Backstory:
Growing up, Shaquille of clan Elanithino always felt different from his goliath brethren. He always felt a strong affinity with nature, even with living in the barren mountains of southern Barovia. One day he saw a majestic mountain lion drinking from a natural spring and couldn’t take his eyes away. The creature let Shaq approach him and even pet him, until it fearfully leapt away from him as Shaq’s older brother Ebok showed up, scolding him for getting so close to a dangerous animal they’d normally hunt.
Later that same day, Shaq and a few of the Goliath were playing a round of hoop toss, a game the Elanithino passed time with that needs no explanation. They used a cantaloupe and took turns throwing it into woven laundry baskets, held overhead by the tallest nearby Goliath they could find for more of a challenge. On Shaq’s turn, he felt something primal rile up inside him. He gripped the cantaloupe as hard as could, but when he went to toss it, he felt something wet; liquid, spilling all over his hand. He looked down and saw that the cantaloupe had been pierced; but by what? As the cantaloupe fell out of his hand, he finally saw them: five claws, sharp as those he had seen on the mountain lion earlier, sprouting from the tips of his meaty Goliath fingers.
It was a confusing time for Shaq as his peers feared and made fun of him for being an “abomination”. No one else had been gifted with Druidic powers in his clan; well, except for one other. Shaq’s eccentric uncle Labribir lived in a hut on a hill all by himself, secluded from the rest of the clan. Rumors said he could transform into a gigantic eagle, and that his hut could lift off the ground and fly. The outside of his hut smelled like roasted rat and toe jam, and there were strange symbols made of sticks all around it. Shaq didn’t like dealing with crazy people, but he had no other choice. If he couldn’t control his powers, he would be cast out from the tribe.
His training was difficult but Shaq quickly became one of the strongest Goliath in the tribe. He had the strength of a bear, the speed of a bee, and the loveableness of a cat. But still he refused to hunt, and only fought when he had to in self-defense when outsiders would attempt to attack the tribe for resources. Clan Leader Kuori didn’t take kindly to this behavior, and ordered Shaq be exiled from the tribe. Only his brother Ebok stood up for him, and when he did, Kuori beat him to a pulp in front of Shaq’s eyes. Shaq didn’t want to leave his brother but knew he would be killed if he stayed. Upon hearing Ebok’s final words, ”Go. I’ll find you.”, he left.
The mountains were treacherous. If you were exiled from the tribe you were as good as dead. Shaq surely wouldn’t have survived without his honed Druidic powers and attunement to nature. What he was mocked and ridiculed for in the clan became his saving grace. He always felt the Goliath were petty, savage creatures and that he served a greater purpose than what they could offer him. His uncle always told him there were greater threats, bigger problems in Barovia and the world outside of it. He knew he was destined for more.
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