Laban Oddmund was born in the underground city of Blingdenstone to a senior miner named Haldor and a fungi farmer named Frida. His early childhood primarily consisted of survival training and apprenticeship with the miner's guild. Miners are the most valued common workers in Svirfneblin society and Laban did his best to find a place in their ranks. He started out as a chopper, which is the job that requires the least skill and experience. Laban was quite talented with a pickaxe, but while the other apprentices virtually swam through dirt and rock, Laban felt a constant compulsion to stop and clean himself off. Scouting and hauling weren't any better. In fact, he could not concentrate on anything very long in the dusty mines.
Haldor did his best to conceal his disappointment, but he heard the whispers about how his son was not cut out to be a miner and pulled some strings to have Laban moved to processing and finishing. The Svirfneblin have a passionate love of precious gems and Laban did enjoy polishing and cutting gems from the mines, but after a year of finishing gems he started to wonder if this was all life had to offer. Little did he know that a dark stranger was on his way to change everything.
Chapter 1 - Introduction
