Tryphosa's upbringing was a tough one, for both of her parents were especially cruel to her and her younger siblings. Being the oldest, she had gotten the brunt of the pain and misery that came with vindictive and hot-tempered parents. Everything she did they found fault in, and each fault they saw was brandished with whips and burns. Despite all this, despite the constant walking on eggshells, she managed to grow up and help raise the rest of her siblings. When she was fifteen, things seemed to change for the better, for father seemed to become softer. Part of her thought that maybe things would become better, but all those ideas came crashing down once he had done what he had to their mother. After that he was never the same, and seemed to have only become more cruel in the years that followed.

Time passed and soon he brought her and her youngest sibling, Solomon, to the ocean to visit. It was a treat, as they lived no where near the ocean, and to top it all off, their father was not always so kind to offer such a treat. So they went, but it wasn't long until he took her aside and bound her with ropes. Unsure of why he was doing such a thing, yet too afraid to struggle lest his temper grow hot, she was bound... and he picked her up only to toss her into the ocean. The sadness of it all, the deceit, the false hope, it all came to weigh upon her heart as her lungs filled with water. At last her heart was broken, and in that moment a light flashed, and soon she found herself breathing under water. What's more was that she had a fish's tail instead of her legs. She was suddenly something only in fairy tales - a mermaid.

Only after had she gotten herself free did she see her brother floating down to the bottom as well, and so she was quick to swim to him and, hoping it worked, kiss him upon the forehead. He, too, ended up turning into a creature such as she had, and since then the two have kept distance from the area they started in, swimming and swimming until everything looked the same. They have no idea where they are now, nor do they really know where they are going, but Ty knows one thing; she will not go back to her family, neither her nor her brother, and she will not allow what's left of her family to be deceived or hurt again. She will make sure of it.