Raven grew up in a non-descript village. With three other siblings, Raven's household contained a typical and well-adjusted family. Throughout their childhood, the children would play in the forest and attend to their schooling as their lumberjack father worked the area and their seamstress mother kept the household running.

None of the children knew anything about their extended family, not knowing of uncles or aunts, or of grandparents of either side. Still, they would hear the occasional rumor that both sides of their family had a little more history and excitement than the current day-to-day that the children experienced. These rumors included subtle whispers about adventurer and druidic blood in the family, to more outlandish tales of non-human ancestors -- elves, dryads, even dragons! All children in the village had similar tales about their own pasts, and so the hearsay simply become the fuel for children's games of heroes and villains.

As the children grew older, they were each drawn to a life apart from their simple upbringing. Raven's older brother joined a band of barbaric young men that, while unruly and frowned upon in public, did in fact do some good when it came to skirmishes with other groups over land rights. Both of Raven's younger siblings joined the local rangers' guild to help keep watch over the nearby forests and hills. Raven's path led to a more isolated existence, becoming a druid and charged with keeping harmony among all living creatures in the area.

By this time, none of the children gave much thought to their careers and the tales told of their family's past, never once putting together the wild fantasy stories with their lots in life.

Raven's first shape was that of an eagle, and the burgeoning Druid immediately had an epiphany -- this was the reason Raven was put in this world. The sheer magnificence of soaring above the trees, of experiencing life in a completely new way, changed Raven's life forever. 20 years of living life as a human now seemed like such a waste, when there were so many other forms to experience. The Druid began seeing all creatures in a different light, trying to understand how they see the world, hear the world, smell the world and feel the world. Raven used the Wild Shape ability as often as possible, becoming almost addicted to these new sensations, very familiar but so subtly, so importantly different.

As the years went by, Raven's advancement as a Druid was stunted by this driving quest to know life as everything else in the world did, and while no new magical spells became available to this child of nature, true understanding of the other creatures of the lands led to deeper, more innate powers to spring forth. At age 34, the pinnacle of the Shifter's powers have been reached, so much so that Raven can no longer be considered human.

Raven never returns to human form, having wasted too much time on that one experience. Many "common" forms are used, including eagles and owls for scouting, wolves for tracking, etc. Even the experience of bearing passengers is one that Raven not only tolerates, but enjoys, so is quite willing to become a horse, elephant or even larger to aid in the journey. Raven's "normal" form is usually one of the same race as fellow companions to make them feel more at ease.

Because of Raven's ever-shifting form, communication is usually kept to a minimum. Speech and other forms of communication, while certainly part of the whole "experience" sought, definitely fall into a lesser category when compared to running, flying, burrowing, or... even fighting.

Ever the Druid, Raven's first missive is still to nature, and since attaining a nearly all-natural (or perhaps every-natural) form, the defense of Raven's own self ranks high. The experience of biting, clawing, raking or trampling is one not denied, and Raven can sometimes change forms in battle not necessarily for tactical reasons but experimental.

Now that the zenith of shapeshifting has been found, Raven has realized the neglect to nature as a whole, as a system, that has been caused by this quest. Only recently has Raven's druidic magic come back, having been unavailable (but unnoticed in its absence) because of the single-minded obsession with knowledge and experience over attention and balance. Raven now seeks to return to and advance in the life of a Druid.