Dr. Serra was born and raised in Valdelobos, a devoutly Catholic village located within the sparsely populated mountainous region of the same name in Spain; the population there were traditionalist luddite isolationists who had shunned most modern technology in favour of a pre-industrial lifestyle. His mother died in childbirth, leaving him to be raised by his grandfather, who hunted in the woodlands in the valley.
From a very young age, Dr. Serra had a curiosity for the world around him and was observant beyond his years. He would often attempt to follow his grandfather on hunting trips and had become fascinated with fairy tales and stories, most notably that of Don Quixote. His grandfather would note that, had he not been stuck in the reclusive village, he would make a worthy scholar.
In his adolescence, Serra's grandfather was attacked by a ravenous wolf while hunting, the old man managed to make it back to the family's cabin, but had become infected with an unknown illness as a result of the attack and his condition would only further deteriorate, leaving rumours of "madness" spreading among the villagers.The word of the grandfather's strange illness soon reached the then-current village chieftan, who confided in Bitores Méndez to prevent the infection from spreading. Thus, one night while Serra was out of the house, he would return to find his family's cabin set ablaze, with his grandfather lost to the flames. Méndez would write that the entire village had gathered to watch in shock and terror, yet even after the last ember had been extinguished, the young Serra still looked on without uttering a word, not moving a muscle until dawn. After which, he disappeared from the village. After leaving, Serra set out to make a name for himself in the modern world in his grandfather's memory and enrolled in a public university, earning a degree as a prodigy biologist