It was a slaughter. The Ironpyre Kobold Clan had invaded Skull's Warren, the Gemmin Ysoki. They used brutal, efficient methods - close off the tunnels, and ignite everything they could. Smoke filled the air, Ysoki burned, and Skull watched as friends and neighbors melted, the heat getting to them.
Out of a stroke of luck, Skull, their family, and some other Ysoki managed to escape. The kobolds were cunning however - and they rained arrows on anyone who took the standard exits.
They made a bold gamble - they would cross the ice caverns, and exit out to the nearby city. The caverns were only traversed by prepared, veteran traders. It was a long route too - easily a month on foot. It was by no means a good plan, but what other choice did they have?
Skull's baby sister lasted barely a few days before freezing to death. Their Father, a few weeks. They had made it however, to the city, to safety, to freedom!
The border guards shot Skull's mother in the eye - felling her in one shot. The city had taken a violent stance against refugees, and was no haven.
Skull and their brother scrambled, escaping the guards. There was little legal work they could do, and they still needed to eat. The two of them joined a thieving crew. Skull was the talker - distracting and scamming, their brother the sleight of hand, picking pockets whenever they could.
A few years passed by, and Skull and their brother had grown close. Survivors. Siblings. They were all that they had together.
A job went wrong. The guards were tipped off, and Skull's brother didn't stand a chance as the guards rained down Alchemists Fire. The poor Ysoki burned alive, screaming in agony.
Skull escaped with the body, and with a macabre sense of grieving, took their brother's skull and turned it into a mask. It was decorated to blend with Skull's head, unable to tell where the Skull started, and when Skull started. And the nickname Skull became theirs.
Skull went back to scamming for a few years - mostly as a false medium. Skull wasn't sure where the lie began however - they swear they could sometimes see their family, in the waves of heat on a hot summer day, or the snow in winter.
Skull had scammed too much, however, and caught the eye of local law enforcement. Running from the law, Skull stowed away on a ship to the portal in the sea, and went beyond the portal...