Malleus was born and raised in Briar Valley (formerly Briarland) to Princess Maleanor and Raverne, General of the Left. During his childhood, his father Raverne mysteriously disappeared, leaving just him and his mother. Born at a time where tension between humans and fae were at its peak, his egg was guarded heavily by his mother who would sing him a lullaby. Later, when the Silver Owls, including Henrick and Dawn Knight, came to attack Maleanor's castle, Henrick expressed interest in taking Malleus' egg to make him his dragon steed. Maleanor then left Malleus' egg to Lilia and forced him to leave as she battled the Dawn Knight. Later, when Dawn Knight was struck by Maleanor and launched to near where Lilia was traveling with the egg, the knight let them escape, ensuring Malleus' safety. Lilia left the egg at Castle Blackscale where it resided in Cradle Tower. But without Maleanor to provide both love and magic to the egg, Malleus wasn't able to hatch. Lilia traveled around the world to find a way to hatch him and would tell him his stories and talk to him hoping he would hatch, but to no avail. Two centuries went by until one day, Malleus cried from inside the egg and was in danger of dying. Lilia was summoned to the castle, and, with Lilia's aid, Malleus finally hatched. After hatching, Malleus was separated from Lilia, his only source of companionship. Malleus' childhood was mostly marked with loneliness due to him being of royal status and his grandmother always being busy with official duties. Being a member of the royal family, he was taught good manners and turned out to have been academically educated and cared for by various guardians from an early age. In particular, his grandmother stressed the importance of observing etiquette, particularly around invitations. Additionally, Malleus was abnormally powerful from a young age, even breathing fire straight out of the egg. Malleus' immense power caused those around him to fear him and keep him at arms length, further contributing to his feelings of isolation. When Malleus grew up, he would visit Lilia at his home regularly. During one such visit, he met Silver, an infant Lilia had adopted. Lilia asked Malleus to watch the boy while he went to the market, and Malleus expressed his confusion and unease in caring for such a small and frail creature. Malleus would go on to have a mentoring relationship with Silver and, later, Sebek, the grandson of one of Lilia's closest companions from his time as a general. Malleus is considered to be one of the 5 most powerful mages in the world, although Malleus once claimed that his grandmother's magic is more powerful. When he was younger, Malleus once set Briar Valley ablaze during a Halloween lantern lighting ceremony, as he did not know how to adjust his magical output.