From an early age, Martyn Abram Rand knew a few things for certain; his father was a strange but kind man, literature was a gateway to adventure, and he must never ask questions about his mother.

His father, Adrian Rand, was a mildly successful author, writing and publishing in both the wizarding and muggle worlds, and as such Martyn's early life was spent interacting with many people from the world of literature. Furthermore, as his father decided that it would be in Martyn's best interest to receive his education at home, and he was an only child, he never had the opportunity to interact with other children his age as he grew older, his social interactions limited to his own father's friends and coworkers who would come by from time to time.

As such, he grew to rely quite heavily on books to replace social interaction with tales of adventure and heroism - the best of which always included bands of the closest of friends, a bond he sincerely hoped he might one day be able to claim for himself. Of course, he also grew up around the wonders of magic, which only served to help fuel his steadily strengthening imagination. Some of the best times that Martyn would spend with his father at a young age involved magic or magical tools of some kind or another.

Yet, while his father meant well, his life was often quite busy. This led to Martyn eventually taking it upon himself to study and do the best that he could in school, even from home and without teachers around. What might have harmed the education of some, soon allowed the young Rand to conquer many of the basic subjects young muggles learned in the regular schooling system must more quickly than normal.

But all the while, his desire to find out more about his mother - including who she actually was and why his father never spoke of her - continued to grow. Finally, at the age of ten, he decided to go where he had never been allowed alone - his father's office. He believed that, if there was anywhere his father might keep something of his mother's, it would be in his own office, where Martyn was only ever allowed entry when accompanied his father.

So, one night, late, when he was sure that his father was sleeping, Martyn snuck out of bed, slipped down the hall of their small Bristol apartment, and made his way into the office. There wasn't much there - his dad's favorite copy of The Iliad sat atop the desk next to a computer, where he did his muggle world's writer's work, though Martyn knew that a magical quill sat in the first top drawer on the right side of the desk - and for a moment he thought to examine the many books that sat in the bookshelves lining two of the walls.

Then he realized that the only logical place to look would likely be the small, locked chest kept in there, off to the side, hidden in a corner of the room behind a small, leather chair. As he went to pull the chest out, there was the sudden of scuffling feet, and he whirled around to see his father standing in the doorway of the office, looking at him with wide eyes.

In the next moment, as his dad recovered from his surprise, he stepped into the room, moving to place a small cup of steaming tea on the desk next to his copy of The Iliad... only for him to then accidentally knock it over in his hurry to turn back and address his son.

It was then that, in a spot of panic, knowing that if one of his father's favorite books were damaged because he was trying to deal with Martyn's sneaking, he did something entirely by accident - he felt a surge of something in him, and the cup stopped mid fall, the small trickle of tea that had already begun to spill stopping in midair as well.

His father Adrian forgot all about what he'd been about to do, then - all of a sudden things had changed quite drastically. Martyn had displayed an affinity for magic a few times over the years, usually with small things, but this was the first time such an obvious display of magic from him had occurred, uncontrolled and instinctual though it was.

The next day, when his letter from Hogwarts arrived, Martyn's life was never the same. Suddenly his dad spent as much of his time as he could helping to prepare him for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a place that the young Rand had only ever heard about from a few of his father's books.
He knew, of course, that it was a real place, and that there were schools of magic out there, but for some reason it had never crossed his mind that he might one day attend one for himself.

Though his father did not give Martyn many details, wanting him to have a completely unbiased experience in his first year at school, the few stories he did tell about his time there, in House Ravenclaw, made Martyn's heart race.

Finally, he might be able to step outside of the small, comfortable world he had always known and, perhaps, experience an adventure all his own.

And just maybe, he could make some friends along the way.

His upbringing, somewhat isolated from those outside of his father's closest circle of coworkers and friends, gave him an inquisitive mind and a love for the written word, as well as a genuine kindness towards others. On the other hand, it also left him with an awkwardness around peers, a stunted ability to make friends, and a general lack of confidence in his own abilities.

Martyn, though he never knew her, inherited his mother's green eyes and pale skin, so that he has a 'fair' look about him, while on the other side he has his father's curly brown hair and slightly overweight but above average height build, standing at about 153 centimeters and around 42 kilograms. He also wears a pair of glasses that are just a bit too large and tend to slide down his nose when he's not paying attention.