Upon the death of the head priest when Uchak was merely 10, the village’s acting constable arrested Uchak, citing her for using unlawful magicks, even without evidence to back up his claims. Resisting the constable, Uchak put up what she saw as a fight for her life, pecking and clawing mercilessly at the constable, until other acting guards could arrive to assist in subduing her. Although the other priests were able to save the child from a much harsher punishment, the gruesomely wounded constable had her branded for her crimes, both believed and recently committed–the image of Sarenrae’s faith was burnt into her back, and to this day feathers refuse to grow over the scars. Given the chance to return to the temple, and assist the mortician in prepping the head priest’s body, Uchak discovered that he had not died of the same illness that the villagers blamed her for–he, instead, had been poisoned, his insides looking to have been caustically burned slowly over time. Pointing this out, others in the temple agreed with her; many had seen the damage done by the wasting disease in previous victims, and thus agreed that she was not to blame.

It wasnt until she was 13 that the murderer was caught–by her own claws. Having actually kept some of the teachings of Sarenrae, Uchak stumbled upon a relatively recent addition to their town–a sorcerer/alchemist drawn to the odd rumors of a mysterious plague in the area–mixing tonics out in the deep forest with ingredients she knew to be poisonous both on their own and when used together. Being wise for such a young bird, she observed in stealth, noting the used ingredients, and brought the information to her elders. The, understandably, untrusting constable required proof, and in her willingness to clear her own name and bring closure to her wrongful punishment, Uchak fiercely tracked the alchemist’s movements, eventually witnessing him in the act once again–and brought a troop of guards out to catch him red handed. An interrogation that went from extreme intimidation to exceptional violence left Uchak bloody but cleared of her name; the alchemist had wanted subjects, and assumed the rumored plague would cover up his actions in the mean time. He was shipped back to Korvosa with the next trader heading out of the village–a caravan owned by a well-known Pathfinder. The caravaneers vowed upon their proprietor that they would spread news of the alchemist’s actions, and have him officially arrested and tried.

Things were quiet in the village until Uchak turned 16, and began to suffer herself from the same wasting disease that she was accused of bringing to the villagers. A few in the temple believed her to be an Oracle, while many other villagers only saw her as a blight. For a year the other priests attempted to heal her, before sending her with a trading caravan to Magnimar, hoping she would find better healing at a larger, more populous temple–if she could indeed be healed. For four years, she earned money by working as a mortician, using her funds to attend many different healing sessions with the temples of Sarenrae, Irori, and even Pharasma, but to no effect. Through all her trials, none of the divines seemed to help, nor even want anything to do with her, and thus her fragile hopes that she was indeed an Oracle of any of them were dashed. Losing all hope, one of her fellow morticians heard of her omen and gave her one last idea, but one he told with a grave warning; if she was an omen of plague, she should seek out Urgathoa–but to do so with caution, as She reigned over the realm of undead.

For two years, Uchak explored the underbelly of Varisia’s cities, especially Riddleport, trying to find information on the Pallid Princess. It was here she learned how to properly intimidate suspects without violence, and grew a thick outer shell to the law. But skirting on the fringes of society garnered her the information she was after; she was able to find a necromancer that pointed her toward a small cult to the goddess that gathered in the Mushfens. Starving, exhausted from her sickness, but renewed in faith, Uchak headed south, traversing the dangerous marshes by instinct and a primeval call that led her to a cave stationed with carrion golems just inside the mouth. Wary, though unperturbed, they seemed to make no movements against her as she stepped in further. As she approached a great table made up to look as though it were to hold a fine feast, a creature appearing as though it were not quite alive and not quite dead approached her in tandem, and carefully asked her business. Uchak gave the simple story that she was ill and looking for respite, and even with such a small tale, the creature looked impressed with the Tengu’s appearance before them. The creature beckoned her deeper into the cavern, bringing her into the presence of another creature that Uchak very easily identified as undead–and yet the creature, oddly female and sporting a large scythe instead of a hand, seemed only entertained by the presence of a newcomer. She introduced herself as Narcelis, the head priestess of the cult’s temple and Daughter of Urgathoa. Narcelis listened to Uchak’s story, only stating afterward that the Daughter had been waiting for Uchak’s arrival, and welcomed her to join in the evening’s festivities to see if they were up to Uchak’s standards of living.

Uchak still remembers that first feast as the finest ever held, even though many others had contained much higher quality food. Yet, for a starving individual whom had never truly felt to be welcome amongst her peers, that first feast satisfied every want or need she could have thought of. Finally feeling as though she had found her calling, Uchak remained with Narcelis and the other priestesses and priests, learning the ways of reckless self-indulgence and magicks that controlled undead and plague until she was lifted to the title of priestess herself. She cant remember the time when her illness finally faded, but being surrounded by worse sickness sometimes made her wonder if she had ever actually been ill at all.

