Zeloph was born into a well off and well respected dark elf family in Iadlain. His mother’s family, the Altradides, were powerful and resourceful mages who were making a name for themselves by being indispensable in battle and reliable. Like most in Iadlain, they prioritized the use of magic above all else and didn't tolerate anything short of exceptional. To their dismay Zel's mother, a young mage who showed promising talent, only wished to play music, see the world and do precisely the opposite of what her mother wanted her to do. She found a middling wood elf shaman originally from Estruade, eloped and had Zeloph a year later.

Though his parents stayed in Iadlain for the first year or so of his life, from what he can remember Zel’s early life was a blur of different places and people. All his parents wanted to do was get out of the hell hole they believed Iadlain to be, and do nothing except sing and play their instruments. The small family typically stayed in large, crowded cities across the Empire where they mostly played music and socialized with whoever they met that day. The huge cities were too crowded and loud, and his parents' friends were quite dismissive of the overly curious young elf. Even during these trips, Zel’s parents favored spending time with the locals, and he would often be shooed away from any interaction.

Eventually though, Zeloph was no longer brought along. He was told that it was because he too often strayed away from them and got lost, or he spoke to too many strangers. It was about safety you see. So they thought it best to leave Zeloph (about 12 at this point) to stay at home in Iadlain, by himself since they were still estranged from his mothers family, despite them being local. They left him with food, money and whatever else he might need and left again for another several months. In a way he did like to be on his own. He liked the freedom it entailed and the excitement of not knowing what was going to happen on the day to day. Eventually though, that excitement turns into nervousness, anxiety and worry about how he was going to make his supply of food and money last. Still not even a teen at this point, his management was bad and the supplies didn't last. He was hesitant to go to the Altradide manor for food, but he didn’t see any alternative.

In the in between times where his parents were absent and his extended family not willing to extend a hand, he was often lonely. Any kids his own age eventually had to go back home to their own family and home, if they were even allowed to hangout with a wood elf at all. So without much else to do and no bedtime except for whatever he decided, he found solace and entertainment in stargazing. The stars were beautiful, and they came back to visit him every night without fail. Even on cold cloudy nights if he waited long enough, clouds would part just so he could catch a glimpse of them, and that was enough.

The Altradides held prejudices against wood elves like most in Iadlain and had thus left Zeloph and his parents to their own devices, often only seeing them on major holidays where they would come for presents then promptly leave. However they weren't aware of the extent of their neglect towards their son and were appalled when the young elf showed up at their door practically a beggar. They hadn’t made a point to push Zel's parents to have him be included in the family more, and honestly didn't really want to until now. But Zelophs grandmother Maiara valued the strength of a unified clan, and realized she was doing her family and her young grandson a disservice by further pushing them away. He moved into the manor that day and a month later when his parents returned home, they didn’t protest. It was strange, having gained a family overnight. The change was sudden and a bit awkward, Zeloph hadn't interacted much with the clan of dark elves, and they were cold, intimidating and set in their ways. Though, surprisingly they were rather tolerant of him and were fine with allowing Zel to shadow them. His family was large, and there was always someone to watch him or close by and they made a point to include him in whatever they were doing.

Being abroad combined with his parents lack of guidance, Zeloph hadn't had much tutoring or many lessons beyond reading and writing. But Zel proved to be clever, quick witted and very eager to learn. He challenged his tutors constantly and was rather unruly with them. Maiara and her eldest son Eamon found it better to tutor the young elf themselves and soon had him studying magic. Powerful mages themselves, they pushed him hard. Being around the Altradides, Zeloph had seen more magic than he ever had with just his parents. He loved every aspect of it and if he could, he would learn every single type of magic there was and be every class of mage but alas, he had to choose. Of course both Maiara and Eamon pushed for him to take up their own mage path but ultimately left the choice up to Zeloph. Though Maiara wasn't surprised in the least when he chose the Wizard path, just as she had. He studied, trained and sparred with the rest of the Altradides, honing his magic with the focus on being efficient and deadly in battle.

Years passed and he rekindled his love of the stars, and it turned into a profession rather than just a hobby. He drew star charts, crafted theories and published papers. With money he got from doing that and some help from his grandmother, he was able to build his own small observatory where spent most nights. Even though it was his job, he still loved it just as much as he did when he was small. He also spent plenty of time traveling himself, as he was naturally restless and could never sit still for long. He needed to spread his wings a bit and see the world, this time alone and through the lens of an adult. For his first trip out on his own he was gone for nearly six months, going to practically every city in the Empire. He never once ran into his parents in his travels, and he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to. Over the years they had stopped coming home to Iadlain at all, and eventually stopped writing as well. At this point he wasn't sure if they were alive or dead, but eventually he realized that he didn't care either way.

Up until pretty recently, he would leave Iadlain a couple times a year for a month or so at a time, more or less depending on how it would interfere with his coven duties which took priority over everything else. Cassair had asked Zel to be part of his grey coven a few years prior and he proudly accepted. He thought the young count to be quite odd. He was vastly different from how he knew him to be in childhood, but respected his ruthlessness and liked that there was never a dull moment when he was around and considered him a friend. Zeloph’s time in Cassair’s grey coven wasn’t as long as he thought it would be, and he's now left to figure out what he’s to do next with the gods awakening and the world seemingly ending.