Fifteen years ago, in the year 1843, a man named Amor-Azi-Fahal was one of top possibilities to succeed to Lord of Anasazi. Amor was in love with a woman named Gahyl Haluum. Gahyl’s brother, J’phal was a supporter of Amor’s chief competitor for the Aris, Lekali Aziil. Lekali Aziil was an honorable warrior and challenged Amor to a Ketal, a non-lethal duel to decide the succession. The evening before the Ketal, J’phal found Amor with his sister Gahyl. J’phal, enraged, attacked Amor. Amor-Azi-Fahal was a skilled warrior however and he quickly turned the battle against J’phal. Gahyl, knowing that her brother had no chance against Amor, tried to stop the battle. She tried to step between the two combatants and Amor was unable to reverse the swing of his great scimitar in time to keep from killing Gahyl. When he saw his ladylove fall to the ground, killed by his own hand, Amor became enraged and quickly killed J’phal as well. In Anasazi, it is the highest crime to kill a Talik, even for another Talik.

Amor-Azi-Fahal hid his crime, intending to allow Lekali Aziil to strike him down during the Ketal, figuring it would be better to die then live with the banishment that would surely follow his crime.

Lekali Aziil and Amor began the Ketal at sunrise, the traditional time. The battle was fierce because the two combatants were evenly matched, and it was obvious to all that watched that this was going to be a long battle. Then Amor-Azi-Fahal made his move; he stepped directly into the path of a swing by Lekali that would have killed him outright if Lekali wasn’t skilled enough to pull back at the last second. The slash that was meant to be Amor’s salvation merely became a large slice across the abdomen instead of the killing blow.

Hours later, Amor-Azi-Fahal awoke in a cell deep within the Mount of the Gods. Lekali Aziil, the newly crowned Lord of Anasazi, came to his cell and explained that Amor’s murder of the Haluum brother and sister was discovered, and even worse he corrupted the great Ketal by trying to trick Lekali into a murder of his own. For those crimes, Amor-Azi-Fahal was sentenced to the Yekil, the highest form of punishment for a Talik.

The Yekil is a special ceremony that consists of branding the face of the criminal with a skull that signifies his death to the Anasazi. The tattoo also weakens the spirit of the criminal to the point where he loses all but the most basic skills that he possesses. His skills as a warrior taken from him, Amor was released into the jungle and told to leave Anasazi forever.

Amor-Azi-Fahal was thoroughly shamed, but he decided he no longer wanted to die for his crimes. He traveled to Leonay a broken man and lived on the streets of Katay for three years, talking to no one, barely surviving a horrible day-to-day existence, and dreaming of how his life should have been. While living in Katay, Amor didn’t stoop to the levels that he saw all around him. He didn’t steal, didn’t kill, and he began to withdraw into his own mind.

After three years of barely surviving, a priest of Arthom named Kel Resta approached Amor. When Kel asked Amor his name, he replied, “Syr Donillar”. Syr Donillar means “Empty shell of shame” in the ancient language of the Anasazi.

Kel took the shamed man in and began to help him rebuild his shattered life. Kel was a priest that also studied as a psion and he saw a talent for the psionic arts in Syr. It took Kel two years to get Syr to begin believing in himself again. Kel and Syr were inseparable until a thief killed Kel in his sleep. Syr wanted to hunt the murderer down, but he had developed a healthy respect for the god Arthom. Although Syr believed that his personal crusade was the right thing to do, he didn’t want to step all over the laws of Leonay, the sacred land of his new god.