It was during one of those long wars that Shaydee had her first experience with the Starry Road. Her mother, Celesielle, was busy healing the wounded from the war and trying to make tips just to keep food on the table. In the center of such chaos Celesielle had failed to gain favor with her gods. She died healing the wounded. Shaydee was unable to find a Cleric in town, since a limited number could resurrect at the time and the few that could were all away at the war, so she held her mother's hand until her ghost departed to walk the Starry Road. Her little sister, Shimmah, was there with her, and Shaydee remembers this being the day that Shimmah made the decision to become a Cleric, so that no member of her family would ever have to die forever again.

This was also the day that Shaydee turned away from the traditional Gods. She prayed and begged first to Hodierna, then bargained with Urrem'tier for her mother's life. Where was the justice in this death? Her mother, who selflessly gave her life to help others.... Hodierna seemed to ignore her pleas, but Urrem'tier answered with a quick cold lash of his unseen tail. "My soul for my mother's," Shaydee begged, but his only answer was, "Your soul has another calling. You're destined to take a life and hand a dark soul to me." Shaydee woke, fearful from the dream. Who, then, was she to worship? For a while she worshiped Urrem'tier out of fear, but it was later in life that she found her true calling. She also realized that helping people was often unrewarding.

This was a turning point in Shaydee's life. She started to hate her father and his Paladin ways. How dare he not be there in their hour of need! Shaydee was now the sole bread winner of the family. She was a young Empath, and her limited healing skills did not bring in much of an income. At the tender age of fifteen, she started stealing small items of food for her family, never letting them know where the food came from. Since she could not hunt, it was their only means of survival. No money or word came from her father in the months that followed. These were hard times for Shaydee and her family. There was no time for school or study. Thus, Shaydee never learned to read or write, nor did she learn to speak Common correctly, often slipping into bad grammar and developing somewhat of an accent. Some of her small earnings went toward Shimmah's clerical training, and little by little she began to steal more. Now she was taking not just food but also coins and small gems which she would pawn to feed the family.

It was one evening a year later that Shaydee's life changed forever. The war ended. She expected her father to show up and she did not want to face him, so she snuck to the Empath guild to be alone, and maybe heal for a few measly tips. There was a celebration in town... a victory. Many of the Paladins were home from the war, and a few of the less noble ones were drunk. One such Paladin staggered into the Empath guild. Injured from a bar fight, he was obviously not your typical paladin of honor. A dark soul perhaps? He asked Shaydee to heal his wounds. As her hands touched him, his eyes changed and he started gazing upon her young body with lust. Shaydee was very innocent at this point and was frightened by his forceful advances. In her fear she drew out her carving knife, hoping to frighten him away or sober him up. He did not see her knife as he lunged toward her, attempting to pin her against a wall, but he felt the knife's cold sting drive straight through his heart. Self defense? An accident? Empathic shock does not know of such things.

It hit her hard, a cold, sharp pain throughout her body. She doubled over with the pain of it, tears of agony streaming down her face. The sounds of her screams woke other Empaths sleeping in a room nearby, and several people from the street rushed in to help. At first it appeared that she was screaming from the pain of attempting to heal a dying Paladin. A fellow Empath, Revela, touched her shoulder to comfort her, and explain that every Empath looses a patient once in a while. Then the truth was revealed... Revela felt Shaydee's empathic shock. Although she did not mean to betray Shaydee's grim secret, her eyes told the tale, unable to hold back her horror of what was before her. An Empath had killed...

The angry crowd did not wish to hear Shaydee's excuses or reasons, and Shaydee was not able to even tell them in her agony. All she could think of was to run. Who would believe her story? And even if they did... and Empath who was a murderer? It was unthinkable. Her life, as she knew it, was over. She fled past the crowd, ignoring the pain of empathic shock, running blindly as the furious mob chased her. Sounds of angry gwethdesuan calls rang in her head. "Shaydee is a murdering Empath." She could take it no more she threw down her gweths and fled into a broken sewer grating to hide.

