𝓐rdanwen was born in the "badlands" to his mother, Theodosia and to his father Viridian. Ardanwen was the result of inappropriate behavior from his father, as his mother was being held against her will by the Badlanders. Ardanwen was especially loved by his mother despite the rather undesirable circumstances in which he was conceived. He was his mothers friend, the only one that she could trust amidst the evil-doers. One day, when Ardanwen was an older lad, he escaped the hideout and took off to Dullen in order to find food and medicine for his mother. Upon coming back, Viridian found out about his little adventure. Furious that he was so careless and could've given them away, he tore off the nose horn of his own son. Screaming that he was a worthless boy. Ardanwen bled a lot, but Theodosia nursed him to health. They relied on each other day by day, until the The Kings War broke out. Theodosia fled with her son as the Royals closed in on the Badlanders. A soldier for the Royals found Theodosia and Ardanwen hiding in the forest with minor wounds. Because Theodosia was a victim, she did not bare the features of a Badlander. The Soldier was unaware of the connection. He had deep attraction to Theodosia. Their marriage would allow for the two of them to be safe from ridicule in the eyes of Sevia. Viridian, upon noticing the enclosing troops, took his own life. He hide his death so he was not recorded, so no one knew a Darcy had been involved in the assassination of the King. Theodosia soon married the the soldier, Jäger Tiuri, and took his last name. However, Ardanwen felt responsible for the death of the king. He didn't want his family's name to end with such a horrible stallion. Viridian Darcy was not a Badlander by blood, he was a Sevia citizen who rebelled against Helios' rule and was greedy for power. Ardanwen had no physical markings of a Badlander, but having the blood of an evil man seemed worse. He was the son of a killer and a hypocrite. Despite Jäger's attempts to be a good father, Ardanwen was ridiculed for being a bastard(a person born to unmarried parents). Everyone saw him as just an illegitimate son of Tiuri, but he knew the truth. Viridian's blood ran in his veins; he was the offspring of a Badlander. Jäger wanted Ardanwen to carry on his family's legacy of honorable Royal Guards. Jäger taught him everything he knew, and Ardanwen became a very skilled fighter. But he was not doing it for Jäger's sake, he wanted to be a guard for the sake of the Royals. For he felt he owned them a debt so great, that he should give his life in return to pay them back. Ardanwen was often known as the Shepard boy among the village in which they lived. He would spend hours with his tribes, and he was very protective of them. Some say he fought off predators that threatened his Elk, and saved calves that had wondered off from the herd. His parents encouraged him to make friends with other cosmos, but Ardanwen refused to let anyone get close to him. He spent his free hours after training and school, in the fields watching his herd. He graduated top of his class, and was soon off to train for the Royal Guard. He continued to awe his instructors. He was sturdy, smart, and quick with his hooves. He might've been a bastard belonging to a badlander, but he had inherited great strength and endurance. Jäger once said in his defense, that "welp, was burned, beaten, starved, and driven from his home before he could even walk. He's faced death more times than any of you, and me, combined. And he's done it without once...letting it harden his heart. Not once has he turned his back on anyone or anything that needed his help! So...whatever you may think of him, know this...I would take that whelp over the spoiled pigs who bear your names any day of the week." Ardanwen used his strength that he had gained and the knowledge he had earned to outsmart and outwit his opponents. He soon stood among the royal guards, in the great castle in The Gardens.