Zayn was conceived when Gryffen raped the then queen of the Gates, Fiasko, who was imprisoned by the Chamber as part of a deal to protect the Gates. Fiasko did her best to love him, but struggled with her painful feelings surrounding his conception, and Zayn grew up without a close relationship with his mother. Early on he began to hate her for the weakness that he perceived in her and as soon as he was able, began to shun her. At an early age he began to gather a herd, taking over his father's former herdland in the Mourning Mountains. He gathered a decent collection of mares, including Becca, Raincloud, Liselle, Nixie, Kodaline and City. These mares (and others outside of the herd), gave him a total of 10 children, his favourite of which was his eldest son with Becca, Waylan, who had inherited his crueler nature. Zayn also became a part of the Chamber army, though he was never a particularly dedicated soldier and only rose to the rank of Captain. At one point he came across a boy by the name of Siberian in the playground, and upon seeing the boy's ability (grizzly bear shifting) decided to kidnap him, as he saw the boy as a potentially useful tool. He raised Siberian to violence and fighting, and eventually used the boy to kill his own mother Fiasko. Siberian also came in useful when war finally broke out between the Chamber and its allies and the Gates and its allies. Both Siberian and Zayn fought for the Chamber and helped to protect its children during the battle. One day in the meadow, Zayn was tracked down by Tarnished, a former friend of his mother's. Tarnished killed Zayn in revenge for what he'd done to Fiasko.