It had been many days since Brunel Eyestone had left home. As his name suggests he was a miner with a very good eye for gems, jewels and stones of any value. His skin was pale from lack of sunlight, his hands large and knotted from constant overwork, his muscles bulky and round all over his body showing the strength he had gained in the mines. He worked with the other men of his lands in three week intervals. Their shifts were long and hard. The mines were over a week’s travel from their homes, the lands about them dangerous and inhospitable. The men had agreed together on these long shifts so that some would always remain at home to watch the children and wives, tend the land and protect the homes.

So it was a surprise when Brunel arrived outside his house to find it lifeless and dark. No smoke from the chimney, no light from its window, no children running to greet him as norm. Fear and rage took hold of him as he stepped forward and barrelled through his front door. There were several whimpering screams and before he knew it two pairs of trembling arms wrapped about his thick tree like legs. The house filled with the sound of his children’s tears.

Brunel was quite aware that his wife had once been a witch, but never expected anything to come of it. When he had met her she was on the run from what other parts of the world called the Collectors. There was a power struggle over magic and many mages, sorcerers and witches alike had been maimed or murdered after their powers were stolen. Only those hard pressed for luck came to where the mine was, so magic was rarely seen and never talked of.

He had found Suka injured in the mines, attempting to heal herself. She nearly killed him when he found her, too. With some protest he took her to his home, fed her, clothed her and had her healed. When she was well enough to leave, she did not. One day her powers vanished and while she worried the Collectors may return to find her still, he was overjoyed that her burden was gone. Brunel loved her dearly. 

It had seemed little more than a fairytale when rumours of their presence first trickled in. Brunel had kept it a secret from his wife, worrying it would cause her unjust anxiety. Regardless of his mistake there was little he could have done to protect her while he was away. 

After three months of back breaking work he was not looking forward to leaving his terrified children with their trusted neighbours to travel to find the Collectors. He gave what little money he had to his children’s caretakers figuring he could live off the land as he traveled. Reassuring his son and daughter, Brunel set off leaving the lands he had known most his life.