Aniel was the unborn son of Dorelei mab Breidaia and Imriel nó Montrève de la Courcel, slain by the Maghuin Dhonn magician Berlik along with his mother not long before he would have been born. Through their powers, Berlik and Morwen foresaw thhat the son of Dorelei and Imriel would grow bitter and reject his Alban heritage after his mother died in childbirth during her second pregnancy and his father disappeared from his life for unknown reasons. According to these visions, the boy would grow up to bring ruin to Alba and destroy the ancient ways of its people.
Had he been born, Dorelei and Imriel intended to name Aniel after Dorelei's grandfather Aniel, who raised his son Gartnach mab Aniel alone after his mother died in childbirth. They chose the name for this and because it sounded like a d'Angeline name and very similar to that of the angel Anael. If the child was a girl, they intended to name her Anielle. Years later, Imriel named his firstborn daughter with Sidonie de la Courcel Anielle, likely in honor of his murdered first wife and unborn child.