Born and raised in Trestlebridge, Donny had a decent childhood. Never knew his father, and his mother was constantly in and out of his life. She had a wild spirit, and could never settle down, not even for her son. She left when he was fifteen, and never returned. After a few years of waiting, he eventually came to the conclusion that her adventurous nature had gotten the best of her. He was raised mostly by his aunt and uncle. Good people, and happy, which was an odd thing to be in Trestlebridge in those years. His uncle worked in stone, always helping rebuild things in the town, and got Donny to start helping him and learning the trade when Donny was fourteen. His aunt and uncle passed their happiness along to him, and taught him how to see the bright side to things. Around the same time as he came to the conclusion about his mother, a stranger from the north came to town, and befriended Donny. He was a man from Forochel, traveling south to seek safer lands. For the year and a half he lived in Trestlebridge, he took Donny under his wing, and taught him the art of tattooing, and gave him several, including the long one from his forehead down to the small of his back. When he left, he gave Donny his spare tattooing dagger, which Donny carries to this day. About a year after that, when Donny turned twenty, he gave up working with his uncle, and began traveling. He first went down to Bree, and found some work there. He's been traveling throughout the towns ever since, doing various odd-jobs, including helping rebuild parts of Archet after the fire.