Once a proud and vigilant guardian of his Goliath tribe in the Mountains of Copper, Nariak Valu-Navi was forced to set out on his own after a failed coup attempt. Branded with the new nickname of Fireblood, chosen to mock his temper and rash decision making, Variak escaped in the pre-dawn hours while still recovering from wounds suffered in the battle. While not technically exiled, Nariak felt the shame of being alone in the harsh wilds and slowly succumbed to the conditions while taking shelter from a spring storm in the Great Wild Wood.
 
When he came to, he found he was in the care of a mysterious older woman and that a strange purple lightning-like runes had replaced his prior Goliath skin stripes. During his long recovery, he discovered that the lightning seemed to awaken a power within him that gave him access to spells previously unknown. After fully healing, Nariak remained in the forest with his cryptic savior, where he harnessed and trained his new found abilities. During the day, Nariak would hunt and train and then at night, he cooked while the woman told him tales of heroism and long lost artifacts of power. Then, one day she was gone. Returning home after another successful hunt, Nariak had found the woman's hut was nowhere to be found. It was as if the very forest had changed around him.
 
Nariak took this as a sign that his time in hiding was over and he re-joined civilization. He traveled to the nearest city and began doing miscellanious work to get by. From there, his adventures took him far and wide, hunting beasts and protecting nobleman. Eventually, he found himself on the Sword Coast, far from his once home.
 
Thinking back on his time in the forest, Nariak now realizes that his memories appear foggy and almost dream-like. Even the name and face of the woman who saved his very life seem to escape him. At night though, when all else is silent, he still remembers the final story she told him. Of an all-powerful ring that could control the winter winds themselves.
 
"The Ring of Winter holds the key".