You all have such fascinating histories!  Intrigue, adventure, romance!  Not Uthor.  I'm just a poor tinker's boy from Hrothvard-upon-Gouda.  Never heard of it?  I'm not surprised.  If backwaters had a back, it would be behind that.  Now, when you big-city gnomes and fancy fey hear "engineer," you probably think of the greats like Albert Singed or Ragnar the Blue.

Being born an engineer in a little river village isn't quite the same thing.  I still get flashbacks from that time I fixed that plow.  Which time?  Doesn't matter, it's always the same.  But I guess I'm lucky too.  Unlike most engineers, I actually had a talent for the work, and more importantly, I like it.  I made nearly all my childhood toys myself, not that they were anything special.

Still, it's a good thing that when Colonel Gunnarson led the 119th Regiment up the Gouda on maneuvers, he asked me if I wanted a place in the army.  I had a full week of plow repairs coming up, so of course I jumped at the chance.  Didn't know I'd end up aboard the I.G.S. Red Spring!  I could spend weeks just looking over how everything works!  Guess I shouldn't get too much of a big head though, the Colonel forgot my name five times on the way to port.  Always a fly in the beer, you know.

I suppose that's about it.  I'm not really that remarkable.  But enough of that, time to get to work.

Uthor Magnusson, Engineer Grade 5 reporting for duty!