Wendell was inkled, conceived and raised in the village of Masern in the duchy of Gottschee in what is present-day Slovenia. It was built hard against the steep limestone cliffs in a narrow valley under the gaze of the long-abandoned Friedrichstein Castle. The summers were hot, humid and buggy and the winters were cold, damp and buggy. Masern had one market, 3 acceptable guest houses, two saw mills and an internet cafe that resulted in a lively flow of traffic.

One thing everyone noticed was how enchanting and special Masern had become over the centuries but after his birth, it positively prospered and glowed. It seemed that the sun was always at high-noon so there never were any harsh shadows and everyone went about their business without reflection. They were never certain why.

Over the centuries little changed but there were some old-timers who were certain that the village had moved closer to the border and other times the border moved closer to the village. One old man even insisted that the village and the border had actually switched positions since he was a youth. They were never certain why.

In Masern, every child was born a twin, all the men had the same last name and all the women had another last name. All the children were born plump, wet and golden but passed boney, dry and gray. They were never certain why.

In fact, no one was certain of pretty much anything in Masern.