Lilja Johandotr was born on the Isle of Man in the middle of the Irish sea. The second child from a Scottish mother and an Icelandic father, Lilja grew up learning many things. Her brother Ulfrik and her father taught her to fight and how to sail while her mother taught her to weave, sew and cook. Every evening, her father would tell tales of his journeys across the world and Lilja dreamed of seeing these far off places. However, Lilja's mother forbade her from going viking as she was getting to the age where she must marry a suitable husband. Ulfrik and Lilja's father decided to help Lilja and gave her a small boat with enough trade goods to gain passage on a ship to distant lands. While trading in Dublin, Lilja cane across members of the Viking Encampment and the great Dragon Ship Ikea and decided to join the crew of Jarl Aesa.