He was born on Cadia in 628, growing up in Kasr Galata a small city on Cadia to Philipos and Anastasia Alexander who instilled a strong faith in the Emperor in him from very early in his life. As an only child it was expected that he would inherit the family business, becoming a cobbler but this somewhat ideal life was not to last. At age eighteen he was called on to fight and was assigned to the Kasrkin squad that he would fight with for the next twelve years. He first fought alongside them on Cadia itself as part of an operation to root out a Chaos cult that had taken hold in several Kasrs.