Vissakiel doesn't know who his real parents were. He was raised among the enclave of reclusive elves known as the Snowcasters, hidden in the frozen wilds north of Irrisen.
He was found as an infant near the Icegate by the band of Snowcaster sentries who were assigned to guard the aiudara (see Pathfinder Adventure Path #17, pg 20). Wrapped in a fur blanket and showered by pieces of a broken blue crystal, he bore no identifying marks. Alongside him were the bodies of two elves, one male and one female. They appeared unharmed, physically, but something had snuffed out their life force with such power that even the Snowcasters were unable to contact their spirits to determine who they were or what had happened to them.
Instead, they took in the elf child and gave him the name Vissakiel, meaning "the shard-born" to indicate something of his origins. He was raised by a stern elven matron who kept the largest shard of the blue crystal, as well as the staff that lay next to the body of the male elf, who everyone assumes was Vissakiel's father.
As he grew, Vissakiel came to realize that magic flowed through his veins, and that he has a strong connection to the artifacts his adopted mother kept for him. He suspects that the crystal was once part of the staff and was somehow broken in the incident that left his parents dead and stranded him in the frozen north. The staff is now bonded to him, and he wears the crystal around his neck like a medallion, despite the fact that the broken shard is nearly worthless.
Vissakiel also has some strange connection to the fey realm, which he cannot explain. The connection is manifest in an aversion to cold iron, which he discovered as a boy--an incident that nearly cost him his life. The vulnerability seems to grant him protection from other materials, similar to that of true fey creatures, and he has a natural affinity for all things related to the fey, including their language and lore.
Vissakiel feels strongly that he has a destiny to fulfill, and that part of his destiny involves discovering who his parents were, why and how they died, and who is responsible. Like most Snowcaster elves, Vissakiel respects decisiveness and shows of force. He does not appreciate the calm, contemplative life shared by his southern elf cousins. Still, he is aware of the call of the Brightness as much as any other elf.
As a follower of Yuelral, elven goddess of natural magic, jewelers and crystals, Vissakiel hopes one day to regrow the crystal shard and make his staff whole again. When it is complete, he will use whatever power it contains against those who killed his parents and denied him the knowledge of his past.
There is a small part of him that wonders if the dead elves found next to him were really his parents, but given the evidence it is the most logical explanation and the only possibility he is pursuing. If he finds evidence to the contrary, he may have to alter his plans.