[Source] Tankred Thyssen was the only son of Esterad Thyssen and Zuleyka of Talgar, Lord of Kovir, Poviss, Velhad, Narok and Talgar, and a would-be suitor for Cirilla of Cintra. As a youth, he fell in with bad company, most notably the baron Surcratasse, Lady de Lisemore and Redanian ambassadors in the kingdom of Kovir and Poviss. Probably thanks to the intervention promised by the sorceress Sheala de Tancarville, he straightened out and resumed his studies. He had two sisters: Gaudemunda and Heloiza.