Maeve grew up in the southern forests of Brevoy. Her parents never kept much of a watchful eye on her, and were content to let her roam as she pleased. She trained herself in bowmanship as a hobby, and began to form an affinity with the nature around her.
After discovering a large egg suspiciously left on the forest floor, she brought it home. Her parents demanded that she get rid of it immediately, but she kept it nearby until it hatched anyway. The resulting Roc imprinted on her, and hiding the creature from her parents became an impossibility. When Maeve's father threatened to kill the bird himself before word could get out about it, she fled on the Roc out of fear and hatred.
She was alone now, however, and without support or purpose. It was then that she decided that she would join the Swordlords' cause to explore the Greenbelt. She had already been down that way a few times on her own, and she had been looking for an excuse to fully explore it.