Aznara
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Born nearly a century and a half ago, a daughter of one of the lesser noble houses of the Mul'niessa-controlled Underdark under what surface-worlders known as Charn, Aznara Elis'tralee spent her life studying swordplay, magic, and politicking. While never mastering any of those things, she learned well the basics of each, such that by the time she was a century in age, she was wizardess, swordswoman, and young noblewoman, all at the same time.
With her coming to the age marked by her family as the age of true maturity into adulthood came her introduction into her family's business in the Council... and so began her learning in how politics actually works in the Underdark, and she discovered in herself a great distaste for it, stemming from the outright lies continually delivered to the lesser born of her people for the explicit purpose of keeping the higher-born in power. For about two-score years, she tried her hand at attempting to create change, however small, from within the political system, but eventually came to the conclusion that such change from within was impossible while the vast majority of the nobles in control of the houses wanted nothing to do with it, caring only for that they remain in power and living lives of luxury while advantage was constantly taken of the lower-born.
Having come to her conclusion, Aznara chose to leave the Underdark, to travel the surface world to learn about society, culture, and civilization beyond the world below the surface. Her goal, at the outset, was to learn other ways of politicking, of rulership and leadership, so that she might be able to bring that learning back to her people and, with her learned knowledge, be better able to effect the changes that were keeping the mul'niessa people oppressed.
It didn't take but a year or two of experiencing different styles of governance on the surface world that she came to the conclusion that better ways of governance were so alien, so foreign, to her people that the only way such massive change could possibly be affected... was by force. With that conclusion came the realization that she would need to build up her own personal power and riches on the surface world, so that she could someday, perhaps, raise up an army with which to go home and force a change of governance on the nobility of the Underdark, and this became her goal in life.
Her newfound goal led her to an adventuring career in the city of Alexandria, and that career took her, once upon a time, to a field of barrows, where the adventurers with whom she was travelling came across a small horde of undead and were forced to flee. During their flight, as they crossed over a small hill in the barrow-field, the ground fell out from under Aznara's feet and she fell into darkness, knocked unconscious when she hit a stone floor, below.
Hours later, she woke to find a war golem, an automaton, standing over her. It had cared for her as she lay, injured from the fall, after her sudden presence had awakened it from ages-long slumber. Having no memory of the time before it was put into its slumber, the golem reverted to what must have been its most basic function -- the protection of its master -- and decided that Aznara must now be its master, as she had awakened it.
Aznara had no problem with having a new servant, especially one apparently well-capable of also playing the role of bodyguard for her. She named the golem for its nobility and guardianship, then looted the barrow-mound for what little treasure was to be found there. That done, the two climbed out of the mound to find the adventuring party she'd previously been with long-gone, the small horde of undead with them, and she returned to Alexandria with her newfound companion, to continue her chosen path in life.
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