Saiya was born into a small Sczarni family that traveled along Varisia's borders, occasionally drifting into nearby towns in other territories. He head of the family was a particularly unscrupulous man, prone to picking marks that were a bit too big for the group's collective skills, meaning they never stayed in one place for long - even for Varisians - but they managed to scrape by under the reasoning of "a tenth of a noble's purse is worth every gold piece in the rest of the crowd combined."
She was raised as a dancer, something she showed a genuine knack for and had a strong passion for the art... If not for the fact that her talents were simply used as a distraction to keep the audience enraptured while her siblings fleeced them for easily snagged valuables; a slightly prettier dancing monkey, as the patriarch was so fond of putting it whenever a show didn't rake in what he had hoped. Still she tried to keep her spirits up and honed her skill, hoping for an opportunity to put her skills to work in a legitimate way.
She tried to run away several times over the years, though she was usually caught and dragged back in short order and put back to work - after hours of reprimand and slashed rations for a few weeks. Until one day she got an opportunity. Once more the family head got too bold, went too far afield in another country and picked too big a mark. He was promptly arrested - along with several other members of the group. She managed to just barely escape and fled the city out into the countryside.
She would eventually be taken in by a group of Sarenrae pilgrims, fed and given healing and - after hearing her story - offered redemption and liberation under the Dawnflower. She learned much from them in her five year stay amongst them - both in terms of faith and martial talents, the former helpless dancing girl taught swordsmanship and how to blend her footwork into fighting; as well as some medicine as she was put to work helping tend to the sick and injured they found along the way.
When the time came to part ways with her saviors she finally felt free, returning to her homeland determined to start anew, taking up the name "Amaryllis" to further separate herself from her past. She returned to her work as a dancer, though further inland from her old family's turf to avoid being recognized too easily; getting by on money earned through busking rather than theft and doing her best to dispel the shady image that surrounded her people. Though even now she can't shake the worry that she might be dragged back 'home', or worse.
