A Romulan citizen born in 2356, D'Tan grew up believing that Romulus would someday reunify with Vulcan. His parents wanted him to learn the Vulcan language, as did their parents before them, to prepare for the day when Romulans would live again with their Vulcan cousins.

D'Tan learned the language with a set of marble-sized toys that represented the syllabic nucleus of the Vulcan language. One of his favorite books was one that told the story of the Vulcan separation. At the age of 12, D'Tan participated in underground efforts to bring Romulan society closer to this reunification, and befriending Ambassador Spock in the process.