Saddaj - Psychological Description
One of the most prominent features of Saddaj's personality is his devotion to the Ashen Steppes. Just as with most Desert Shamans, the Steppes are to him what a god is to his clerics. However, most Desert Shamans have a caravan or settlment both to protect and to rely on, Saddaj has neither. Saddaj's relationship with the Steppes is much more personal, as it is rare he speaks to anyone human, but he communes with the Steppes twice daily at least, more when in danger. He feels guilt for leaving his home, something the Steppes cannot understand.
Saddaj - Brief History
Saddaj had a strange connection to the desert ever since he was a child. He found little comfort around humans, and preferred solitude. He spent a lot of his spare time (which wasn't much - in the Steppes, you work or you leave) alone in the desert surrounding the settlement of Tal Sara, where he lived. While Shamans often displayed similar characteristics during their childhood, these were especially... severe. Many of the current Shamans expected actions of great significance to take place in Saddaj's life, though whether for better or for worse was not yet clear.
As Saddaj grew up, his Shamanic training began. Needless to say it went very well, his natural talent in the magic was truly unique. For these years of his life, Saddaj was happy, though it was doomed to end badly. On one of Saddaj's last days as a boy, a horrible sandstorm swept through Tal Sara. In truth, no one but the eldest Shamans in Tal Djirad had ever seen one like it, or would ever again. Saddaj, who had been going through his final training at the time, felt a voice speak to him, coming through the wind. It claimed to be the conciousness of the Ashen Steppes. It told him of how it had felt its enemies' hatred, as well as their strength, growing. Of how it had created him as a warrior to destroy them should they dare to challenge it once again. Of how it was now his turn to fight. It told him to kill his teacher to prove it could trust him. He did.
In doing so, Saddaj confined himself to a life wandering through the desert, speaking to no one living inside its borders. The desert sustained him, and made sure he would never give up. He even tried to end his own life once, the desert wouldn't allow it. So he walked. He walked until his feet were bleeding as the sun was setting over the cruel bright hills in the South.