She had always been afraid of the dark. The dark brought the Ayshee and with it pain and loss. It took things too. Livestock mostly, if you were lucky, a little brother or a parent if you weren't.
Aoihe had not been lucky and the dark was even scarier on your own, so she ran away to the city where there were always other people and the temple never missed a few candles if you were quick and quiet.
Aoihe had not always been quick nor quiet. And the temple's caretaker was both - Gormearr Doors-eye had been counting candles and was definitely missing some. The drow, though gruff, was merciful. Seeing she had nowhere to go, he punished her by making her help tend to the temple of Ilmater, to keep aisles swept and candles burning, tend the wounds of the damned fool clerics who kept putting themselves in other folks' harms way. He also taught her how to dance, of the mercy of the Dark Maiden, and how sometimes in showing that mercy to others you might end up the janitor in a church full of suicidal masochists far from home and hearth - but everything and everyone has their place in the Gods' plans and sometimes you just had to accept yours.
Seen through his eyes, Aoihe learned not to fear the dark, but to love it, to treasure it, to find the things that hid in it and drag them screaming into the light. To bring the Dark Maiden's mercy to those in need and her fury to those deserving.