Connea MacLeod became accustomed to hard work from a young age, farming and raising sheep in the hills of rural Parcines. He is a member of a little-known sub-culture with mysterious roots known as the "Caledon," by the inhabitants of Parcines. His surname of MacLeod was passed along by his mother, Tuatha Leod, an unusual custom native to the Caledon people. Tuatha died when Connea was only 10 years old, and he was raised by his half-Caledon, half-Iridian father, Crius, who was a veteran of the Iridian Legion in the wars against Cinera. He was determined to give his son a stable home and teach him an honest trade. He forbid Connea to use or own any weapon whatsoever. e
Despite his father's efforts to protect his son from what he perceived as a dangerous life, Connea's young mind was filled with a desire to become a warrior. This was largely due to the tales he learned as a child at his mother's knee. She would tell captivating stories about the warrior-race of Caledon, and how his ancestors would charge the field wearing only a gold circlet around the neck, how their fierceness in battle was feared by their enemies, and how they gained superhuman strength in the heat of combat.
But Connea loved Crius more than his dreams of becoming a warrior, and to honor his father, he settled down to the life of a farmer … until one bleak winter day.
He lost both his father and the farm he was to inherit in a bandit raid at the age of 13, and was captured and held as a slave for the next four years. He was forced into manual labor, and suffered years of physical abuse before he learned to be quiet, listen, and watch for a chance to escape. His initial escape attempts were foiled by the habit of the bandits to trade slaves. He was traded more than seven times to various bandit leaders, gradually making his way north. The last group of bandits were operating in the forest near Vetallun, when they made an unsuccessful raid on a group of well-armed Iridians. Only three of the bandits survived and returned to their camp, to find that Connea had broken free of his chains. In a berserk rage, the former slave attacked the three fatigued bandits and killed them all with his bare hands.
Connea found himself free of captivity, but with only the skills of a farmer and no land with which to use them. He stumbled upon a tin gladius outside the Vetallun fort and lived on the meat of houndsnakes until hunger drove him inside the walls of the Eternal City, Iridine.
Connea has decided to remain in Iridine and become a warrior, and is currently in training.