Hal Ziveld was born in a small settlement in Oren. In his early years, he was raised by both of his loving parents. His mama, thinking the world needed more artists, began teaching him to play the flute. His father, a tough Highlander soldier, thought it was a waste of time, preferring for his son to become adept in the art of combat. When Hal was still young, his father was called to serve under Joseph I, the Holy Orenian Emperor, in the War of the Two Emperors. When word got back that his father had died in that war, he was saddened, but his mother was devastated.That event, along with his mother's philosophy and pain in the matter, led Hal to abhor conflict and violence.
In his teenage years, Hal's time was mostly spent learning about the world from his mama. Another boy named Nizef was also taught by his mama as a favor. In a short time, Hal discovered that he liked Nizef romantically. He eventually confessed this to both his mama and Nizef, and they had a relationship for a couple years, but were separated once everyone was forced to move to the realm of Almaris.
When he wasn't in his studies, or romancing Nizef, he took the opportunity to grow more adept at his flute-playing. Once he came of age, he made the decision to make people's lives better with the gift of music. He became a traveling bard, and has been traveling about the Human kingdoms playing his flute ever since, with varying wealth and company. Nonetheless, he always makes time to visit his mama every once in a while.
