Fern was orphaned soon after he was born. His parents had left Elven lands for human territory for an unknown reason. They disappeared under similar mysterious circumstances, and are presumed dead. He ended up in a human orphanage that didn't know much about elves, and he aged out of the system at 18 just like any other person would. This is woefully young for an elf to be taking care of themselves, and Fern was no exception.
He had difficulty forming the attachments necessary to be supported through a proper childhood and supposed adulthood. He ended up taking shelter in the sewers, with only the rats for company. He found that if he concentrated hard enough, he could communicate with them on about the same level he could with the surface dwellers. At first he imagined he was going insane, but when they started bringing him food, he realized this might actually be real.
He lived like this for decades, until a traveling druid happened by the town and overheard the rats talking about the young biped in the sewers. He sought out Fhern and explained that the speaking with the rodents was a latent demonstration of his natural druidic talents. He explained the basics of the craft and initiated him into the circle, but like all people in Fhern's life, he abandoned him when his travels took him elsewhere.
