"Days earlier, a crook-backed creature with a withered arm and birdlike features had told him this was Shurima,"
"...and the bird creature hadn’t recognized what he was. She had no idea how far back the Darkin War had been fought."
Is this a Vastayan? Some ugly old hag? A tease at the Swain rework(please for the love of god, at least make it Beatrice if so)
Maybe it is one of those failed ascended? I think they were called Baccai or something like that and they are essentially people who look misformed due to them surviving a failed ascension ritual.
My first thoughts were that it's either someone who's an Azir worshipper, and thus dresses with resemblance to the bird emperor, or Nasus when he was still a hooded, spooky, wandering self-exiled old dog, before the happenings of Bloodline.
Azir? 
someone similar to him, bird-like features, kind of has an indented back?? idk.
Given that it's a "she" it's probably one of the failed ascended like Greenlore said.
