Nina was born and raised in Rharne, the second daughter of one of the city's many brewers and a jeweler in decline. This combination of relatively wealthy jobs afforded her and her sister, Tina, something perhaps resembling a comfortable lifestyle—not lavish by any means, but there was always bread on the table, and the occasional toy for the kids.
The dichotomy between the two children began manifesting almost as soon as they began developing their own distinct personalities: where Tina always was shy and reserved, focused on studying her father's profession to continue the family line, Nina was the stereotypical 'black sheep', the loud kid who always got into fights and bullied smaller ones to pass her afternoons, the one who disrespected her family and cared for nothing but causing trouble for herself and her family. The one thing the two shared, especially as they got older together, was a great bond, a willingness to put everything on the line for the other sister without a second of thought.
To Nina's credit, she grew out of her 'bully' phase relatively quickly once she developed some degree of maturity, and it is something that shames her to this day, an unpleasant lingering memory of discomfort and pain caused to those who most certainly did not deserve it. She still has something of a reputation for this in the city, particularly among her peers, some of which have never quite forgiven her for her behaviour.
What she never quite managed to grow out of, however, is her affinity for causing and getting in trouble, and even to this day nobody is surprised when Nina is found at the heart of a tavern brawl, perhaps even having caused it for some reason or another.
Despite all this, her parents loved her just as much as Tina, something that made it all the more heart-wrenching when her mother died of a sudden illness—a pneumonia worsened fatally by the inclement weather of Cylus. It was so immediate, so brutal, seeing her mother slightly sick in the morning and completely gone by the evening, that this fear of sudden loss still accompanies Nina to this day, a constant, dreadful reminder that time is short and life is unpredictable.
The loss of their mother brought Nina and Tina's father to the bottle, a habit which the former came to embrace in time and the latter abhorred. It should not be a surprise that it was one glass too many that drove their father to an early grave, as well, leaving the two teenaged sisters alone in the city. Over time, thieves and repossessions whittled what the two had to nothing, merely a small house in a middle-income quarter of the city—the last thing that was truly theirs. Father's tools, mother's jewels. Everything was gone, but the house and each other.
They survived together for several arcs, with Tina using what she had learned for small-time odd jobs and Nina... doing very little, in truth. She had no marketable skills but her aptitude at brawling, and it's remarkably hard to live off of the meager winnings from the occasional fight. The sisters argued nearly constantly, with Tina trying to steer Nina to a more respectable lifestyle, to abandon the bottle and take up a decent profession—and Nina refusing. This constant feud ground their once-great relationship to nearly nothing, and it all came to a head when Nina returned home belligerently drunk one evening. At her wits' end, Tina couldn't take it anymore: she packed her bags and, overnight, left for parts unknown. Nina has not heard from her since.
To say she regrets it more than anything would be a huge understatement. Her search for Tina—to apologize, to beg for her return—has proven fruitless so far, nothing but a fool's errand, but Nina hasn't given up hope yet, and she never will. Every day she strives to be a better person, to do at least a little good by her fellow people. To have something worthwhile to tell Tina when she finally finds her again. Yet, she steadfastly refuses to keep her drinking under control, perhaps
the cause for the split with her sister. She keeps partying and fighting the night away to this day, burning at both ends without a clear purpose, always chasing one more moment of fun.
That is not to say Nina doesn't have a purpose in life: her mind is set upon the Lightning Cathedral of Rharne, home of Ilaren and her Thunder Priestesses. Fervently religious for her entire life, there are few things that would give Nina's life direction more than being accepted in the Cathedral and given her own set of white robes. Yet, it is something she has put off for several arcs, perhaps afraid of failure—of losing her chance of a new start on life.
