Qulai's family was a strong and powerful one within the wolf tribe. In a tribe of warriors they were the greatest shaman, even comparing to the great shaman of the Eagle tribe. But in spite of their power they lived a life as unofficial outcasts, not that they were cast out of the tribe but that the warriors had a general distrust for them and their practices.

Qulai grew up in this environment, only interacting with her brothers, sisters, and cousins. The other children in the village were told to leave them alone and not play with them, there was no good reason or even hatred behind it except that it was bad luck. But still she grew up strong. Her family taught her how to ride, how to shoot a bow, how to fight with a sword. She was skilled in the ways of all of these, but she truly excelled in the craft of her parents and grandparents, the art of the shaman.

It was through them that she learned of magic and how to use it, how to summon the spirits and divine the future. She found her real calling in this, following in the footsteps of her family.

Life in the tribe wasn't easy, but it wasn't bad either. Her father was often summoned to the ger of the Khan to divine the future for him or to heal some injuries. During the night on an especially cold winter her father was summoned to the ger of the Khan for just such an occasion, and Qulai was invited to come along.
The Khan's son, Ogedai, had just undergone his trial in the freezing cold and was barely on the brink of death. She watched her father tend to him and offered whatever meager aid she could. But in the end when her father was done she was told to simply sit with him and monitor his progress.

They were both so young, but she felt a connection to that boy. While she sat there by his side and he shivered under his fur blankets she found she couldn't take her eyes off of him. She watched over him for hours until the sun rose. He was fine and would awaken soon, so she left with her father. But that boy stayed with her even though she was gone.

After that time seemed to fly and she watched the son of the Khan from afar, but he started to see her too. They began to speak to one another and drew a closer bond with each other.
Disaster seemed to strike all at once. Their village was attacked by orcs and Ogedei was wounded, she was the only one available in the aftermath to tend his wounds and save his life again, though his older brothers weren't so fortunate... There was hardly anything left of them, let alone enough to heal.

After that their two families, the Shaman and the Khan, agreed that Qulai and Ogedei should be married to strengthen their tribe and avoid any internal conflicts.
The wedding took place the following year and Qulai was now fifteen.
But as the fates seemed to have it out for them, there was another attack during the ceremony. This time rivals of the wolf tribe out for the Khans head.

Qulai and Ogedei fought side by side still in their wedding garb. He used his ceremonial sword and she guarded his flank with a sword she pulled from one of the dead raiders.
Unfortunately, the raiders were successful. The Khan did not survive the battle, and as the only surviving child of the Khan, Ogedei was immediately ordained as the next Khan.

Life began for them in such a way. They began building up their tribe, training its warriors and advancing their defenses. The union of a Khan with a witch was only a temporary deterrent to raiders, They had to present a solid front that those who would do them harm would think twice about assailing.
The intervening years were spent in this way.