----Normally turians begin military training around the age of 15, but Cylus is an exception. At the age of 12, the ship he was traveling on was attacked in what was thought to be a safe sector of space. Most of the adults were killed, and the children were captured as slaves. For the next 6 years Cylus lived as a slave. He was constantly beaten in order to train him, or just for the fun of his masters. When he wasn't being beaten he was doing physical labor, working equipment in mines that were far to unstable and/or dangerous for normal workers.

----Eventually, an escape plan was hatched. The one who came up with the idea was a human, recently captured. Reluctantly Cylus became the 2nd in command, and the two, along with several other slaves, managed to escape on a stolen ship.

----Officially, Cylus is said to have been the one who lead the escape. The human died trying to get everyone to the ship. Cylus has more respect for humanity due to the actions of that man, and having lived along side them for so long.

----Cylus's escape from slavery launched him into instant celebrity, among his own people. After his long overdue military training, and a fair amount of rehabilitation, he was made a diplomat. He comes off as a bit eccentric to most turians, but humans seem to be able to connect with him a bit better than most.