Born in Eryn Galen in the first half of the Second Age, named Menion by his father, he was blessed with a deep desire for exploration and travel and never stayed long in any one place. When he reached maturity, he had already explored every corner of the forest that was his home and wanted more. After leaving the forest, against the wishes of his father but at the same time proving the validity of the name Ferlain given to him by his mother, he spent many eventful years on the move, never finding a place to settle down for longer than a few days at a time.

Eventually settling in Imladris, he became a frequent visitor to the library and in time began to assist in the running of it. His fellow scribes gave him his now preferred name, Calenon, presumably due to his birthplace. Although not adding many own works to the shelves, he did write several reports from his journeys to The Shire, having grown fond of the local population. His books look at the culture and history of several places and people, but the hobbits are a recurring subject. Besides The Shire, the refuge of Lin Giliath was his most frequent destination when he went travelling.

When he was unexpectedly promoted to take over The Grey Repository, a division of the library, he took his own personality and background and incorporated it into the new role. His priority became to turn the until now insular and mostly unknown division into a source of knowledge and wisdom for all the free peoples. He set out to recruit ambassadors from the different races, starting with his long-time (to a hobbit) friend Hamlock. They then recruited the feisty Khendrah, the creative Kheith and the steadfast Dugrinn. The repository quickly started to grow, making it difficult for Calenon to travel as before, although he still manage to get away once in a while.