Barnabus was born in the Sky Ranges and is the 16th child of Queen Magra the Merciless. As with all of Queen Magra's children, he was expected to pledge his unquestioned loyalty to his mother or be branded a traitor to the kingdom. The pressure of constantly proving himself to his mother lead Barnabus developing severe anxiety disorders, and taking up self-harm as a way of coping with his mother's abuse.

When Barnabus was 17 his mother set out to conquer a neighbouring dukedom. She returned having slain the duke and taken his daughter, Silfina, hostage. Magra ordered Barnabus to marry Silfina as a way for her family to lay a legitimate claim to the throne, and forced Silfina to take on a new name of Barnabus' choosing as a way to demoralise her. Barnabus was not keen on being a part of this plan, but was too scared to stand up to his mother and instead quietly supported Silfina and tried to help her cope with the severe traumas his mother had put her through.

Barnabus and Silfina, who had publically taken on the name Silver, grew close in the time before their arranged wedding. They both feared and hated Magra, and were able to confide this in each other. This lead to them secretly defying the Queen in any way they could- Including learning the magical art of shape shifting together.

By the time of their wedding they had found a genuine love for each other, though there was no joy for them in the event of their marriage. They considered the act being forced upon them a disgrace, and wished it would have been on their own terms. Upon their wedding day, Barnabus felt no joy to marry the girl he loved in such a joyless occasion.

After the wedding, Magra took Barnabus aside and ordered him to kill Silfina as she saw no reason to keep her alive. Not now that they had a legitimate take to the old duke's throne. Barnabus, refusing to murder the woman he loved, openly defied his mother for the first time and struck Magra with a candlestick, knocking her unconcious and leaving a wound across her eye. After the assault, he immediately returned to Silfina and the two fled from the Sky Ranges. During their escape, a disastrous thunderstorm split the two runaways up and Barnabus ended up in the far north, off the coast of the Flower Kingdom where he would join the City Guard before eventually being promoted into the Royal Guard.