Cyrus and Sylvia Ravenwood met while attending high school together.  Sylvia's family originates in Sutherlind, but her mother moved after the accidental death of Sylvia's father when she was a child.  Because Deception Creek is a small community, Sylvia attracted a lot of attention when she arrived.

Cyrus, a local swimming champion, attracted the Tamarian girl with his good looks and charisma.  They began an intense relationship, shortly after which the girl became pregnant.   In order to avoid scandal, Cyrus and Sylvia married.  Initially, nearly everyone believed the two made a perfect couple.  However, not long after Garrick was born, Sylvia told anyone who would listen that she didn't love her husband.  After a few years of marriage, she engaged in several affairs.

Although Sylvia bore three children, she told Cyrus that he would never be certain any of their children were his.  Their nearly constant conflict between them drove the siblings--especially the twins, Algernon and Kira--very close together.  Garrick took on most of the responsibility for work in the family orchard as alcoholism consumed his father.  He also bore the brunt of his father's wrath, and eventually fled from home in fear of his life.

Through the years, Sylvia became increasingly obsessed with the traditional Tamarian religion as a means of coping with her domestic situation.  Her irrationality strongly influenced all of her children, who became skeptical of conformity to any religious paradigm and each sought an independent spiritual path.