Like any good tragic backstory, Raphtalia's problems begin when she is just a child. When the first Wave of Calamity strikes her home village somewhere outside the kingdom of Melromarc, Raphtalia is forced to watch a Cerberus devour her parents as she plummets off a cliff into the waves below. She survives her fall, but upon returning to her village, she finds it set upon by soldiers of Melromarc. Without hesitation or mercy, the soldiers dispatch the rest of the adults in her village and sell the children, including Raphtalia, into slavery.
Raphtalia's time as a slave is anything but pleasurable. Her first master, Idol Rabier, tortures her and her friends relentlessly for fun. Eventually, she is sold to a slave trader, but not before watching her best friend die. These experiences traumatize Raphtalia beyond reckoning, and her suffering only continues as she lives at the slave markets in Melromarc.
It's not until the series' protagonist, Naofumi, purchases her to be his companion that things began to look up for Raphtalia. Though he regards her as property, he is more kind to her than anyone else up to this point. He feeds her, takes care of her, and practically raises her to maturity. So over time, she becomes his steadfast companion, the sword to his shield. Eventually, the two even build a bond beyond being slave and master, and Raphtalia becomes a free, fully-fledged hero.
