This is the unpublished backstory for Thrall. I didn't add it because it didn't drive the story forward, but here it is for you!
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A question nagged her. “If they don't have servants, how did you become Jeo’s slave?”
He sighed and looked away. “I’m sure you can see from my pale skin, I am not kin to these tan warriors. A barbarian from Jeo's village found me when I was about 10, wandering the surrounding forests, delusional and traumatized by whatever had happened to me. Whatever had happened it was enough for me to completely block it out, and to this day I still cannot remember. They brought me to Jeo's father who was the clave member charged with protecting that village. I wasn’t his blood, but he gave me shelter, despite warnings from villagers that an outsider would only cause them harm. ”
“Over time the seeds of jealousy grew in Jeo. His father began favoring me more than him. He took me on hunting trips and village gatherings. Needless to say, that didn’t sit well with the young water user. There was a gold Talisman sacred to the people of that village. It connected those without magic, to the fates. One night when we were about 13 years, I awoke to a sound in my room, and noticed Jeo slipping out into the night. Curious, I followed him into the gathering hall where the talisman was kept.”
Leiv could feel where this story was headed and she didn’t like it.
“There was a tall stranger standing next to Jeo, speaking to him. It was no one I recognized. There was a reason something as important as the Talisman was allowed out in the open. Those who the fates have bestowed their magic upon were the only ones capable of touching it. Jeo’s father had warded this particular talisman with his fire energy. Anyone without magic that touched the item would be burned."
“Jeo was an energy user…”
Thrall nodded. “He was able to hold the object without pain. I saw Jeo use his energy to shield the talisman so the stranger could hold it. The minute I realized his intentions, I ran for them. At this point I believed I was a part of their village and protecting that Talisman was my duty. I bounded up the stairs and lunged to grab the object, causing Jeo to lose concentration on his shielding. The talisman burned my hands as I crashed to the ground, knocking into tables, chairs and whatever else was in the way. The sound woke many people. They all rushed into the gathering hall and saw me on the ground with my hands burned and Jeo on the other side, bleeding from a cut on his head. Jeo’s father entered the room, and before I could explain what happened, Jeo began calling me a treacherous thief.”
“Why did you not explain yourself?”
“I tried. The minute I opened my mouth to counter everything, Jeo had jumped on top of me. After a few blows to the face and throat areas, I blacked out. As I swam in darkness I could hear the villagers telling Jeo's father that their suspicions about me were correct. When I woke, Jeo was there, warning me of all the things he would do if I ever spoke the truth. He told me he would hurt people in the village and make it seem like it was all my doing.”
“Surely no one would think it was you.”
“To them I was still an outsider, one they had warned their clave leader about. It would have been my word against that of a clave’s son. There was no chance for me. “
“Why did you not leave?”
“There was nowhere else for me to go. The barbarian villages are secluded. If I would have escaped I either would been an animal’s dinner or the barbarians would have attempted to find and punish me even further.”
“There was nowhere else for me to go. The barbarian villages are secluded. If I would have escaped I either would been an animal’s dinner or the barbarians would have attempted to find and punish me even further.”
“So you became Jeo’s slave.”
“That was my punishment.”
“No one cared you were being tortured?”
“Not that they longer cared, but Jeo would tell people I inflicted harm upon myself. That I had gone mad and had to be tied up at night.”
“That is horrible.”
“Not that they longer cared, but Jeo would tell people I inflicted harm upon myself. That I had gone mad and had to be tied up at night.”
“That is horrible.”
“That was my life.”