With her newfound health and happiness, she left for a few years to explore the world. Moving to Korvosa, she found herself roped into helping the Hellknights and the Korvosan guard. Along the way, she took over a direlict harbor of ships called Eels End, after killing the previous owner and taking his title: King of Spiders. After the hullaballoo quieted down, she decided there was too much she was invovled in, and returning to the coven was the best choice she could.

The biggest thing she learned during the years of her stay was how very hunted her new cult was, and she eagerly learned to take up the scythe of their goddess in defense of their faith. Large raids were taken on their cavern by Paladins of “good” faiths, angry villagers who believed they brought plague to their livestock and crops, random adventurers looking for treasure, even other cults who felt their presence was a nuisance. These fools only ever made a great, celebratory feast out of themselves for the cult, until one significantly large raid upon their cavern managed to kill the other priestesses and Narcelis, sending Uchak into a rage that turned the tide of the battle. The survivors mourned, but knew life too short to not move on. During prep of the dead for a mourning feast, Uchak took care to specially treat Narcelis with a higher dignity, and while the cult felt the loss of their head priestess, it was Uchak that noticed their head priestess had not left them without a contingency plan. In Narcelis’ spilled, necrotic entrails, Uchak was able to read she was to travel to Geb. Willing to do her Goddess’ bidding, no matter being able to divinate the reason or not, she disbanded the cult for their own safety until she returned.

Using funds from selling the slain adventurers’ gear, Uchak sailed from Varisia to Geb, landing directly in Mechitar. Though knowing nothing of the country, the Tengu wandered instinctually through the streets laden with undead until her feet brought her to the Cathedral of Epiphenomena. Drawn inside, the first look about the great temple to Urgathoa enticed the priestess to stay for a little over two years. The clergy and practitioners alike were so much more lively, even if most were undead, than those in her previous cult, that Uchak couldnt help fall deeper into her goddess’ spheres. It was a two years that confirmed to her that she had answered the correct calling, and the depravity of her gluttony fell so deep that several of the clergy in the temple fell to her hands. For such acts, she was blessed with artifacts from Urgathoa; a particularly powerful scythe and a set of armour, and was as such deemed an unholy Warpriestess of the goddess. Yet, eventually she felt the draw back to her old coven, to bring to them and bless them with what she had learned. Before her departure, she received a powerful unholy symbol of Urgathoa blessed with a desecrate effect.

Returning to her cavern cult in Varisia, Uchak declared herself their new high priestess, and called back the remaining practitioners from the cult before she disbanded it. For over a decade, the cult expanded exponentially in size and power, utilizing everything Uchak learned in Geb to grow and prosper, and the cult held its ground against intruders of all kinds and sizes under Uchak’s watchful eye. This dragged their cult into the eyes of many who seeked to destroy them, and for some, this seemed to make it a contest. Yet, with each attempt came a celebratory feast, attracting more and more depraved worshippers to seek out glory and power and an end to their vile hungers. At the height of the cult’s strength, they saw more Pathfinders beginning to join the fight, and this brought Uchak to fortify her cult’s defenses. While the cavern become a true fortress by the end of Uchak’s fortifications, she, nor none of the cult, was expecting the Pathfinders to send some of their strongest members to finally end the cycles of loss. A team of Seekers tore through the cavern’s initial defenses and the laymen of the clergy, and though Uchak had plenty of time to prpare for them, and put up an excellent fight that killed three of the team of five, she was finally defeated.

What she wasnt expecting, however, was to be brought-to in a high-society type sitting room, surrounded by the whole team of Pathfinders (the three she killed must’ve been resurrected, she assumed) as well as a well-dressed individual that the Pathfinders seemed to know. The Pathfinders questioned her, but she kept her beak firmly shut. It wasnt until the Paladin of Sarenrae told her that he had spared her that she asked; “Why?” The Venture Captain introduced herself at that time, and stated that Uchak was too strong an adversary to simply overlook the benefits of having her within the Pathfinders. Uchak, too versed in the diplomacy and lies of the “good”, simply blinked boredly before reminding them she was an “evil” creature meant to be killed, especially with the Paladin, of Sarenrae no less, in the room. “I’m more dangerous to you dead than alive, is that it?” she asked them without hesitance. When the Paladin spoke of the brand on her back, and how Sarenrae’s image being imprinted on her skin meant she couldnt possibly be evil, all of her feathers stood on end in rage. She knew the Paladin knew of her religion, and the implication of her power and devotion outlined what she would become upon death, and they were simply circumventing it. Before they could argue more, the Venture Captain explained that Uchak had two choices: face a judge and sentencing for her crimes associated with her faith, or lend her power to the Pathfinder Society and help their cause. Sitting on an impossible ultimatum, Uchak knew that being sentenced would likely bring about tortures to her soul that were unspeakable, and unknowable to those who were not versed in the depraved arts. She, ultimately, chose to relent to the Pathfinders, but upon accepting, the Venture Captain continued with her list of requirements on Uchak’s choice; Uchak was far too powerful at the given moment for the Pathfinders to trust fully, and the Decemvirate was enforcing that should she be under their rule, she be weakened accordingly in order to conform with the Society’s expectations. The Paladin seemed shocked and disgusted and turned to argue with the Venture Captain, but before Uchak could gather herself from her own initial shock, she was dragged out of the Venture Captain’s quarters by one of the more muscular Seekers.

