Soren's parents died/disappeared (Soren doesn’t know) before his memory. He knows nothing of any other family. While growing up in an orphanage in Berdusk, he had access to the basic sections of the library. He spent hours there teaching himself to read and write, as the orphanage didn’t provide schooling. He started by reading barded tales of heroes past and present. Through this he got the idea o try his skills at magic. He tried and tried but couldn’t do the basic magic. Though very adept at self-teaching, he lacked the imagination required to twist the fabric of reality and produce any magical qualities. So instead he delved into learning anything he could about anything there was to learn.
 
The heroic tales he read were still included as he felt weak and lost in this world and needed the escape. However he often found himself sneaking into more restricted sections of the library. Sections reserved for the more learned of the city. While there he learned of necrotic energies and the villainous types who used such vile powers. The evil warlocks and one eyed cultists he knew as abominations and creatures that needed to have heroes stop them. Other studies led him to the Elemental powers and creatures. He studied the primordial language because it interested him that such ancient beings had such a guttural communication. He could not speak it, as his vocals were not able to do that as a human. Both subjects (necromancy and elemental) were so different from him and chaotic in nature that he felt he had to guard himself in knowledge to keep his fear of them at bay.
 
He had this free time to study and involve himself in the library because he didn’t get along with the rest of the kids at the orphanage. Often other kids in the city had family or friends so it was never comfortable hanging out with others. When he did he was awkward and often said things that were true but inappropriate to say in social settings. One time the wrong group of kids was upset with him and chased him out the gates of the city and into the countryside. It led to a hill with the violent storm that scared his chasers back to the city. He was scared as well but something from his reading had told him that this storm was elemental in nature. His curiosity overcame his fear and he made his way into the storm. As he got the center he looked up and found himself face to face with a wild air elemental. In his fear and curiosity he tried to communicate with this being. As he moved closer the powerful elemental took umbrage against this child’s brazen attitude and struck him with a blast of elemental power leaving him for dead on that hill. The storm passed and Soren woke 2 days later in the orphanage. He learned from the matron at the orphanage that a druid that calmed the elemental storm rescued him. Although his rescuer remained nameless this forever changed Soren and his thoughts about heroism.
 
Shortly after this event Soren started to see some changes in his personal appearance. His hair was falling out, and his eyes were draining of color turning into a greyish color that swirled as he watched them. When hair started to grow on his face it was a stark white. The final change wasn’t physical. One night he was studying he stared to stare at a candle for too long and started to speak to it. But as he spoke he noticed the flame seemed to look at him. It was then he realized he was actually speaking primordial. While this was an amazing feat for a human this only made him more upset at what happened and start to hate chaos more as this elemental had harmed him and changed him in ways that he couldn’t understand.
 
He hit the books harder as he grew up. Staying away from social encounters more and more. Finally when he was in his last year with the orphanage he was caught in the restricted section of the library. He had just started on a new obsession with demons/fiends/and devils. But never able to fully delve into this as now he had been kicked out of the library. Once the matron of the orphanage was informed his stay was cut short and he had to find his own way in the city now.
 
He spent many months while working for a local bookseller performing all manner of scribe duties and gathering stories from people. He found all of them fascinating and soon wanderlust overtook him and he decided to see the world of the stories he had heard.