Zane originated in Rohan, where he was born in a tiny village along the River Entwash. He was captured by a Corsair raiding party along the river at the age of three along with most of the other villagers, but on the way back down the Anduin, near Harondor, the ship was attacked and caught fire. In the confusion, with most of the Corsairs themselves fleeing for their lives, the prisoners were forgotten, and Zane accidently escaped.

He spent five years scrounging for his food and shelter as he unwittingly worked his way towards Umbar– which lay in the direction where he thought his home was. Commoners and travelers he met along the way questioned him as to where he lived, and when he pointed towards Umbar, they asked him if he lived there. Too young to know the difference, he told them he did, and eventually came to think the small village he had known in Rohan had been called “Umbar.” As such, when he got his first glimpse of the city at the age of ten, after signing on as a scullery boy on a sailing ship, he was devestated by the knowledge that he might never see his true home again.

He is 26 now, and one of the best seamen in port. He took to the sea like a gull ever since his first voyage, and is glad he can call it the true home he has never really known.