The story of Taliom's family begins long ago, with a Dúnadan who fled from Arnor after the Angmar War. Crippled, he could no longer fight, so he decided to hide and try at least to live a happy and peaceful life, to marry and have children. He went south, where he met a woman and had a family. Through the generations, the Dúnadan and his descendants traveled throughout Middle-earth, settling in different places, as there was some unstoppable force that made all the members of the family travel, travel and travel. It became some kind of rule, to never stay in one place for too long. The descendants of the Dúnadan traveled for all Eriador, until somebody decided to move to Rhovanion, and with more generations, the Dúnadan's descendants moved to different places like Rohan and Gondor.

And it was in Gondor where Thaliom, Taliom's father, was born. He was a respected man, who earned the right to become an Ithilien Ranger, despite being too young. During one of his travels, Thaliom met a woman from Esgaroth, (also known as Lake-Town). She helped him on his task, and they quickly fell in love. He took her to Gondor, where they were very happy for some time, until one day she became ill and died. Thaliom felt completely defeated after that, never wanting to be in love again, but no one can fight against their heart. Many years later, he met Belengal, Taliom's mother. She was from Dale, and traveled to Gondor with her family for business. They fell in love and after a while they got married. When Belengal got pregnant, Thaliom withdrew from the rangers, because he was worried about his future child growing up without a father. Having no more family in Gondor, Thaliom decided it would be better to move to Dale, with Belengal's family. And it was in Dale, where Taliom was born. Son of a retired ranger, now turned hunter, and a tailor, Taliom had a very happy childhood. He used to play with the other kids to a game called Dragons and Bowmen, where one kid would play as the dragon Smaug, and the rest would play as the Bowmen. But one of them wouldn't play a simple bowman, but Bard the Bowman. Taliom grew up learning the story about the man who killed the dragon, the man that became King of Dale. Interested in archery, he asked his father to teach him, so one day he could kill dragons himself, and be a protector to the people. During the following years, Taliom's fantasies about killing and fighting fantasy creatures disappeared, as he became more mature, and realized how dangerous the world is in reality.

Taliom always tried to help his family, as they all were in some way traders and merchants. Thaliom, being a hunter, used to take care of getting meat and hides. Belengal was a tailor, working with the hides to make clothes to the poor people and to trade it with other cities. Her parents were jewelers and cookers. Her brother was a metalsmith, and taught Taliom how to work with metal ores, but he could never taught him how to craft weapons or armors, as the young boy was always too busy helping with all kind of tasks. 

Because of Taliom's family being all traders, they were always moving to make deals with other people. Taliom grew up between men, dwarves, and some elves, and this can be easily noticed in how he respectfully treats the ones from other races, or the way he dresses, with an evident big influence from different cultures in his clothes. He started learning Sindarin from the elves of Mirkwood one day he met some that were trading near the woods, and his father kept teaching him during the following years. He also learned some Rohirric while he was a child, and perfected it over the years, mostly talking with Rohirrim he encountered on his adventures after he left Dale. He also learned some other strange languages, like the language from the Lossoth, and a few more he learned on his travels, although he can't speak all of them perfectly. He's a quick learner and always wants to learn new things.

Over the years, Taliom felt he could do so much more than just make clothes or hunt animals. He decided he will become a caravan guard, so he could travel and have adventures, while at the same time protecting people. One of his jobs brought him to Archet, where the caravan he was escorting got attacked by Blackwolds. One of them was going to kill a merchant, but Taliom managed to hit him with an arrow. As soon as he turned around, another Blackwold hit him in the face with a club, making the scar he now has on his cheekbone. Taliom was pretty dazed after the hit, but managed to kill the Blackwold, and with the aid of the rest of caravan guards, they made the bandits flee. 

In time, he gained the nickname ''Swift Arrow'', which seems to be a pretty common nickname most Bree-landers give to skilled hunters and archers in Eriador. Some people who know he's from Dale call him 'Bard', maybe as a sign of respect, or as a mock, he doesn't care. Others simply call him 'Bowman'. 

Being aware of the great danger Eriador was in, mostly unprotected from the menace rising in the north, he decided to stay around, to help in whatever he can.