Seth Rippner was born into a family plagued by poverty on the 14th of December. As a result, Seth did not have the regular childhood that many children did. Instead of playing with toys and with friends, Seth was forced to work in order to support his family. When Seth was 12, his father fell ill. Despite Seth's best efforts, taking more than one job, begging, etc, it was not enough to pay for his father's treatment, and he soon passed away. Heartbroken, Seth's mother later committed suicide, leaving Seth to care for his two young siblings. Quite a job for a boy who was not yet a man grown. He was a ripe 14 years old at the time.

It soon became clear to Seth that he would be unable to take care of both of his siblings. He left his two younger brothers on the doorstep of a neighbor, hoping that they would, perhaps, be kind enough to take them in, or at the very least, find them good homes. After this, Seth set out in order to make his own way in the world. Despite not getting any formal training or education, Seth was a proficient Earth mage. He took several mercenary jobs as a means of surviving, and even contemplated joining a guild for a while. However, he never acted on these urges, deciding that was a lone wolf rather than a pack member.

For the next few years, this is how Seth traveled. He went from village to village, doing mercenary missions to get money. People came in and out of his life, nobody ever stayed and that was exactly how he liked it. He cared little for others. During one of his travels, he saw an old beggar selling trinkets. Slightly curious, Seth went to see what he had to offer. There, something caught his eye. In the back of the beggar's cart, he Seth spotted something that he had only read about in history books - a Dragon Slayer lacrima. The shape was unmistakable. Realizing this, Seth demanded to buy it. The beggar, however, simply grinned and gave the lacrima to him for free, for reasons unknown. However, before giving it away, the beggar stated,

''The roar of dragons, it is both a blessing and a curse,''

Ignoring this warning, and dismissing it as rambling from an old man, Seth took the lacrima, effectively becoming a 2nd Generation Dragon Slayer, one who utilized Earth. No longer a simple Earth mage, Seth began undertaking even more dangerous requests, and he soon made a name for himself. However, no matter how many bandits he took out, no matter how many criminals he brought to justice, Seth was still considered a loose cannon. Many believed that he could have joined a dark guild at any moment, using the amount of pure destructive damage he did to towns and innocents as an example of why he could not be trusted. The Magic Council thought about it for a while, and decided to swear him in as the 10th Wizard Saint, in order to keep an eye on him.