Samsi was born of the Magor people in the year 352 AD. The Magors came from north of Tibet, splitting into two branches - one went northeast to live along the River Volga, while the other moved further west and founded the city of Madjar, between the Caspian and Black Seas. This is what is now known as Armenia. She and her twin brother, Naphtali, were born on the second day this second, more western branch arrived at their destination. This multiple birth was seen as a fortuitous sign from the gods that the people should settle here, in what would become an important port city. The people believed this land would be theirs forever, but that was not to be the case.
When the Huns invaded, Samsi and Naphtali were only three years old. Amidst the chaos, their parents gave Naphtali to a young woman who promised to get him out of the city. She could not, however, also care for Samsi and their ten year-old daughter, Dima. So instead, they sent Dima with Samsi to try and reach relatives by the river. Samsi only knows of this story from the tales told to her by Dima throughout her childhood. Dima also gave Samsi a medallion, telling her little sister to wear it always. It was their family coin, with origins in what is now northern Germany. Dima always told Samsi, no matter how dire the circumstances, to wear her medallion so that others would know her for who she was. Dima also told Samsi to always remember she was special. She was a twin, chosen by the gods to bring hope and freedom to those with neither. Of course, in retrospect, Samsi would question the truth of all of these stories. She'd never felt like she had some other part of her, wandering around out there. She'd never felt or been treated very special, either, at least, not at first.
Dima and Samsi were unable to find any relatives at the River Volga, despite a long and exhausting search, and they ended up being taken by the Greco-Romans to Constantinople (City of Constantine then) of the Byzantine Empire. They were sold as slaves to work in the household of a political leader, but when Samsi came of age, her looks and extremely fair hair worried the mistress of the house, so she suggested her husband give her to one of the Hun "diplomats" as a peace offering.
So at 15, Samsi and her sister were separated, and Samsi was gifted to a Hun warlord named Berig, one of the East Goth tribes, as a wife. She was thought to be good luck because of her unusually fair hair and blue eyes, and Berig grew to prize her above all others, often discussing strategies with her. An intelligent young woman, she grew to realize that her husband was a great leader and potential for power, and that she was the only woman whose counsel was being sought. For some time, she knew that as the wife of a powerful leader, she was no longer a slave, but she was just now learning that she also held potential for great power, just as her husband did.
Samsi abhorred the concept of slavery it had torn her family apart and she could remember only the sister who stayed with her, Dima. She felt robbed of a life with her parents and brother.
Eventually, she convinced Berig that there was no loyalty greater than that of a freed slave towards his or her liberator. With his young bride at his side, they took over a huge section of territory simply by convincing the slaves of those regions to leave (and in some instances, to slay) their masters and either depart as freed people, or join them. Most join them.
But Samsi and Berig's success did not last long. They spent years trying to conceive, and both were distressed when it became apparent that no heir was forthcoming. It was a huge problem for the people following them they needed to know that there would be more kings from Berig's bloodline. She pretended to be pregnant a few times to buy some time, hoping that eventually she would become pregnant. But at 23, the point became moot when she and Berig were both assassinated by Greco-Romans in Turkey, who feared that their lucrative slave trade could fall to the growing armies of the self-proclaimed King Berig and the Eastern Goths.
When Samsi revived for the first time, she saw her dead husband tied to a cross outside their city. When a slave found her revived on the cross, he cut her down and hid her with a nomadic tribe outside the city. The locals thought she was a goddess and kept her there secretly, eventually smuggling her to Persia, out of the reach of the Romans and Huns. She feels that her work as breaker of chains has been rudely interrupted, and builds a small army of loyal followers who form their own nomadic tribe in what is now known as Iran.
Samsi had no idea if she is a goddess, but she didn't think she was since she didn't have any more knowledge than the average person. All she knew was that she apparently couldn't die, and that she couldn't have children. She also learned that leading a tribe was not easy for a woman in the world that was coming into shape around her. She found it easier to rule by proxy, through the men by her side.
She always kept an ear to the ground for her twin brother, but not knowing if he even existed outside of what Dima told her, she was unsuccessful. So while her own followers scattered after her husband had died of an infection, Samsi found herself sailing North, hoping to reconnect with the people she was told the Magor came from.
