Born in the slums of Liverpool, Chris Mitchell was constantly bullied as a
child for his weak stature compared to the other kids in the area. His parents
refused to believe him, and thought him to be making up stories with which to
get their attention. Not caring for this, they ignored him. His cries for help
turned into cries for attention from a father that drank too much, and a mother
that was losing her grip on reality.
At the tender age of eight, his father finally grew tired of what he viewed as
mindless time-wasting on Chris' part, and hit him. Again and gain the blows
rained down on him. In the hospital with an arm broken in two places and a
busted rib, his parents claimed he had fallen down the stairs. For the next five
years, he appeared to be the most accident-prone child in his area. Even when
his father wasn't home, his mother would lash out at him for no reason, and the
children that he knew delighted in playing games like "See how many of Chris'
teeth you an kick out".
Leaving home at 13, Chris had suffered a grand total of ten separate breaks in
his arms, five fractures and breaks in his legs, and more smashed ribs than he
could count. Living with other desperate squatters, he attempted to take his own
life several times, always with a switchblade to his wrists.
By the time he was 15, he was a heavy smoker, and cared little for life.
Changing into a raven certainly didn't help his mental state. Alex Richardson,
the Corax known as Truth in Daylight, answered the call of his hatching Spirit
Egg and tried to help Chris through his traumatic time. Unfortunately, two weeks
after showing him the location of the local Sept, Alex was killed in unknown
circumstances. The Sept decided to honor Alex' memory by passing his deed-name
on to Chris, whether he wanted it or not.
Not entirely happy with the whole situation, he was taken under the wing of a
local Glass Walker, who saw something in him that the others didn't. They became
fast friends, with the Walker even offering Chris a new home, and protection
from his parents. A mere four months later, Chris and Sam Munroe, the Walker in
question were tracking a Wyrm-tainted company's encroachment into some of Sam's
local interests. They were found out and captured. Falling under the
influence of a powerful Wyrm-tainted mage without even knowing it, Chris simply
watched as Sam was taunted and tortured, and finally Turned to the cause of the
Wyrm. Chris was released and hurried back to inform the Sept. This was quite
possibly the worst move he could make. Upon hearing of his inaction, the Sept
attacked him, and he fled to the Umbra.
Flying as far and as high as he could, he saw some of the vistas of the
spirit-world and decided that if he could not find protection on Earth, he would
simply fly, trying to escape the world. Finally dragging himself back to Earth,
he found himself in the Kansas City.
Befriended by some of the Corax there, he started to come to terms with what
happened. Unfortunately, as his life is wont to do, it all went to hell.
Betrayed by a Garou who he thought was his friend, Chris took the only option as
it seemed to him. He ran, living on the streets and somehow avoiding flying off
for good into the Umbra. Staying at a shelter, he slowly tried to rationalise
what had happened. Becoming rather too cynical for his own good, he decided that
he must have been cursed by something, and that the gift that Raven had given
him was his only means to atone.
Watching the seedier side of the city, he saw pushers, whores and rapists doing
what they did best. Knowing that he hadn't the power to intervene in most cases,
he saved himself for the really deserving times. When a new drug smacking of
more Wyrm-taint than normal started hitting the streets, he realised that one
bird wasn't going to solve the problem. A pack of Silver Fang Garou agreed to
head into the city and investigate the case. Not long after, someone started
killing street-people in a ritual fashion. The cops couldn't give a damn, and it
was only because Chris could fly that he found out about it. Attempting to stop
whatever was going on, he started to drag the bodies back to an abandoned
appartment block in the worst slum of the city, where nobody would complain
about the stench. Though they had been killed, the bodies had been tied off to
prevent blood loss, and Chris undid the bindings. So it was that another Corax,
Elisa Asparsa found him, beaten into a coma and covered in dried blood.