Born in 1476, Jamila was a quiet, gentle and kind girl who grew up the daughter of a successful merchant who specialized in selling the pots & pans that blacksmiths would commission him to sell in other villages, towns and cities. But Baynit Shafrat, Jamila's father, did more than sell cookware. He also made large sums of money and favors selling information and passing information from government officials, other merchants and even underground rebels against those governments or merchants.
Growing up with her father, her mother having died from tuberculosis when she was a child, young Jamila watched carefully as her father taught her who to trust, who to look for, how to change techniques when talking to different cultures, and how to get the information from people who did not want to give it.
Jamila grew and became a partner with her father and together they managed to become the most sought-after information brokers in the three kingdoms. Somehow, they managed to keep their identities a secret from their contacts, never giving their real names or even where they come from.
But playing both sides of any conflict, even a minor one between merchants, is dangerous business and danger finally caught up with Jamila's father when another merchant, from another kingdom, happened to travel through and stop at the same tavern that Hillina's father was meeting with a rival merchant. Before Baynit could talk his way out of this situation, the traveling merchant stabbed Baynit in the chest and then attacked and killed the other merchant.
Jamila, who had avoided this meeting in order to meet with a suitor she had been exchanging letters with over the last year, had no idea any of this was going on until the next morning, waking up after a romantic love-making with her suitor, she went to go find her father.
Grief stricken that she had not been there to defend her father, Jamila left the kingdom and her suitor, in order to seek revenge on the merchant who killed her father.
Several weeks later, on the same day she realized that she was pregnant, she accomplished her mission and killed the merchant who had taken her father from her.
From there, Jamila began to train orphan street children to spy for her as she set up a network that spanned several countries to gather information. On one trip, through România, Jamila, seven months pregnant at the time, was heading back to her rented villa, when she was attacked by Count Drakul Morbius, The Living Vampire.
Left for dead, with her throat torn out, the vampire venom surged through her system and into her child. The unborn baby completely absorbed all the deadly venom and, dying, passed on an immunity to the effects of vampire bites. Her body, now as powerful as the undead, healed itself as best it could, closing her throat, but leaving her with no voice.
Silently wailing for the loss of her child, Jamila vowed to use her new powers to hunt down and destroy all vampires, werewolves, and other creatures of darkness.
From then on, she became known as Almaeisha Almawt, the Living Death.