"You are Zach Talon and you will grow up to be the strongest among our people."
"No, father. I wanted to be just like you."
Reyd Talon, the hero of the Dragon bloodline, was a well-known combat magus and a great commander. That was the last conversation he had with his son, before he led an army of 300 into the thick of enemy lines.
The man never returned from the ordeal.
Some said he brought hundreds of the elves to the depths of the underworld together with him. Some, however, refused to forget his failure and criticize him for it. A few detractors even claimed he had betrayed his own bloodline.
Either way, the 6-year old Zach was left with no one able to raise him, so he was taken to live with his great-great uncle, King Alduin. Then, the Zodiac city king raised him to become a great warrior.