Let me just post some headcanons on Ethan’s background before anything canon is published. Since it not wrong before its proven wrong ;*
Ethan was born after the second world war was over, but the post war’s hatred for everything foreign was still fresh. He grew up during the cold war when the conflicts in the east of Europe broke loose
His jewish parents, who only met after the alliance forces put an end to the whole tragedy, put great hopes on the boy, wished for his future to be bright. Ethan was a very kind child who grew up loved and safe.
He wanted to become a doctor in his young years, but due to a bad financial situation he knew he would never be able to afford university. So he got involved with a group of people, who were told to have made deals with the devil, who managed to treat people with their extensive medical knowledge and help them overcome terrible diseases. Their home was only opened at night. Payment was in donated blood (“for their treatment”). He begged his way into that family, a hand full of vampires living with their chalices. He had to prove himself first but he was very willing to learn.
However, when the community noticed that the child, who had become a teenager of seventeen years, was getting close to those devils, his family was harassed out of the city. Ethan left his family, to “live with his “employers” ”, when the group decided to move away.
After moving in he was officially made a chalice by a free vampiress, who had taken a liking to him. She was cold to him to keep him distanced, not paying him any attention except during the feedings, but he craved her. She was young and beautiful, exactly his type. She way only turned for a few decades and lived through the horrors of both world wars. Having him, was like relearning to trust in human kindness.
He learned about medicine, about psychology, philosophy, learned languages. He enjoyed the safety the new family granted him.
For five years they lived in their new place, a large mansion in a small village that belonged to a new member of their clan. A villager managed to sneak his way into their business, seemingly interested in medicine, too. He was sure the people were demons, who bound their presence to human beings. After the man collected enough information, he managed to secretly collect a mob of people and they attacked the vampire mansion in the brightness of day. They slayed the chalices to kill the devils that they could not win against.
Ethan’s mistress let herself be killed and openly attacked the mob, to not draw Ethan down with her. This broke the chalice bond. Ethan was free to leave. He was furious, killed a man and tried to awaken his vampire side to revenge his lost love by draining him of his blood. It did not work out.
The owner of the mansion took him with him as they fled in the broad daylight. Ethan could not say goodbye. The vampires’ remains were burned together with the humans.
Ethan and the house owner – another medic far older than his former mistress – managed to survive the massacre and moved around in a two man group, still helping people, healing them and running whenever they were discovered.
But Ethan’s hatred grew stronger by each day the murderers of his love remained unpunished. He was also terrified of having lost his status as a chalice. He lost the safety of the clan.
For another year he tried. He tried to give people a chance, but after multiple times they had to change cities, he was sick of it. He asked his late master to just turn him and let him go his own way. Like a parting gift that was bestowed upon Ethan, a week later they both left for a next destination. It was the last time he saw him.
He was 24 at that point.
Ethan went for their tormentors. With his new abilities, he hunted down every person who was responsible for the assault on his former home, everyone they held dear, every person who ever forced him to flee. That even went as far as following them into other countries. There was no one he could not find.
He developed a gruesome way of life. Parasiting his way into peoples homes, feeding off of them and then leaving the other day. He left a path that was easy to follow.
Beliath did. He had visited the pacifistic clan when it was still active and saw the boy before. He heard of the young vampire that raised to much dust in his way. He needed to calm him down to keep their secret save. So he went for a talk. Ethan was eager to meet the devil himself. He was also yearning for another family.
Beliath invited him to a soiree held by the high and mighty of the night world. He was recognized there as a former part of the medics household, as a pacifist. That was no longer the case. He almost drained a man on the buffet in his hunger from being on the run for days.
Beliath stopped him. He helped him settle down. He showed him that it is possible to lure prey instead of hunting it. That he can feed regularly instead of bingefeeding and killing. He taught him the art of seduction.
They met again in France years later. Both on the search of a save place, far away from humankind. Both heard about a self sufficient house and Beliath contacted Ethan after a talk with the blonde new owner of the mansion. Together they moved in, forming a five member-ed clan.
When Vladimir, 10 years later, decided to take in a young vampire – one that was newly turned with a master that had no use for him and no way of keeping the fledgling safe – Ethan feared the threat of being persecuted and chased from his home again. Because everything new way a threat. It could mean loosing everything.