Vasilia Turgenev hails from the frozen northern lands. At an early age, she traveled with her family (Servants to a wealthy proprietress of unusual alchemical and herbal reagents) and their mistress to the lands of Kara-Tur. They toured through many different kingdoms until their mistress found patronage with a high ranking official, Sun Yat-Xian in the kingdom of Shou Lung.

For a few years, the family lived in peace. When the Emperor passed, his sons squabbled for power and brought unrest to the people. The patriarch of the Turgenev family, Igor, met an untimely demise while protecting their mistress from an attack. A few, short, months later, Victor Turgenev, Vasilia's brother, was killed while aiding Sun Yat-Xian in court. Taking it upon himself to care for Vasilia, Sun Yat-Xian began training her in hand to hand and small weapons combat. He taught her the value of having friends that lay below the eyes of a palace and encouraged her involvement with a large underground organization, the Tsui Tong.

Upon the death of her elderly master, Vasilia left the employment of her families mistress. The Tsui Tong sent her to a far off region to see if their was fertile ground for expansion there.