Early Life
Kamdra grew up a member of the Yukra tribe, which were a group of
Prisms and
Pearl Pangolins that lived near the Northern coast of
Boram. The Yukra mined for food, farmed bugs, fought off raiders or raided when in need, and generally lived pretty normal lives for that region. Kamdra was raised as a miner and warrior in this culture, though druidism always fascinated her. The local Pangolins taught her the basics, and she seemed a promising candidate as the tribe's future healer. That is, until tragedy struck. One cold winter, the Yukra's neighbors and rivals, the Olozek, moved into their territory and began poaching and raiding. The Yukras struck back, but lost horribly. Kamdra fled into the wilderness, and when she finally returned to her tribe's hold, she found it looted and abandoned. She found her fallen parents and believed her people to have been exterminated; and so she fled South. She was only 25 at the time - still a teenager by Prism standards.
Kamdra wandered for over a year, drifting and fighting for what scraps she could get. Eventually, she made it to a secluded grove, deep in the mountains, where it was rumored that a mysterious druid lived. There, she met
Arginet, an old treant (tree magically given sentience by a druid) that had been raised many years ago by a druid in distant Stildane. Arginet had learned druidism from its ancient master, and lived as a reclusive healer and mystic. Arginet took pity on Kamdra and took her in, teaching her all they knew. For five years, Kamdra trained under Arginet and mastered the secrets of Moon Druidism and shapechanging. But while Arginet hoped that Kamdra would settle down and live in the grove forever as a fellow hermit, Kamdra quietly nursed her grudge against the Olozek tribe. She began to venture out on "healing journeys" as she told Arginet - raids, where she would terrorize the Olozek at every turn. This continued for years, and Kamdra's ferocity and brutality only grew with success. In 1215 ME, Kamdra's hatred overcame her, and she rallied the local exiles (criminals that were flung from their tribes and had become roving bandits) to help her destroy the Olozek. Even the exiles fled before the violence they saw her commit, as she butchered innocents and warriors alike mercilessly. The exiles spread the word of who had done this terrible crime, and the local tribes gathered together to put her on trial. "Kamdra the Bandit Queen", they called her, and she answered their summons calmly. When she explained that she was simply visiting upon the Olozeks what they had done to her people, Kamdra was puzzled when a number of Yukras stepped forward to petition that they were not, in fact, slain. A number of Yukras had been taken captive and ultimately absorbed into the Olozeks, and other Yukras had fled to join a different nearby tribe. While they were willing to attest to Kamdra's innocent misunderstanding, many of the other nearby tribes were furious that she had killed their kin that were guests with the Olozeks at the time of the massacre. The trial fell to quarrelling, and quarrelling fell to violence. This violence began an even larger war of vengeance between local tribes - one in which Kamdra was front and center.
Kamdra spent several years visiting with the surviving Yukra and assassinating leaders of the enemy coalition. But the violence just kept escalating the more Kamdra did - she kept devising plans to swing the war in their favor, but it seemed like she kept making new enemies as she went. Eventually, she realized that many of these enemies were not even the coalitions, but rather vendettas against her personally. The remnants of her people could make peace, and advantageous peace, if she only left. She tried to flee to Arginet's Grove, but Arginet would not let her back. And so she fled further South, running from those who hunted her until she reached the coastline. Along the Southern coast of Boram, she found a small castle-town named
Kafertol, where she volunteered to act as a court healer. When the blood-hunters who tracked her there arrived, she joined their warriors and sailors exploring South.
Desmia, Sweet Desmia
The Southern winds took Kamdra out of reach of her pursuers, but threw her into an entirely alien land: the islands East of
Desmia. The islands she discovered were full of raving warriors wielding high-quality weapons who seemed to be enraged to a bloodfrenzy when they saw a
Dryad or Prism. Kamdra and her crew were able to escape, and with one of the enemy's boats in tow as well! It was laden with rare metals such as steel, gold, silver, and copper, and was packed with valuable luxuries. This new land seemed to be the perfect escape: full of enemies that she could prove herself against and steal from without ethical qualm, far out of the reach of her pursuers. In Desmia, she could win safety, fame, riches, and freedom. And so she joined the great warfleet that sailed South to raid this 'Desmia', and guided the fleet safely over the Southern sea.
For several years, she practiced her craft burning Desmian outposts, capturing Desmian ships, and defeating them in small battles. She was always the most daring and the most innovative, and pushed South to raid the continent these riches came from. But as she burned forward, she began to realize that the people she preyed on were, for the most part, simply people. She traded her stolen goods with them in disguise, learned their language and culture, and began drafting maps of their lands. After some time among the Desmians, she decided that she would swear off raiding entirely. She had simply started another war through brash ignorance, but she would not escalate this one.
Rather than raid, she decided to explore Desmia and the lands beyond. She visited
the Feywilds, stole into Desmian cities, and learned the reach of their lands. She began to hear of a land beyond this one, a land known as
Samvara where druids were common and the Gods of her people dwelled in ancient vaults. So she set out to venture to this 'Samvara', using trickery and might to journey across the hostile land of Desmia.
