Half a year before the Serenes Massacre, Rafiel was captured by beorc slave-traders in Serenes Forest. He was then auctioned off to be a pet to rich and powerful beorc. Catching the eye of one particularly influential senator, Hetzel, he took him into his care and treated him with hospitality. Nursed back to health, Rafiel temporarily regained the use of his wings upon regaining his vigor. Hearing of the massacre, Rafiel fled Hetzel’s estate in a flurry of confusion and attempted to embark on a flight towards Serenes.

However, as a result of his trauma from the slave-traders, he still found himself unable to fly with his wings. He wound up flying off-course and found himself collapsed and barely alive in the infamous Desert of Death, located in eastern Begnion. Queen Nailah of Hatari had come across the heron. She brought him back to her homeland and did her best to nurse him back to health. The two eventually became lifelong partners. He then made the decision to reside in Hatari for a while, before heading towards Daein with Nailah and her loyal subject, Volug.

After the last battle of Radiant Dawn, Rafiel returns to the Serenes forest to awaken his father. If Nailah is alive by the time the game ends, he will eventually return to Hatari with her.