Nalar was born in Korvosa to a fairly traditional Varisian family. His family was fairly well established for a Varisan family, all things considered. The early part of his life was pretty easy, really. Nalar stayed inside reading and drawing most of the time.
Typical of Varisians, Nalar became fascinated with the Harrow deck and the predictions made with it. His grandmother, who used read fortunes, left him her Harrow deck when she died, and he has kept it as one of his most precious possessions. He does at least one spread a day, and sometimes more, when he is unsure about a course of action.
Times started to turn in Korvosa, and more and more people turned against the Varisians. When Nalar was 13, things got so bad for his family they made the decision to flee Korvosa for safety reasons. They travelled to Magnimar, but had to leave most of what they didn't need for the trip behind.
Life in Magnamar was not easy for them. They had to start over from very little. As such, their existence was MUCH different in Magnimar. The soft life he had in Korvosa was gone, and Nalar resented this. He still studied and drew, but began to act out, and would often slip out of the house at night, despite warnings from his parents. Thankfully, Nalar generally was not getting in trouble, but instead would go check out all of the monuments in Magnimar. He started sculpting then, trying to make small versions of them for himself. He did have to be careful to avoid the gangs at night, and more than once the city watch brought him home.
When he was 115, and out one night, he was caught, but not by the city guard, but rather a priest of Shelyn, who noticed his art and felt he had promise. Nalar's family was not particularly religious, but he knew basically who Sheyln was. Thinking perhaps it was an easy way to get a better life, Nalar started going to the temple, hoping to perhaps sell some art or something similar. However, in going to the temple, something odd happened. He discovered people who appreciated beauty in things much like he saw. Being bookish and insular, he was excited to find people who felt like he did, so he finally joined the church and found he truly loved Shelyn and what she stood for.
The temple taught him magic and weapons, things he had no exposure to previously. He honed his skills with the priests of the temple. Due to his nature, it was decided that he was likely not the best choice to be a priest, but instead should become an inquistor for her.
Nalar's family is not terribly happy with this choice, and it has lead to rocky relations with his parents. So he decided to leave town for a bit, in hopes that things would become less tense with some distance. Additionally, Nalar has an idea of creating a great work of art that's two-fold. One is a new Harrow deck based entirely on Thassilon. To go with this, he wants to make small scultpures that go with each card. He felt leaving town and seeing some other ruins would help him find additonal inspriation, since there a lot of cards to create.
