Ondelle was born in the spawning pools of the Silkendeep, a single mermaid egg left behind by her parents that they never came back for. As an abandoned child, she had nowhere to go. It was a strange experience to be born with nobody expecting you, and even more strange to be a burden to those who were there.

The midwives of the spawning pools told her that she could go anywhere. In fact, once she was able to harvest food on her own she was encouraged to. But in growing up, she only knew the Pools and so despite the vigor of recommendation from her elders, she remained.

The Spawning Pools are places of change - many folk leave their eggs their for protection and it can range from a few hours to a few years before the children are born. Some eggs, especially those that had been there for some time, became like friends to Ondelle and stung all the more when they left with their parents.

Now, she has become a midwife in her own right despite the desire of those who had already taken up the task. She feels her services are best spent where "home" is and where she can love something without ever having to expect love back. If all love is ephemeral, then perhaps her abandonment did not matter so much. Perhaps being unwanted was not a sin.