up my arm and as I look down among the puddle of my mom and sister's own blood was my left hand. I screamed in pain and fell to my knees still struggling to hit him with that axe. The man red just stepped on my other hand and effortlessly held it there. I looked up at him, not with fear, or pleadingly but with hatred. He looked down at me for a moment, his whole face covered by that helmet, only his eyes visible. He raised his sword; tightly I closed my eyes awaiting the same fate as my family, unfortunately for me, that was not to be. I heard a cold unfeeling voice speak to me "You are brave, I'll give you that. You will come with me as an apprentice." He grabbed my hand and dragged me out of my home, I struggled, trying to get away from him but he was too strong and I was only a boy. I was tied up; my hand bound to prevent infection, and placed on a wagon to be taken to my new "home".
             His home was bigger than anything I could have imagined, a towering castle surrounded by a town and fields where workers tilled the soil, it made me think of what I had just lost. Finally the wagon stopped in front of two huge doors, slowly they opened and I was brought inside. I could see servants busily working. Once the wagon stopped one of them helped me down and took me to the castle's doctor to have my hand treated, once that was done I was taken to my new room. I remember lying on that bed, staring at the roof, images and sounds of what had happened still running through my head. Slowly a restless sleep came over me...
             I woke up the next morning to light streaming through the window. Outside I could hear birds singing and the sound of people getting to their respective jobs. I chuckled sourly, things seemed deceptively right in the world. Like the planet itself was ignorant of the collapse of my world my hopes and my happiness and the clockwork of time marched on unscathed. I was disturbed from my musings by a knock on the door. "C... Come ...