Cassandra De Groot grew up in the Barbary capital city of Grondstad, learning how to make jewelry and carry on the family business. She lived up to her family name, her orcish body growing tall early and earning her share of teasing from the other children in her neighborhood. She always met teasing head-on, giving as good as she got. When her magical abilities started manifesting, she learned to cause pain with her words through vicious mockery. Her favorite prestidigitation trick involved setting her tongue on fire, just to intimidate her bullies into silence. Soon everyone called her Cass Flamespitter.
She had a talent for words from a young age, employing colorful and complex insults in both Brak'val and Common. She's starting to branch out into Occam, Steinrede, and Gladlam, though fluency still eludes her. Cass found jewelry making tedious, preferring to talk with people and boost their confidence. She found a Bratach merchant from Dunhill selling cosmetics, and she never looked back. She left her parents at age 15, after they gave her the ultimatum to join the business or get out.