Martell was always quiet and remorse, especially in his teenage years. He was stated by King Santos Buchanan, his father, as being "born from Mount Rojas" and was revered as such. He sought out his true birth mother, but he never found her.

He was infatuated with Princess Victoria Chevalier of Nouveau and wished to marry her, but Santos declined, giving her hand to his younger brother, Francisco, instead. This angered him greatly, but he never took it out on his brother. During Hroar Bolton's siege on the Capital, Martell urged his father to allow him to challenge Hroar but Santos declined him once more. In secret, Martell traveled to the Capital where he challenged and beat Hroar in combat- ultimately saving Nouveau from his grasp. He left immediately and never told anybody what he had done, and thus, the fate of Hroar was said to be responsible by Morghul the First- the "savior of Nouveau". The only one who ever found out was his brother, Francisco, who recognized Hroar's wounds as being done in the style of Martell. He urged his brother to keep it a secret and Francisco agreed, never letting it be said.