The back story:

Sylvain was born and raised in Bree-land to a father and mother who were, well to do. His father was a successful merchant, who had a natural intelligence, which aided him in making coin. This benefited Sylvain, inheriting that natural pedigree along with a comfortable upbringing, along with being the only child he was the golden child. Thus he  also received a golden education of the mind and the body. At the time of when Sylvain was sixteen, his father invested his capital into farms north of Bree-land, and left along with Sylvain's  mother to keep an eye on what would be his last investment. The investment into the farms did not go notice by Brigands and Bandits, they saw their opportunity and took, leaving Sylvain's father and mother gone along with their investment. 

This left Sylvain stripped of his immediate family and his wealth which he was brought up in. But he had his education of his mind and his body, having seen the opportunity of the troubles around the land. He opted to become a sellsword for the time being, often rounding up vagabonds with the promise of loot to raid orc or bandit camps in Bree and the surrounding lands. 

He has bounced around a couple of mercenary groups, most notably a group called the Crimson Daggers. After that  he went  venturing on his own or in barely organised groups in order to amass some wealth. He had a brief period were he served a noble House, and was paid handsomely for it. At this current time he finds himself unattached to any group.