The journey was a dangerous and bloody one, as Desmian druids and elite hunters tracked her and harried her progress. She slew those who chased her and hid in the hills and mountains. Eventually, she made it to the
Ishkibite lands. And from there, she ventured to the Samvaran kingdom of
Siashi.
Student, Healer, Builder
In Siashi, Kamdra made a home for herself while she studied under the local
Halikvar druids. The common druidry had little to teach her at this point, and so she toured among the religious leadership and archdruids of the continent, as a kind of novel celebrity. She considered staying with one of these groups, carving out a home for herself with her traveling Companion Ishkit-heart (an Ishkibite Cat). She was particularly fascinated by the
Healing Church and
Alchemy, as she was acutely aware of the massive life-saving potential of healing potions - which not only mend flesh and bone, but clear all wounds of infection. She worked hard to learn the secrets of alchemy, and gathered a number of alchemists that wanted to help people who needed it rather than contribute to elitist institutions. With permission from the healing church, Kamdra led this group East, back to Desmia, for the long journey back to Boram. While Kamdra had been amazed with the great cities and wonders of the West, her time away from war had reminded her of Arginet's words - that a druid's first job was to heal.
Kamdra's return journey through Desmia was more than a path home, but a way to extract her closest associates and allies she had made while exploring that blood-soaked continent. Not all of them joined her, but enough of them became part of the 'Dream Team' that they had to steal several more vessels by the end. After over a year of travel, the makeshift fleet returned to Boram - and Kamdra declared a new era of peace. She expected to find hunters still after her, but her decades abroad had been enough for things to die down for the most part.
The great archdruid of the North set to work building her Circle of Healing: an organization dedicated to healing, medicine, trade, and international mediation. From the Southern coastline of Boram, all the way East to North Stildane, the Healing Circle set up shop in alcoves along the coast. Most of these outposts took root in existing coastal trading communities, as these tended to have the kind of ingredient access necessary to brew healing potions. Druid acolytes from across the North flocked to join, and these trading ports flourished. While many druids tried to run off with the secrets of alchemy and druidcraft, few resources to use these secrets existed in the frozen north - and so, through patience and gentleness, Kamdra united the disparate Northern druids under one banner.
This time of building was the happiest time in Kamdra's long life. She entered a close relationship with another druid, a
Kobold elder druid of the Northeast by the name of Izilskr Goldhorn. And outside of romance, the Dream Team came together as family of its own - Samvarans, Ishkibites, Stildanians, and even Desmians.
One Last War
Kamdra tried and failed to negotiate peace with the Desmians (unsurprising, as the raiders of Boram were now winning and didn't much want to make peace either). She largely gave up on Desmian peace, which she acknowledged she could only make worse through forceful intervention. The East, however, seemed more hopeful to her: peace was possible in Stildane. So, when a Kobold by the name of Empress Kazalim the Phoenix began a hyper-aggressive series of campaigns to rebuild the infamous
Empire of Kizen, Kamdra and the other peacemakers sprang into action.
The initial embargoes and diplomatic interventions were inconveniences for Kazalim. To demonstrate their absolute lack of power over her, Kazalim even invaded one of their associate nations and sent several captured druids back to Kamdra as "a gift". While the rest of the Healing Circle geared up to defend their holdings and agreed not to get involved, Kamdra entered a blind rage. She took those who would join her and sailed down South to dismantle these Would-Be Kivish herself. When Kamdra arrived, Kazalim was distracted with her invasion of
Gennorholn and Verzavek. Kamdra destroyed the occupying forces over Varinok (the Kingdom Kazalim had spite-conquered) and caused a few problems in Kizen, but quickly realized that she lacked the resources for a conventional invasion. So, she decided to cut the head off the snake. In 1390 ME, Kamdra and her retinue teleported into Gennorholn to take down Kazalim and the high command.
Kamdra easily outclassed Kazalim and destroyed the Phoenix Empress in the middle of a field battle. While Kamdra disintegrated the corpse to prevent resurrection, her retinue broke before a sudden charge and an
Ederstone javelin struck her in the side. The corrupting stone broke off within her, and no amount of wildshaping could dislodge it. More Ederstone weapons struck her as she struggled to resist its effects. Kamdra did not die, but become an endlessly changing monstrosity that began absorbing living and dead flesh alike. Both sides dispersed, and Kamdra became something more. She wandered the land for a few years, devouring all life before her. Eventually, she wandered off into the Wasteland.
Reports of her location have since been inconsistent and difficult to track. As a shapechanger with teleportation abilities, she has eluded all efforts to trace or pin down her location. On occasion, she simply appears and destroys, consuming entire towns. Some have reported meeting a powerful being similar to her that has been non-hostile, but no one knows if that is actually her or simply another Prism-based Ederstone entity. The Confederation of Verzahn considers her to be the 'Greatest of Hunts' and has frequently attempted to slay her for glory and sport, but those hunting parties that have found her have not survived.
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