As a young reptilian urchin, Chelydra (or Shelly to his friends) was adopted by a group of "buccaneers" who offered him room, board, and the knowledge of how to sail and fight. In exchange, Shelly grew up on the sea, performing grunt work and errands for the crew until he was sworn into full membership as an adult. He grew to trust and rely on his crewmates, especially the captain, who he saw as something of a father figure. In time, he was taken into the captain's confidence and entrusted as one of his personal guard.

One day, Shelly was roused from bed early to discover the captain had been poisoned in his sleep. Surprisingly, he found several members of the crew's senior staff pointing the blame at him and he was thrown overboard despite his protests of innocence. On washing ashore, Shelly swore two things to himself: First, that he would not suffer the shame of failing to protect an ally again. Second, that he would learn the truth of what happened to his mentor, and punish those responsible.

Young, headstrong, and proud, Shelly hides the shame of his failure through a layer of ferocity and cynicism. In time, his desire to redeem himself as a protector may come at odds with his wish to seek vengeance on those who betrayed him.