Born to a poor family barely eking out a living in the small settlement of Estuar on Akiton, Quig Dexel developed a fascination at an early age with the various water-purification plants that skirted the nearby polar ice caps. Spurred by this curiosity, he taught himself the basics of engineering by stealthily tinkering with valve-control mechanisms and reverse-osmosis regulators until he was old enough to work for one of the shady syndicates that controlled the flow of water out of town. Initially hired as a de-icer, he made sure that the storage tanks' outflow lines didn't freeze over during the cold nights. Though he worked odd hours, he was able to make friends by helping his coworkers when their shoddy flamers malfunctioned.