Ishmerai Yu

Ishmerai Yu was born in Goro, Kaitenshi during one of the worst monsoons in recent history. During his birth, his family home had flooded from the rain, and the family had only been saved by the grace of a stranger passing by. The severity of the storm that night led many to believe that Kailari had been present in Goro, with some suspecting that the good Samaritan had been the god himself.

He is the second-youngest of six children, surviving two of his older siblings. He grew up in poverty as industrialisation in Kaitenshi spread out from Kanainoshi and large fishing companies took over the waters from local fishermen - including his father. Despite their struggles, he, along with his siblings, were well-educated and resourceful - Ishmerai chief among them. Every single one of the kids were put to work at a young age, with the three older siblings setting off to work at the companies while the younger half did domestic work alongside their mother.

At the age of 9, tragedy struck when Ishmerai, with his elder sister Mai and youngest brother Yarden, took a trip to the beach unattended. When Yarden was swept in by the tides, Ishmerai leapt in after him despite not being able to swim. Mai went in after them, only managing to pull them both to an outcrop of rocks before a wave pulled her under. Although she had been a strong swimmer, she wasn't able to resurface. Ishmerai and his brother were later discovered by nearby fishermen but Mai's body was never recovered. The incident drove a permanent wedge in the family. Ishmerai's father blamed him for being weak and irresponsible, while his mother fell ill from the grief and was left unable to work. Ishmerai developed anxiety and thalassophobia from the event, and has never learned to swim - something considered an omen in many cultures.

A few years later, Ishmerai began showing symptoms of a hereditary chronic illness largely affecting the lungs. No doctor could diagnose it nor find a treatment. Around the same time, a series of riots broke out at the fishing company and local factories. Workers protested against poor working conditions and low wages. They soon turned violent as bosses retaliated with zealous security and many workers were killed. One of them was Ishmerai's eldest brother Michail, who was also the biggest source of income in the family at that point. As the family fell deeper into poverty, and Ishmerai not having much of a future left, he had resolved that he had no other choice but to steal.

During one such endeavour, Ishmerai encountered a curious stranger who had helped him by distracting a foreign business owner while Ishmerai cut his purse and escaped. He later learned that the stranger was god of thieves himself, Kailari, and that he had a proposition for the boy. In exchange for access to Kailari's power, Ishmerai had to carry out missions for the god. And while Kailari could not cure him of his illness as that was outside his sphere of influence, he could simply delay its progression. Although Ishmerai was skeptical, he agreed. The deal was sealed by way of a contract inked onto Ishmerai's body and thus he became Kailari's contractor. The first in Kaiothyran history.