Raina Csurik was the daughter of Lem Csurik and Harra Csurik of Silvy Vale. She was murdered days after her birth by Mara Mattulich, Harra's mother, when it was discovered she was born with a cleft palate, a minor disfigurement that could be fixed with normal surgery. However, in the superstitious and mutant-phobic Dendarii Mountains village, it was seen as a mutation. Mara killed the infant by breaking her neck; she made no attempt to correct others' claims that Harra had accidentally killed her.