She stayed in Northern Europe (largely in Scandinavia) for many years, meeting and living with - often marrying - several men over the years. Some were immortal, but others were not. Samsi managed to hold onto her wealth due to a keen eye for political weather. She used to welcome war and the spoils it brought, but that turned into a pragmatic avoidance of political upheaval.
When she first went to Scandinavia, she reconnected with those who recognized her medallion, and told her that she was descended from a line of ancient people who were as mysterious as they had been powerful. She met another immortal, also descended from these people, who told her who she was and what power they as immortals might have. This man seemed unsurprised that she had earned the title of Freer of Slaves and Breaker of Chains, as this had long been her family motto on the medallion - signified only by rough markings - which translated in ancient Norse rune lettering to mean 'Justice Answers Injustice'.
Samsi so deeply connected with her familial roots via this man who became her teacher that she settled there for many years, dedicating her life to finding injustice and answering it with what she saw as justice. She did not always fall into power, but when she did, she ruled with a kind heart and a very heavy hand towards those she thought were unjust.
As for the game, she did not hide from it or from other immortals. She lived on both sides of the line quite openly. While she did not speak of immortality to the mortals in her life, many had seen her die and revive and battle other immortals. Her presence commanded understanding and discretion, and usually, she got it. Her quickening grew quite strong over the centuries as a result.
As the slave trade developed throughout Europe, Samsi did all she could to quietly disrupt it by funding politicians who tried to block and strictly regulate the growing business, though she knew it was a losing battle. There was simply far too much money involved.
So she shifted her funds to piracy, hitting the slavers' boats especially hard. Slaves were freed when possible and always, the money and goods from travelling slavers were stolen and divided. She was very good to those who were loyal, and yet she gained the reputation that disloyalty would be dealt with swiftly and harshly, though always with a polite and quiet smile from Samsi. She gained a reputation on the seas as one to be feared by slaving ships, and as the slave trade expanded to the New World, so did Samsi.
In America, she bought coastal lands and kept slavers off of her lands, but she could not keep them away forever. So instead, she learned who they were and conspired with different pirates to raid those ships when they came too close to her own land. And as the years passed, of course townships and charters expanded and she lost her power and was convicted of conspiring with pirates. She was hung on more than one occasion, resurfacing farther away with a new identity each time.
But it wasn't until the Underground Railroad was formed that she had her chance to shine.
She had married a man sympathetic to her cause who held a large estate in Virginia. Together, they helped countless slaves escape to the north via the tunnels that skirted their land and extended into the forests beyond. She cared for those who were sick or injured, and provided them with food and clothes to the extent that she discreetly could.
But it was never smooth sailing, especially in Virginia. She and her husband owned slaves to avoid suspicion, which she always felt torn about and which made her realize that perhaps things were not as black and white as she thought.
Her husband fought and died in the Civil War on the Union side, although his land was Confederate. The estate was burned to the ground, first by the Confederates and then by the Union soldiers. However, as Union loyalists, the land was restored to Samsi (who had by then adopted the name Samantha), who sold the ruins to local government so that a memorial graveyard might be established.
She returned at long last to Iran, this time in a more earnest effort to reconnect with the ancient lands of what she considered her youth. While there, she met and fell and love with a man who dealt in trading spices and fine materials coveted by the west. He had built a sort of trade empire, and immediately recognized that she had the combination of charisma, beauty, will and shrewd business sense that he'd thought no women possessed.
This began her long life in the import/export business. She fell in love with Tangier, where she kept a permanent home, and also London, where she kept a flat from the turn of the century onwards. She also kept a residence in New York on the Hamptons, from the mid-century onwards.
She had her business hand in many pots: importing and exporting goods between Asia, Japan, Europe, Africa and America. Things were thriving right up until Captain Tripps broke out. She had been in New York at the time, and could see that she needed to get out fast.
Samsi got as far as Kansas before all organized transportation ground to a halt. She found herself torn in two directions when the dreams came, but she sensed there were people who needed help in Las Vegas. There were slaves who did not realize that was what they were there. She did not think she was needed in Boulder. So after the last of her friends from the road pass away, she decides to move on to Las Vegas.
