Marcus's father was part of a traveling troupe. He was, ironically, a stage magician, who incorporated a touch of real magic to his tricks. The troupe was small, but well known, especially for going to out-of-the way places to perform. Thus one of their excursions brought them to the Kingdom of Leth'Arian and the Siver Elves that lived there. With some difficulty, the troupe leader convinced the elves to allow them passage to the island. There, they had a pleasant time, entertaining and laughing, and there, through some extremely unlikely circumstances, Marcus's father met a beautiful, mysterious elven woman. They enjoyed each other's company, so they kept meeting each other and spend longer and longer amounts of time together. When the trope bid goodbye to the city, they had one extra member. Unbeknownst to them, soon after they left, there was a massive outcry in the city. One of the younger elven princesses had disappeared.

The troupe made it to the mainland without incident, but they were stopped by elvin soldiers a few days out for questioning. They searched the troupe, and their belongings but couldn't find her, because she had disguised herself with magic, and none of the other members were willing to give her away, because Marcus's father was well liked and everyone knew that he and the elven woman were in love, even if the two had not realized it themselves. When the soldiers has checked, double checked, rechecked, and not found her, the troupe was allowed to pass.

Marcus's father and elvin woman, predictably, fell in love. They were never formally married, but they came together anyway. For a year, they were happy and she was soon pregnant. However, the childbirth was...complicated. She died giving birth to Marcus. After that, his father was never the same. He grew depressed, strove to drown his grief in drink, neglecting that fact that his son was still alive. He never was a proper father to Marcus. Eventually his performances suffered so badly that the troupe leader kicked them from the troupe, since he no longer made money, he was no longer worth anyting to him. With little money, and fewer options, they settled in a small city in Praelior. They tried to make a living the best they culd, but Marcus's father didn't have other skills then stage magic, and Marcus was too young for much work. Marcus's father slowly grew worse and worse, and one day, he just disappeared. Gone without a trace, leaving a young Marcus as an orphan on the streets of a dump of a random city.

Fortunately, Marcus is the resourceful type, he had received rudimentary magic training from his father, and at this time, his talent began to blossom and grow. He scraped together a harsh living, doing odd jobs, and more then once resorting to thievery. His magic aided him in this, but it also drew the attention of a conclave of wizards who had their base in that city. They found him, took him in, and upon realizing his potential, gave him to their order to train him. It was there his hunger for knowledge awakened. He was a keen student, absorbing and comprehending their teaching at an alarmingly fast rate. Some of them feared his growth, while others encouraged it. His meteoric rise was halted suddenly by a certain incident. The details are unknown, but the result was Marcus's immediate and perminate expulsion.

Unperturbed, Marcus still hungered for knowledge. He set out to travel the land researching magic. It was his passion and obsession. For the better part of a century, he wandered the land, learning and growing in skill with magic. He built himself something of a reputation, and people started calling him the 'Sorcerer in Glasses' and he is wanted in several lands for stealing secret tomes of magic. Hearing rumors of powerful magic being found in the North, he traveled there seeking ever more knowledge.