Istenda was born and awakened in Rathess, shortly before the Contagion; at that time, the city still lived, though the days in which it had thrived were long behind. Many in the city sought noble and glorious means to restore the Dragon-Kings to their previous glory; but Istenda did otherwise, trafficking with demons and making dark deals to raise his own power and that of the Draconic species. One day another Dragon caught him consorting with the demon Teneiros -- but in the moment Istenda slew him, and hid the body.
Then, the Contagion came. Where other Dragons fell dead in the streets around him, Istenda stood impervious... but not unchanged. Upon his breast appeared the Twisted Ouroboros: the black serpent, turned across itself in the infinity symbol, biting its own tail, the symbol of the Ebon Dragon. As half of the city fell dead, the others rounded on the Dragon marked with the sign of corruption and drove him from the city, bleeding and near death.
After years upon years of wandering, Istenda came across Era'vina -- the hundredfold city of exiles, far beyond Creation's borders in a stable bubble within the Wyld. There he found an uneasy existence among other Primordial races who had made homes there.
Eventually, the Thousand-Faced Man approached Istenda directly, and offered an arrangement, which the Dragon-King was quick to adopt. Whenever called upon to do so, he performed tasks for him, and soon he had committed himself fully to the service of Malfeas.
When he is introduced to Lai, Istenda has been assigned to watch him and influence him -- though the exact nature of the plan is not explained to Istenda, he is instructed to guide Lai towards the goal of conquering Creation with the army he has been given the tools to raise. Istenda is to subtly encourage him along this path whenever possible. He has also been given access to the Horn of Emptiness -- an artifact of magical, verdigrised bronze that allows him to communicate with and call upon the fealty of all creatures who might swear any loyalty to the Ebon Dragon (and access to several powerful such creatures), and the command to use this ability (as quietly as possible) to surreptitiously aid Lai where necessary.
Istenda knows Olosh (though not particularly well) from their time in Era'vina together; he knows that Olosh has predictive visions, suspects that Olosh knows about his mark (which he has hidden, even though it would not necessarily be viewed negatively by the Hundredfold of Era'vina), and is fairly certain that Olosh will oppose his goals regarding Lai.
When play begins, Istenda has yet to actually meet the god Kasima the Knife.
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