Malice, a detailed history of the deceased

Malice, f.k.a. Sable, f.k.a. Gora



Race:  Half-Orc

Homeland:  Raised in Rostland, first in a small crèche in a hamlet a little south of New Stetven, later in an isolated cabin in the wilderness on the southern edge of the Gronzi Forest

Deity & Alignment:  Neutral; familiar with the traditions of Erastil, Abadar and Gorum, but unaffiliated overall

Personality:

Malice can be abrasive and unapproachable at times, particularly with people she doesn’t know.

Firmly believes in the “teach a man to fish…” approach to helping others.

Generally wants to help people, but considers charity to be more harmful than good.  Malice believes that if someone is unwilling to learn how to attain what they want or need for themselves they are a lost cause and not worth her time or sympathy.  The one exception to this is in matters concerning the plight of children, whom she has a softness for (though she does not like to show it).

Malice is very competitive, particularly if directly challenged as being physically inferior or weak-willed.

Personal History:

Gora’s mother Zheleto, like many half-orcs, was born as the product of rape.  Unloved, unwanted and ultimately abandoned, she lived a life of prejudice, violence, and heartbreak.  She found a niche as a sellsword in the River Kingdoms and beyond, but the severity of her childhood and adolescence taught her that the only person who would look after her was herself.

Gora was conceived as the result of a tryst with one of Zheleto’s travelling companions.  Ashamed at the prospect of bringing a child into the world she grew up in, Zheleto resolved to give her daughter a better life.  She brought her child up-river to Rostland, eventually leaving her in the care of Sister Joane, a priestess of Erastil who practiced her faith by running a crèche in a remote village to care for the young of travelers on their way to and from the capitol.  Zheleto resumed her life as a mercenary, returning between tenures to bring financial support to Joane and to check on the well-being of her daughter.

Gora lived comfortably at the crèche where she had no shortage of playmates at any given time.  Joane took it upon herself to teach the children the fundamentals of archery, a skill that had served the priestess well in her own youth.  Meanwhile, Zheleto slowly began to realize that she was unable to relate to the happiness and satisfaction exhibited by her daughter.  Worse, she feared that by bringing her to such a sheltered town,  Gora would grow up naïve, weak, and unable to survive the horrors of Golarion as Zheleto had experienced them.
 
Bloodied and bruised after a betrayal on the battlefield, Zheleto returned to the crèche to find that her daughter had made her a gift—a doll in the shape of a stag of Erastil, to “protect” her while she was away.  This pushed Zheleto over the edge, and in a rage she tore apart the crèche, accusing the priestess of raising her daughter to be nothing more than prey for the strong.  Joane, in turn, proclaims Zheleto a savage unworthy of the adoration of her daughter.  Distraught and confused, Gora was torn from the crèche by a furious Zheleto, and together they marched across the fields of Rostland to Restov where Griffon, a retired mercenary and Zheleto’s once comrade-in-arms, resided.  Zheleto persuaded him to take Gora under his wing and mold her into a warrior able to take care of herself in an unforgiving world.

Zheleto returned to her mercenary company while Griffon and Gora took residence in a lonely cabin in the wilderness. Gora was put to work chopping wood, fishing, and doing domestic chores.  In short order Griffon grew quite fond of his charge, happy to have an audience for his many tales of past heroics.

At 9 years old, Gora killed a sable on her first successful hunt with Griffon in the Gronzi Forest.  He dubs her “Sable”, telling her that it is tradition in his family to take on the name of your first kill.  Gora loves the story of Griffon’s namesake and the idea of being part of a family tradition. She cherished her new alias, though her mother would never call her by that name.

Sable’s time in the wilderness was well spent honing her survival skills and building her strength and dexterity.  She was a small girl, around 5’3 at 14 years old, though her agility more than made up for her stature.  What started as a desire to make her mother proud soon turned to resentment as Zheleto (when she was around) wore a cold façade at all times, rarely praising her daughter’s accomplishments.
 
One summer when Sable was 14, she decided to travel to the crèche to visit Sister Joane.  Though he had his doubts, Griffon eventually gave her his blessing.  She traveled the distance alone, though when she finally reached the hamlet where it had been she found that the crèche had been converted into a temple to Abadar for collecting taxes on the frontier.  Sister Joane still resided there amongst the clerics of Abadar, but her once sharp-mind had grown slow and senile in her old age.  At first she did not recognize Sable, but when she did, she treated her like a savage, saying she should have stayed in the town and learned to be a good wife for a strong husband.  Sable left the town feeling more alone than she ever had before.

She returned home to find her mother waiting for her, furious.  In the ensuing confrontation Sable challenged her mother, puffing up with rage.  Zheleto struck her daughter, flooring her with a single blow and stormed out of the cabin.  Sable does not see her mother again for years.

The next few years were an emotional time for Sable.  Her resentment towards her mother reached new heights.  She was ashamed that she was so thoroughly beaten down, and deeply hurt by Priestess Joane’s rejection.  Gora decided that she would prove her worthiness by hunting down a local legend, a majestic silver stag rarely seen in the Gronzi Forest.

At 17, Gora suffered a devastating growth spurt, growing from 5’5 to 6’4 in a matter of months, her endeavor to hunt the elusive stag now made near impossible as she struggled to command her now unfamiliar body.  Her frustration mounted as near misses and close calls punctuated each hunt.  Hearing that the mercenary company Zheleto was with would be passing through the forest, she became determined to succeed in her hunt in time to brandish her trophy before her mother.  

Gora finally met success after one last grueling hunt.  Wearing glistening white pelt and antlers of her kill across her shoulders, she raced to intercept her mother’s travelling party.  Upon picking up the trail, she found signs of a struggle on the road and a pursuit into the forest.  There she discovered her mother’s body, bloody and broken, presumably slain by the very company she travelled with.  Not knowing what to think or how to feel, the only thing Gora can do is to return home.  She does not bury the body, and she abandons her prized trophy in the woods.

Robbed of her vindication, conflicted by her feelings for her departed mother, and plagued by the idea that she would never find closure for the abuses she suffered in her childhood, Gora resolved to leave the cabin and her mentor to find work on the frontier.  She takes a contract to venture into the green belt to quell the bandit lord that plagues the area…