Minerva's father was not concerned with gender roles. He taught Minerva everything he knew about fighting with a quarter staff. Her mother taught her and her brothers how to sing.
When Minerva was a teenager she sang in the village tavern to earn money for her family.
Because of the unsavory characters that frequented the tavern she was always accompanied by a male member of her family. When she was 16, she was engaged to Aeneas' good friend Brutus. That marriage never took place.
One evening a group of raiders laid seige to the village. They killed Minerva's family and took her prisoner. Fortunately for her, there was also a thief who was also being held prisoner, and he helped her escape. Unfortunately the young man died during the escape. Minerva made her way port with the help of a soldier. She boarded a ship that was headed for Scotland. When she got to Scotland, she joined a group of outlanders whom she now considers her family.