For several weeks, Uchak laid in the infirmary bed, feeling weaker than even when she had the wasting disease. Being subjected to several castings of negative levels and a forced alignment change stripped her of much of her power, and left her feeling as though her whole body was made of lead; trying to lift even a single arm was more than she could do on most days. She had been stripped of her connections to her goddess as well; her unholy symbol, her scythe, and her armour were all confiscated for “study” by the Dark Archives, classified as “unique artifacts deemed fit for study”. She had been welcomed by the Venture Captain to apply for a job in the Archives so that she could study unique items such as themselves, and had agreed, but been unfit for doing any sort of work. It wasnt until the Seeker Paladin came down to visit her that she forced herself back to life, if only in ire and contempt at the Paladin’s “worry and care” for her well-being. He had apologized for sparing her, that she was correct, they had been worried their already thinned force would be wiped out completely by her transforming into a Daughter of Urgathoa, and had decided to bring her back to Magnimar to figure out what to do with her to prevent such a happening. He expressed remorse at the suffering she experienced, that he had no idea they would enforce such a thing upon her; it was then she snipped back at him that he had no real idea what she suffered. To be stripped of her faith, her connection to her goddess–and that he should have an idea, at least in fear, of what that would feel like–to want nothing more than to die and join her goddess’ side to further enjoy her undeath in Her realm, and yet be forced into an infinite torture at the hands of “do-gooders” like him. She asked him quite clearly if he really ever realized what “good” Paladins like him did to people they deemed “evil”, like her; if he ever really saw the consequences of his crusading like he did now, to see how mothers lost sons and daughters and husbands, or children lost mothers and fathers. She explained that the people she dealt with made their own choices–chose to leave all that behind to pursue their own desires–while men like him forced people to act like he thought they should, whether it was in the person’s best interest or would cause their downfall. She asked him very blandly which one of them–Uchak or the Paladin–were the real “evil” one in said situation: the one simply wanting freedom to do what they want, or to oppress others under the guise of “good”. While the Paladin was still in shock at being told such a real and true view point, she threw one last caveat at him: the branding on her back was not out of good, it was a punishment for a crime she was accused of with no evidence. She was, again, forced under the “good” of others, and that was when she knew she was not “good”, but if “evil” allowed people to be free of judgment, she would gladly be evil.

She never saw that Paladin again, much to her desires. She couldnt escape the Venture Captain, however, nor her underling Venture Lieutenants, and in the following weeks the combination of their visits got her up and out of bed, working on retraining her strength. She was found a job at a smithy’s doing tanning, as the Lieutenants said she wasnt trusted enough yet to work with the dead as a mortician, but her skill in preparing bodies as such would lend her to tanning. Yet she knew something was missing, and started on the lookout for a place she could purchase a, hopefully, temporary unholy symbol. Even in the underbelly of the city, she lacked the ability to locate even a necromancer able to point her toward a black market for one, and in the end, with funds from her tanning job, purchased a whittling knife and a small block of wood. Finding a quiet graveyard at night, she carefully carved a new unholy symbol all for herself, imbuing it with her goddess’ power, as limited as her connection to Her was at the moment. The action of it, however, undoubtedly restored her connection to Urgathoa, and the wooden symbol became her cloak clasp, proudly worn even in the middle of Magnimar.

After several months of recovery and retraining, the Pathfinders sent Uchak to Absalom to begin her work for the Decemvirate. In her time between missions, she worked in the Archives, hoping to learn the layout of the labyrinth that hold even seemingly normal objects imbibed with indescribable power in that one day she could steal away her blessed items. While still rather disproportionately weak for what she once was, she had proven indispensable to the Society for her abilities. She secretly held plan to rise to the level of Seeker, disappear with her blessed items, and once again become head priestess of a cult to Urgathoa, this time with enough knowledge of the Society to avoid defeat at their hands.

Over time, her need for vengeance dampening into slow burning fires. After a mission in Korvosa, she met a young house drake who felt a connection to her as a harbinger of death. The small drake puts up with Uchak's bitter personality, but as helped her calm her stronger emotions.