OOC
Some of y'all went really far into background writing. I've got some ideas that I haven't quite fully fleshed out yet. I think I'm going a slightly different direction than my original pitch, but it should be some fun flavor. I'm thinking of not being directly local, for one.
Basically, Shara sprang into existence in a military graveyard in Egede, a city in Mendev where weary soldiers went to relax and old soldiers retired to die. Duskwalkers are essentially worthy souls that have been plucked and put back into the world to perform a role of shepherding lost souls, so Shara is most likely herself a former crusader (though she herself isn't terribly sure of her former identity). Raised by the clergy of Pharasma who oversaw the cemetery (as well as the clergy of other faiths who performed their particular rites for the dead), she learned a great deal about souls, spirits, healing, the cycle of life and death, and the foul undead that pervert it. In part due to her nature, she was a natural magnet for those lost souls, in the form of phantoms, and she learned the ways to help them find their peace.
Her most recently acquired phantom, though, is a bit of a puzzle. Rather than being bound to the world because of anger, remorse, despair, or any of the other negative emotions that so often leave souls with unfinished business, this one remains out of a stubborn sort of kindness. A paladin in life, this spirit doesn't want to give up its mission of helping people, so it is intent on remaining until it's done enough good. While Shara herself is Neutral, as are many Pharasmans, this spirit tries to tug her towards good acts, something she may exasperatedly agree to. Unbeknownst to either of them, this spirit (despite its apparent age when it died) is actually a descendant of the crusader from which Shara was incarnated.
In her studies at the temple, she read books and other writings penned by Professor Lorrimor and was impressed. When he came to lecture in Nerosyan (the capital city of Mendev), she traveled to attend and was an apt student. She caught his attention (not unusual for a gray-skinned person to stand out a bit), and they ended up establishing a dialogue via correspondence, each one penning long thoughts and arguments back and forth to one another. The latest letter, however, informed her that he had died. While she's no stranger to death, the man made enough of an impression on her that she decided to travel and pay her respects.