Rowan Longhart was born in Grimhold to a mother from the house of Galduron, and a father who was a wealthy merchant.

Rowan's father desired that he marry a noblewoman to further cement his wealth and status, but Rowan fell in love with a baker's daughter and fled with her into the Wold Wood in the north of Olaran. Rowan and his wife learned to survive in the harsh winters of the Borderland wilderness, and for a time, they were happy.

One day, not long after the Sea Lords declared independence, Rowan returned from a long hunting trip to find his house burnt to the ground and his wife missing. On the scene of his burnt house, Rowan saw signs that made him think that Sea Lords had been there. Stricken with grief and anger, Rowan sought out and joined the Rangers, seeking revenge.  

After joining the Rangers Rowan, quickly gained recognition in the ranks due to his leadership and resourcefulness on the battlefield. Many of the Rangers who were from in or around Grimhold looked to him as their leader, and soon Commander Brandis appointed him his second.

As the time passed and the war dragged on, Rowan began to doubt that it was the Sea Lords who had burned down his home and taken his wife. Hearing of their leniency to the folk of Grimhold when they took it, Rowan began to suspect the Sea Lords had seen the fire burning his old home and had actually saved his wife, or that they had come after the fire was over.

With a fragile hope rekindled, Rowan began to scheme how he could bring the Sea Lords and Rangers together in order for him to learn the truth about his wife…