Biography

Oussrae Zarek Shobalar was born to Velkyn Zaphresz and Nathssysnvyr Shobalar in the hidden settlement of Callidae in the frozen north. His mother was the last heir of House Shobalar, formerly of Menzoberranzan.

House Shobalar

Public records in Menzoberranzan claim that House Shobalar was destroyed during the War of the Spider Queen as punishment for women practicing arcane, rather than divine, magic. House Shobalar has had a long and storied history of raising talented wizards, one of the most well-known being Xandra Shobalar.

An exceptional sorceress in her own right, Xandra trained not only her daughters in magic but the daughters of other noble houses that showed magical promise. Xandra had seven daughters, all trained in the ways of divine magic in Lolth's name.

In addition to divine magic, many in House Shobalar researched into arcane magic, including illithid magic and the ways of enemies of Lolth. In doing this research, Nathssysnvyr found that her true talents in magic were as an arcanist. Such research was ultimately forbidden in Menzoberranzan, and House Shobalar would be destroyed. Of the seven daughters, only Nathssysnvyr would survive, given a means of escape by Sword Dancers of the Church of Eilistraee .

Nathssysnvyr, called Nath from that point forward, travelled to the far north to live among the aevendrow in Callidae. Here, she met Velkyn Zaphresz, a ranger with a sharp wit and a kind heart born in the frozen enclave. Soon enough, the pair fell in love and wed, Velkyn taking his wife's surname in a sign of reverence and respect for her. Shortly after their union under Eilistraee, their son Oussrae was born.

Early Childhood

Zarek remembers very little of his infancy in Callidae. What he does remember is the long journey to Baldur's Gate with his father. He was only seven years old at the time, and remembers the snow of the north distantly and the awe he felt as the passed through the city gates. The arduous trek is what instilled Zarek with his appreciation for the open road and the freedom of adventuring. But Zarek never knew the purpose of their journey, and remembers only that his father said little of it when asked.

Once they had arrived in the Lower City, Velkyn put up at an inn and left Zarek there, assuring his son that he would return and that Zarek would be safe at the inn in the mean time. When he never returned, Zarek was made to work in the kitchen of the tavern below to pay for his room. Zarek spent a month in the Inn waiting for his father, unaware that Velkyn lay dead in one of the many seguias leading out of the city with a crossbow bolt through the throat. Whatever plans had been made in Callidae died with him, and Zarek never knew that his mother lived on in the frozen north.

Urchin of the Outer City

When it was clear to the owners of the inn that a child had been abandoned in their establishment, they gave Zarek a choice to remain as a kitchen hand or to leave. At first, Zarek didn’t want to believe his father had simply left him, and he ran into the streets in a fit. Soon enough, the Outer City streets would become Zarek’s home.

He wasn’t the only orphan in the city, but he was one that fiercely guarded his own independence. He had his father’s backpack to carry his worldly possessions in and had learned on the road to Baldur’s Gate how to prepare his own food and how to play his father’s violin. The instrument would be one of his only means of honest coin, finding places in the lower city to play for coin.

Music became a haven for Zarek in those years. As he matured and grew wise to the alleys and streets of the Outer and Lower City, Zarek became adept in slight-of-hand work, trickery, and pickpocketing. Eventually, Zarek's talent with the violin became skill, and what was once a few coins to buy a piece of fruit with became a pouchful to keep spirits up, be it in a tavern or in a boudoir. As Zarek bloomed into a tenacious young man, he also became a charming bard-to-be.

A Rescue In the Dark

Only 19 years old, Zarek was making his way through the Lower City to find a room to rent for the evening after spending all day playing music in the Upper City for favors from the generous and wealthy. He remember little of the attack, only the pain and the sensations that come with disembowelment, hunched over and clutching at himself in a grimy alley near one of the gates into the Outer City. Had he not been discovered in that alley, Zarek would have died that night. Thankfully, a Blood Hunter would come to his rescue.

Zarek would awake three days later in the safehouse of a half-elf gentleman named Stylor Gaerphanis. Stylor nursed Zarek back to health and offered him a chance to get off the streets-- the required payment for his offer was simply Zarek's time and dedication to Stylor's profession. He sought an apprentice, and had considered finding Zarek no coincidence. Given the time to weigh his options and loathing how weak he had felt after being attacked, Zarek agreed to become Stylor's apprentice. Instead of becoming a bard, Zarek would become a blood hunter.

Apprentice no more

Zarek took to the teachings of his mentor like he had taken to music; he was as voracious in his lessons as he was wrathful in his training. Zarek's years on the streets had honed his instincts in a natural way that only adversity could, and finding insight into the wicked, the infernal, and the fell came to him easily. As he grew into adulthood, Zarek also grew into a skilled Blood Hunter in his own right. Once of the age to graduate from apprenticeship, Zarek took on the vows of the Order of the Profane Soul and became a fully-initiated Blood Hunter. Stylor could not have been prouder.

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