Phinit was born to a Ghostwise couple who lived in Waterdeep. They had moved away from most of hin society, feeling they could find greater opportunities in a large city. Because of this as Phinit began to grow up he always heard the common tongue spoken around him. Phinit's parents often had human guests, and even when they did not, they would speak in common to each other and to Phinit, to practice the language. When Phinit was nine years old, a major event happened in his life. One of his parents' guests, a human woman, was visiting for dinner. Phinit could smell her scent at the table which was enhanced by a perfume she wore. He enjoyed the scent and moved quickly over to her. Before his parents or the human woman could react, Phinit bit into her leg. He was pulled away quickly, nibbling at a small piece he had pulled from her. She was quickly brought to a healer and healed, but Phinit's action harmed his parents' social standing. They saw themselves as high social climbers in spite of their race. They saw what harm Phinit had done, and could do again. Even before this incident, his ugly color and features had not made him a favorite of the people in Waterdeep, or helpful to his parents' social climb. But now he seemed worse to both the humans and his parents. Barely a week after the dinner visit, Phinit's parents took him out into the forest, and abandoned him. Phinit barely recalls this but he does recall being left in the wilds because those in the city did not approve of his instinctive eating as he wished. Once his parents had left, Phinit began to wander, trying to find them and find his way. He eventually grew hungry and though his nails were short, both they and his teeth were sharp and he managed to kill a squirrel with them.
He wandered for years, becoming very knowledgeable about the forests and various wilderness areas. He hunted by his instincts, getting better as he practiced. He learned to cover himself with leaves and sticks, to hide when it was better to wait for prey to come to him, than to try to chase it, such as if his prey was faster than he. This way of hiding was also useful at the times when he found something larger or more dangerous than him chasing him, to avoid being the prey himself. He saw that he could use his teeth and his claws to tear the corpse of his kill into several smaller pieces, which could be moved to a safer place more easily than a whole corpse. If he covered these pieces with certain leaves and herbs, they would keep well, and he could keep them to eat if he had bad luck in a few hunts, rather than suffering as he got especially hungry as he sometimes had. He found that a thick tree branch could make a good weapon, especially when defending himself against a strong beast. He also found that a branch with a sharp end could make a powerful weapon, which could pierce tough-skinned animals more easily than his fingers. Still, he enjoyed the experience of tearing into an animal with his own hands. He grew taller, stronger and more fierce. He also realized, after once having a group of humans track him and nearly catch him, that it is safer to be hard to track, and one thing that had especially helped them was that he often left pieces, especially inedible ones, of the remains of his kills lying where he killed. From that point, he began to bury, hide or destroy whatever he did not eat or keep of the remains of his kills. He intended to be prey as rarely as possible.
One day, when Phinit was fifteen years old, he saw a human moving through the wilds. Now Phinit had seen other humans, including a group that hunted him, but this one was different. This one did not cut trails, but moved stealthily between trees much like Phinit. He dressed not in strange clothing that stood apart from the forest, like the other hunters or travellers Phinit had seen, but in green and brown clothing that blended into it. Phinit tracked this man, but found it far more difficult than most tracking that he had done. Finally, after moving a good distance, the man rested. Phinit took this chance to move toward him, stealthily, but did not attack. As he crept up behind, Phinit stepped onto a small bunching of leaves and made a very gentle rustling noise. The man in green and brown quickly spun around and looked straight at Phinit, holding a spear and ready to throw it. Phinit stood still, appraising the man, impressed by his quickness but unsure of his intentions, his own staff ready. The man spoke slowly, saying words that Phinit did not fully understand, but which seemed familiar. He remembered the meaning of a word or two that the man said. Among those words, was the word ‘friend'.
Phinit and this man slowly came to understand one another. Phinit's trust of the man grew slowly. The man also did not smell like he would be particularly tasty, which saved his life more than he knew. The man, whose name was Conorl, slowly taught Phinit more of the common tongue. Phinit found the words difficult to pronounce as he was not used to speech. He growled as he slowly forced out words, but he was willing to learn because it helped him to work with Conorl. Because they could communicate, they could better organize some of the hunting they did for more difficult prey. Conorl taught Phinit more of fighting with staves and spears, especially how to fight against humans, who were likely to use weapons unlike the natural weapons of animals Phinit was accustomed to fighting. These weapons felt uncomfortable to use for Phinit, but he thought knowledge of them might be useful, and took pride in that knowledge. Conorl also showed the use of magical wands and scrolls. Phinit found this magic strange, but did not fear it. His parents attempts to fit into human society meant that they never spoke of Ghostwise history, including their distrust of magic. As Phinit learned more, the new things began to be introduced at a slower pace. He learned some basics of reading, though not enough to do it easily. He learned a few other, smaller things. He was noticing, however, a change in Conorl.
Phinit and Conorl were not always together. They often seperated for days or weeks, when each felt like hunting a different area or otherwise wished to be alone. As Phinit neared the age of seventeen, he noticed Conorl was away for longer and longer periods of time. When he returned, he often had a strange scent underlying his own. And when the two of them went hunting together, Conorl would seem to find less enjoyment, and sometimes act distracted. He was not acting as the sharp hunter Phinit had learned from and respected. Phinit confronted Conorl with what he had seen, and was shocked by Conorl's answer. For several months, when separated from Phinit, he had been in cities. He had met a woman among merchants who were travelling to Waterdeep. After he spoke with her, he had, as he put it, "fallen in love." Phinit did not understand this statement. When Conorl tried to explain, Phinit took it as having some relation to a wish to mate. Phinit had sometimes felt the urge to mate, but never seen one with whom he wished to mate. Conorl explained that he went to the city to meet with this woman. He had to change into other clothes, which were uncomfortable, but necessary to look acceptable to her and walk easily in the city. Phinit did not like that Conorl did things he disliked for this and said so, but was told that this is what you have to do in society. The more Conorl told of what he did to see, and while seeing this woman, the more angry Phinit was. However Conorl kept saying that this is what is done in society. Finally Phinit asked if he had mated yet with this woman. Conorl laughed, which Phinit did not understand at all. He then explained that in society, you have to marry before mating, and marriage is what you do with someone you love. When he tried to explain marriage, Phinit was truly angered. He growled out loudly, "You... will give up... hunting... the forest... even fighting... all that you enjoy... because she... wants it?... you will... live in... a city... bound to her... forever... by a rule... that makes... no sense?" Phinit saw that this ‘love' Conorl spoke of, and the time he was spending in the city, were clouding his brain. He was no longer acting on his instincts, and doing what he wished. Phinit tried to explain this, but finally saw that Conorl was blinded by this ‘love'. Phinit pounced onto him fiercely, and tore his throat out surprisingly easily. Conorl had lost his hunting instinct and let down his guard. Phinit mourned briefly over the loss of the one who had taught him much, and who had been a very enjoyable hunting partner. However he knew that he had not lost Conorl when Conorl died, but when he submitted to this strange ‘love'.
Phinit moved on from this, avoiding the stench of cities, with their rules which make no sense. He let his instincts guide him, swearing never to make the mistake of Conorl and do things only because others wished them, or worse, because that was just "the way they were done." He knows the truth of himself is in the hunt, where all can be predators or prey, and he intends to be the former.