enough to secure the freedom of the helpless and now displaced couple. For two years, Zerika went to be every night with the captain’s promise ringing in her ears. “Sleep well, tomorrow you die.” Soon, this nightly ritual became somewhat a joke among the crew, and the girl was nicknamed ‘the Immortal’.
Eventually raiding small coastal towns paid for a real ship, and Zerika escaped her servitude in the city of Absalom, thanks to a little divine intervention. She was simply forgotten; left behind. She awoke, and none of her crew was to be found. She couldn’t even recall whether or not the captain had told her good night.
Believing she owed her new freedom to some higher power, and quickly learning that her tattoo meant ‘Besmara’, Zerika put two and two together, and began praying in the Pirate Queen’s temple. The mix of strange mix of superstition and piracy melded perfectly with Zerika’s understanding of the world and she quickly became a cleric of her Queen. Over the intervening months, Zerika was amazed by some common sense revelations. First, piracy was generally illegal. Second, there was an organization called the Pathfinder’s that practiced some form of legal piracy. Finally, if Zerika were to join the Pathfinder’s, she would essentially have license to follow her lord’s path.