DESCRIPTION

Amiri never fit into the expected gender roles of her tribe, refusing to be the docile, domestic sort of woman that the Six Bear tribe valued. Instead, she insisted on competing with the male warriors of her tribe, and constantly one-upped them. If another hunter brought back a caribou to feed the tribe, she brought back two. If the best warrior among them killed four orcs in a raid, she killed six. Though many were secretly impressed by her prowess, other tribes mocked them, and the village elders knew that tradition could not be mocked without grave consequences. Amiri had to die. When the tribe attempted to send her on a suicide mission, however, Amiri refused to fall. Instead, she returned with an enormous trophy: a frost giant's sword. Her former comrades' laughter—how could she possibly expect to wield such a huge blade—and the admission that she'd been sent out to die was too much for Amiri. Rage overtook her, and in that blind bloodlust she found a strength she'd never known she possessed. When the red mists cleared, she was surrounded by dead members of her hunting party. While she was unrepentant for the deaths of the men who preferred to betray her rather than admit her skill, Amiri still knew that kin-killing was a crime she could never live down. She abandoned her people to the cold steppes and tundra and headed south toward more civilized lands, enjoying the heady rush of finally no longer being bound by tradition. Since then, she has taken to traveling only with those adventurers and mercenary companies who show her proper respect. She values her over-sized sword (even though she can only truly wield it properly when her blood rage takes her), but never speaks of the circumstances that forced her to flee her homeland. Some things are better left unsaid.