Jalase was born in Iidan, one of the smaller villages on the island of Yael. And for the first part of his life he thought he was an only child. When he turned five, though, his parents began to worry and eventually told Jalase that he was not their first born. As a small child, he was confused and didn't fully understand that he had a sister that had been taken before he was even born or thought of and that she had been taken to the Sanctum to become a priestess. His parents didn't seem to calm down until after Jal had reached his eigth birthday. By then he'd learned about his younger sister more and come to understand what had happened to her and why his family worried, so much, each year. They had been afraid he'd be taken as well. Jalase had not been disappointed that he wasn't choosen to be taken. In fact, he was rather happy that he'd been left alone. He hadn't wanted to be taken from his parents anyway.
When he turned ten, Jalase's father tried to get him into at least one of the family businesses via tailoring. When Jal showed no interest in the subject, his mother had taken over and tried to teach him how to make the intricate glass figurines she was known for. Again, though, Jalase showed no interest (or talent) in this particular field. When the choice was finally left up to him, Jal expressed an interest in learning how to wield a sword, despite his poor eyesight. Time went by and Jalase practiced with an old sword of his father's and by the time he was 13, the small family had traveled to Pajore to get Jal a pair of glasses.
It was while he was there, that Jal caught sight of a few priestesses and wondered if his sister was amongst them. At thirteen years of age, Jalase's sister would be 20. An age he'd learned that was usually the latest a priest or priestess trained. He'd been quickly dragged away by his family, tucking the sighting back away into his mind to examine later. Surely if one of them had been his sister his parents would have said something.
With his new glasses Jal's sight was vastly improved and his swordsman ship was ever growing stronger. No longer did he miss targets as much (or as far off) as he had before. His new sight took him a while to get used to but once that phase was over with, it seemed as if a whole new world was open to him. And as the years grew on, he became more and more antsy to explore their small island and maybe even the lands beyond.
