Kaylis was born in a small village caled Senyu (Locally spelled Señu) in occupied Kalitria, within the
Kingdom of Tanish, with the name Khalis. She lived in a small house crowded with siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles. From a young age, her parents suspected she was God-Chosen based on dreams she told them of. They tried to stamp it out of her and discouraged her from talking about it.
When she was 4 years old, searchers from
The Sun Maidens came to their village. All girls between the ages of 3 and 6 were ordered to the village shrine. Her mother tearfully commanded her to hide any reaction to the drink they gave her before hugging her goodbye. Inside the shrine, she was given tea made from
Ishud Tree seedpods, which gave her a strong psychic reaction. She was immediately identified as sighted and escorted from the shrine. She never saw her family again.
She was taken to royal palace of Zedda, to the attached building housing the Sun Maidens. There, her name was changed to the more
Tanese-sounding Kaylis and she began her life as a Dawn Maiden. She was forbidden from speaking her native Kal language, with the threat of having her tongue pierced by needles if caught uttering it. Though a defiant child, she eventually stopped and became fluent in Tanese, which she now speaks without accent. Over time and with no exposure to Kal, she has forgotten all but the very basics of her mothertongue.
Kaylis showed early promise in her divining abilities. At 12, she passed the tests and was accepted as a Shining Maiden. She remained a maiden living in the complex until she was 16, when the king in waiting died and she was selected to become the oracle.