Rameh Zahn was born in Hireotha, but the volcanic highlands of Ognenstrof shaped him. Life among jagged ridges and ash-filled valleys hardened him early. He learned to fight for food, trade steel for safety, and vanish into black rock when lawmen came searching. The mountains protected him for a time, but his reputation traveled faster than his feet. By twenty, he carried more enemies than coin, and a bounty that stretched from ashfields to the coastal passes.
Rameh fled east to survive. He crossed rough country until Vidora’s forests and marshes swallowed him whole. There, he rebuilt. His band lived by raids and ambushes, quick strikes followed by clean escapes. They took what they needed and moved on, careful not to linger long enough for pursuit to catch them.
That life ended when Captain Belle crossed his path. The fight was short and brutal. Rameh expected execution or exile. Instead, Belle spared him and his men after learning they trafficked neither women nor children. The restraint surprised him. In her discipline, he recognized something rare. Not mercy, but principle.
The choice cost him. Some of his men refused to follow another leader and drifted back into Vidora’s wilds. A smaller group stayed. Under Belle’s command, Rameh proved loyal, capable, and unyielding in the field, though rougher than her seasoned veterans.
When Belle moved her camp south, she sent Rameh north of the Vidoran Divide to scout for Ravens. The assignment carried risk and distance. It also carried trust. For Rameh, it marked the moment he stopped running and began standing for something he chose.