Pre-Firefly "canon"
Joss has given us almost no information about the backgrounds of... well, any of the characters, really. Mal and the Tams are really the most detailed; everybody else, not so much.
What We Know About Inara's Past and My Conjecture:
She was born on Sihnon, and joined the Temple at twelve. This is apparently the earliest age Companions begin their training, since the Temple at Sihnon is the main Temple for the Guild. This is also born out by the fact that in a deleted scene from the BDM, in which she tells the woman who's at the Temple with her that they started at twelve and they needed to start that early to learn control.
She was a lead or the lead candidate for becoming Head Priestess of House Madrassa on Sihnon before she left the Temple to travel with Serenity. We don't really know what this means, other than sounding damned impressive. I'm assuming there are multiple houses in the guild (or why have a specific name?), and I'm also assuming that, since "madrassa" means "school" (albeit with religious overtones) in Arabic, being the Head Priestess of House Madrassa basically means Inara would have been in charge of the training of apprentices. This would have placed her in a position of what I'm guessing would have been not insignificant power and privilege.
She left the Temple because she "wanted to see the Universe." We don't know what that meant (or if it's true). According to the Serenity RPG book, Companions often take jobs on luxury freighters, to use their shuttles much the way Inara uses the shuttle on Serenity or to simply service the travellers. But Inara chose Mal and his ship. Why? I think she did want to see the universe. I think there was a good chance that if she'd been chosen as head priestess, she would never have left Sihnon, and she couldn't take that. I think Inara wanted to be in control of her own life, for once, and so she chose a small ship, where she didn't have to service anyone she didn't want to.
What We Don't Know:
When she was born, or even how old she is, really. I'm putting her at about five years younger than Mal (Nathan Fillion and Morena Baccarin are actually about eight years apart). I've picked an arbitrary date of April 28th; I thought about using Morena Baccarin's birthday, but that would have meant the day she entered camp was her birthday. So Inara was born April 28th, 2491.
To whom she was born. This is pure conjecture on my part, but I think Inara was born to someone who was a Companion herself, who got pregnant by accident. I think the Temple raised her (and others like her) for the first twelve years of her life, at which point she was offered a choice to either be apprenticed/adopted out, or join the Temple. I made this decision partially because I like the resonance with Petaline's predicament in Heart of Gold but also because what would the Temple do with the children of Companions?
Why she knows martial arts, knifework, and bowcasters. Inara kicks not a little ass when she has to. Apparently the Companions guild believes in self-defense.
What We Know About Inara's Past and My Conjecture:
She was born on Sihnon, and joined the Temple at twelve. This is apparently the earliest age Companions begin their training, since the Temple at Sihnon is the main Temple for the Guild. This is also born out by the fact that in a deleted scene from the BDM, in which she tells the woman who's at the Temple with her that they started at twelve and they needed to start that early to learn control.
She was a lead or the lead candidate for becoming Head Priestess of House Madrassa on Sihnon before she left the Temple to travel with Serenity. We don't really know what this means, other than sounding damned impressive. I'm assuming there are multiple houses in the guild (or why have a specific name?), and I'm also assuming that, since "madrassa" means "school" (albeit with religious overtones) in Arabic, being the Head Priestess of House Madrassa basically means Inara would have been in charge of the training of apprentices. This would have placed her in a position of what I'm guessing would have been not insignificant power and privilege.
She left the Temple because she "wanted to see the Universe." We don't know what that meant (or if it's true). According to the Serenity RPG book, Companions often take jobs on luxury freighters, to use their shuttles much the way Inara uses the shuttle on Serenity or to simply service the travellers. But Inara chose Mal and his ship. Why? I think she did want to see the universe. I think there was a good chance that if she'd been chosen as head priestess, she would never have left Sihnon, and she couldn't take that. I think Inara wanted to be in control of her own life, for once, and so she chose a small ship, where she didn't have to service anyone she didn't want to.
What We Don't Know:
When she was born, or even how old she is, really. I'm putting her at about five years younger than Mal (Nathan Fillion and Morena Baccarin are actually about eight years apart). I've picked an arbitrary date of April 28th; I thought about using Morena Baccarin's birthday, but that would have meant the day she entered camp was her birthday. So Inara was born April 28th, 2491.
To whom she was born. This is pure conjecture on my part, but I think Inara was born to someone who was a Companion herself, who got pregnant by accident. I think the Temple raised her (and others like her) for the first twelve years of her life, at which point she was offered a choice to either be apprenticed/adopted out, or join the Temple. I made this decision partially because I like the resonance with Petaline's predicament in Heart of Gold but also because what would the Temple do with the children of Companions?
Why she knows martial arts, knifework, and bowcasters. Inara kicks not a little ass when she has to. Apparently the Companions guild believes in self-defense.