Shaydee knew it would not be long before they figured out where she had gone. She ventured deeper into the sewers, disorientated, tired, hungry, and still throbbing with the pain of empathic shock. She lost all track of time in the dark crevices beneath the city. She could think of nothing other than who would feed her family now. Exhausted from the stress, she found a dry spot to curl up and sleep. For the first time in her life, Shaydee cried.

Perhaps her cries were heard by someone unseen, or perhaps gossip lent a hand to rumors of the fallen Empath in the sewers.... However it happened, several days later, Shaydee was found by a young Elven Thief named Vermis. He listened to her story, then took her by the hand. "Come with me. Your life isn't over, it's just beginning." He told her about the Thief Guild and how they all stuck together. Shaydee had heard only mumbled rumors of its existence... this was the first time in her life that she heard the tales confirmed.

Vermis took her back to the streets and helped her create a disguise. "From now on you will be a Ranger," he said and winked. He handed her the first gifts anyone had ever given her, a Ranger guild ring and a crossbow. He then took her to the Viper's Nest Inn, and after buying her some food and drinks, he said, "Ya must find the Thief Guild on yer own. I have faith you can do it. I'll be seeing ye soon, Shaydee. I guarantee it." He then disappeared into the shadows.

Shaydee did find the guild, and started her life as a Thief. She had come to hate the world, the justice system, and the Paladin Guild. Although the pain of her empathic shock slowly faded over time, her contempt for the Empath Guild never died. To this day, she still tries to frame them for her crimes, often dropping stolen herbs and goods into the white cabinet, hoping that they would be blamed for the theft. She trusted no one outside of her Ru'at, and lived up to the name of Coldsilence.

Driven by her new goals, she vowed to become one of the best at her new trade. She made no secret of her thiefly ways. Instead, she walked with pride displaying her Thief Guild ring for all to see. To Shaydee, the guild was something to be proud of. Though a reckless band of vagabonds, she learned they held more honor among each other than any other guild she had ever encountered.

After learning the ways of the Thief, she turned her worship to the Serpent God, Ushnish, and the learned the ancient ways of her S'Kra Mur Ancestors. She chose to follow the path of the first Dragon Priest, Sh'kial. Her hope was to revive the ancient religion and rid the world of Dzree's evil followers (Dragon Priest fanatics).

Shaydee secretly sent money to her brothers and sisters. She later learned through her sister Shimmah that her father never returned from that war... he had been killed in action. She did not grieve, but she no longer blamed him for abandoning the family. Shaydee and her siblings were adopted by her godparents, Revela and Marlik. Ironically, they were Empath and Paladin, just as her natural parents were. Marlik and Shaydee had similar conflicts as she had with her natural father. They did not always see eye to eye, but she learned to respect him more than she respected her real father. Revela she had always respected. She was finally able to tell her story of what happened that day in the guild. Revela believed her. She was an experienced Empath and she knew what male patients could be like.... A small comfort that someone understood and forgave her for her past.

Shaydee married an assassin/Thief, Hworang. The marriage sadly ended but the resulting child was Shaydee's pride and joy, young Bree. She did not wish for her daughter to fall into her thiefly ways, so encouraged Bree to become a Barbarian. Shaydee decided that she would never marry again. The pain of a broken heart chilled her far more than her empathic shock ever had. The scars would never heal.

Shaydee's sister Shimmah gained success as a Cleric, but her brother Zumahs dropped out of clerical school to follow Shaydee into the Thief Guild. Shaydee's very first Thief apprentice was her own little brother. He had a LOT to learn. After successfully instructing the renegade bandit, Zumahs, Shaydee decided on a new goal in life -- to train the young Thieves in the ways of the "old school of thought" taught to her by her own elders.

However, as Shaydee's fame and reputation as a Thief grew, it became more difficult to remain stealthy in her criminal acts. Moving to higher crimes such as shoplifting, her name became posted all over town. Shop keepers and town guards constantly watched her and refused to sell to her. She needed a new plan...

"I've got it!" she said to herself. "I'll join the Mentor Society! That way I can help young Thieves, and at the same time, it's gunna be a excellent cover for my crimes! If folks think I'm now earning a honest living as a Mentor, they ain't gunna suspect me of stealing stuff."

That brings us to this day. A new plan, a new challenge.