Rayanya was born in Germany, but promptly moved with her parents to the US. The place of their new home was in the ghetto of New York City, top floor of a very trashy apartment complex. Her parents were rarely around to raise their child: her mother worked in a convenience store most of the day and her father held a job just outside the city, putting the killing bolts in cows' skulls before they were sent off to be cleaned and packed. Rayanya was watched over by Nana Baker, a kindly old black lady that lived next door to the struggling family.
Rayanya lived through a fitful young life, constantly growing ill throughout her youth. Through the third grade she attended one of the city's elementary schools, but was pulled away from it due to her ill health. Nana Baker homeschooled her from that point, until the old lady passed on when Rayanya was starting her first class of ninth grade. Discouraged and deeply upset, Rayanya returned to the public school system. Much to her disdain, the young adult was not accepted amongst her peers and she began to slip back into the shadows. She began to live off of theft, taking or scaring others into giving her what she wanted.
Rayanya went through many stages through those years; with Nana dead and her parents never at home, she had no one to guide her and no friend to help her with her troubles. The young girl migrated towards Satanism after finding a copy of its Bible on the shelves of her favorite local bookstore, purchasing it with stolen money. She followed the path until a different religion caught her attention: that of ancient Norse mythology. Abandoning shameless self-worship, Rayanya leapt happily into the religion, astonished at how much she enjoyed it and how real the gods seemed. However, the religion, while it did raise her spirits, were not quite enough to make the young woman a happy person once again. More problems were looming around the corner.
Rayanya's parents were rarely around, but she still loved them dearly. She never wanted to permanently lose them. But one sad night before she was to finally graduate and leave her retched highschool, while her now-alcoholic father was out drinking, Rayanya recieved a devistating phone call. The convenience store where her mother had been pulling an extended night shift had just been held up. Her mother had been shot, and was now in the hospital. Gathering up her coat, Rayanya started on the long walk to the nearest hospital. Unfortunately, when she got there her mother had already passed away.
Rayanya returned home to her father, who, upon hearing the news, flew into a drunken rage. He tried to find a way to blame the death on his daughter, and, in his frustration, began beating the girl. Rayanya was fated to graduate covered in bruises.
Rayanya was fortunate enough, though, to leave her wretched home by attending college. State aid paid for most of her two-year schooling in the Art Institute of NY, the rest taken care of with loans. After graduation, Rayanya went through a troubling time trying and failing at finding a job, which, due to her loans, put her into financial distress. She had to find a way out of her current financial hole. The answer came in a flier found on the side of a grubby NYC newspaper stand: a flier that told her she could get money and a trip to an island through medical research. Rayanya leapt on the possibility as quickly as she could, and found herself preparing to leave for the Island of Dr. Moreau.
