Jin was given away to Song-Lu’s entertainment district at a very early age. From what few childhood memories she can recall, she suspects her parents were poor fishers who couldn’t afford to keep her, but such origins have little meaning to her now. More importantly, she was raised by one of the many leisure houses in Song-Lu’s capital, where she and a group of other young girls were trained in the arts of performance, conversation and companionship. It was there that Jin met Ama, a talented classmate, and the two became good friends. Throughout their training years, Jin established herself as an earnest but not very good student, never developing much skill in any area despite her efforts. As a result, she was ranked low and assigned many of the house's menial tasks. She grew not to mind this though, since Ama was supportive, physical labour seemed to suit her, and during the many errands she had to run outside she would often find time to take detours and see snippets of a larger world. One of her favourite stops became a temple school where martial arts training took place outdoors, for anyone to participate. By pushing herself to finish her errands faster and faster, she slowly scraped up both the time and stamina to join in the occasional lesson.

Life unfolded in this routine until she was about 13. Very suddenly, the house was raided by a dangerous gang looking to collect a debt from the owner. The place was decimated and no one was spared from the violence. Barely conscious but desperate, Jin dragged a dying Ama onto the street to yell for help. Fortunately, a passing healer came to their aid. Unfortunately, this was not an act of charity and the treatment placed the two of them in a substantial amount of debt. A different leisure house that had had its eye on Ama for a while offered to take her in soon after the incident, however, and after much pleading from the two girls they grudgingly accepted Jin as well.

Their new house, the House of Gold Nightingale, was vastly better and more reputable than their old one. Ama excelled, and while Jin was still not particularly successful or profitable as a geisha, the house found extra work for her as a guard after she proved herself useful in dealing with unsavoury customers.

After the celebrations of Emperor Artur’s coronation, she and Ama parted ways to pursue their own, very separate goals - Jin to finally become a fighter, Ama to become a courtesan. It was a split they’d all seen coming for a while, and the house let Jin go on the understanding that she was likelier to pay her debts to them back if she pursued a different occupation. Their trust in each other unshakeable, Jin and Ama both agreed that they would have complete freedom as they chased their dreams, and would meet again someday. Jin struck out westwards to the Miras Kingdom for a while before rising tensions made her return to the Empire. Back in Song-Lu, she attended the temple school lessons she had so loved as a child, but the absence of Ama – who had already departed from the house on Jin’s return – in so familiar a place was a lonelier feeling than she’d anticipated. She moved to Linhythe and took up work as a dock labourer to support herself.