Background

Ezra was born in New Zealand to a single mother. She and her Hapu raised him with tales of Maori gods and the balance of existence, and his imagination ran wild. He loved to go on adventures around Wainui and swim in Akaroa bay, watching the animals that existed peacefully there. When Ezra was seven, his mother became gravely ill. She spent a year in and out of hospitals, occasionally with Ezra by her side. However, as time passed, he was left with the Hapu more and more, constantly asking after her. On one of the rare occasions he was able to visit her she told him they were moving. It was nearly his eighth birthday and Ezra knew she wasn't supposed to leave her bed, but she was adamant. She'd heard about healers in the US who could supposedly help her fight her illness. Something about this made Ezra nervous but, being a child, he couldn't exactly articulate what it was. The took a boat over, then another, and another. Finally they reached land and were picked up by a man in a truck. They drove for hours, maybe a full day, before they were at some sort of community deep in the desert. It almost reminded him of his Hapu but there was something distinctly off about it. They called themselves The Church of the Left-Handed God. While they tended to his mother, he was required to attend their school, where he learned that God is old and must be replaced. They tell him that there are children being born who are God and his Angels, and that he is a member of the army who will search for them and free them from their chrysalis so they may take their places in the heavens. His mother died when he was nine, and no one from his Hapu ever came to collect him. Once or twice he'd tried running away, but was found and scolded and reminded that nothing survived the desert. He's ten when he fights off a rattlesnake with a stick. At this point he'd begun learning how to use weapons, including automatic rifles, having been told he would be required to protect the Church. After witnessing it, and having a long conversation, the adults of the church came to him and told him he 'housed the soul of the archangel Michael'. He went through years of forced education, strict rules and curfews, constant surveillance, and punishment in the form of tattoo branding only to be told when he had turned twenty that in order to 'ascend to heaven' Michael need to shed his chrysalis. He had to die. A few days before the ceremony a storm came through with heavy rain and lightning. Believing it to be a sign from the god of weather, Tawhirimatea, Ezra chose to run. He gathered a few supplies and escaped into the desert. He was found by a group of hippies a couple of days later. They nursed him back to health, taught him many things, and brought him to burning man – where he learned most of his social etiquette. Since then he's traveled and hitchhiked, partially to hide from the possibility of the church finding, and partially to see the all the parts of the world he'd missed in the last twelve years. His travels had brought him all over the states, ending in the East coast, where he was finally able to see the ocean again. He wanted to jump in and swim, but a quick dip of his toe proved it to be too cold to enjoy. He still wanted to see the waves and the animals so he hopped aboard a boat instead, journeying to an island of the coast of a state called New Jersey. The outbreak began a few weeks later. By that point he'd been living in a small lean-to in the woods, foraging food, or outright stealing it. He'd been close to a small town when people started attacking each other. He ran after that, back to his little camp where he curled up under his lean-to and hoped it was a dream. He learned it wasn't when one of the strange aggressive people from town attacked him. He was forced to kill the woman to save himself. After a bit of time trying to calm down from the panic and remorse, he decided he needed to find a more secure place to live. Preferably with people who could help defend him while he slept. He packed up his few belongings and has been constantly on the move since, only resting when he finds a quiet building with strong doors and windows. He has, on occasion, camped close to settlements, but his fear of being found by the Church of the Left-Handed god has made him stick to the shadows.