Domnall, the second son of Canmore and Ingibjorg, was born in 1069. During his childhood, his father regaled Domnall and his many siblings with tales of the Usurper, describing how he had bargained with the forces of darkness to murder Duncan and how a demon had been summoned to carry out his will. Canmore claimed that the demon eventually turned on the Usurper and that he himself slew the traitor and cast the demon back into Hell. Even so, he warned his children to remain vigilant against the demon’s gargoyle minions and to guard against her inevitable return. Domnall, however, did not take these stories of demons and gargoyles to heart.

In 1093, Canmore summoned his children to Edinburgh Castle to accompany him on an expedition to England on behalf of William Rufus. He hoped the journey would teach them how to rule as he did. The party traveled to Northumbria and arrived at Bamburgh Castle, where Canmore confronted Robert de Mowbray and declared his intention to sack a nearby village as a warning, compelling Mowbray to show greater loyalty to the crown. Canmore and his sons destroyed the village, an act toward which Domnall appeared largely indifferent, just as he was to the destruction of a nearby gargoyle clan.

After both atrocities, Canmore and his children were ambushed at Alnwick by the forces of Robert de Mowbray. During the battle, the crown prince Edward was slain and Canmore attempted to escape. As Domnall fought his way through Mowbray’s soldiers, his elder brother Donnchad ordered him to find and protect their father. Domnall arrived in time only to witness the very demon his father had warned him about strike down Canmore, before he himself was dragged away by a younger gargoyle.

With his father and Edward both dead, the royal family descended into infighting over the Scottish throne, plunging the kingdom into chaos. Domnall, however, had no desire for the crown and vanished after the battle, leading the world to believe he had perished. Ashamed of having ignored his father’s warnings, he anglicized his name to Donald Canmore and took up the mask of the Hunter.