Chapter 1: Nelhino

My eyes opened up on the same rotting wood before I jumped out of bed and grabbed my cleanest pair of clothes and my sandals which the leather was worn out the least, I passed my hands through my brown curly hair, without any hope of clearing up the mess that it was. I climbed down the creaking stairs to the tiny kitchen, I grabbed a bit of bread  and stepped out closing the door that seemed to screech as it turned on it’s rusty hinges. I set off as the sun rose onto the city, I stopped on the square as the shops started opening, as the blacksmith saw me he motioned with his big hands for me to come inside.

"You’ll be on your own, my last apprentice has started his own shop and the two others that were supposed to come aren't going to. They decided to climb a tree but one of them fell and shattered his arm and the other one was too stupid to refuse to climb and I am not letting an idiot like that in my shop", he said through his thick dark mustache his dark brown eyes drilling into mine.

"Yes sir" I mumbled uncomfortably looking at my feet.

"Look at me when I speak and when you speak to me. From now on you will make sure the place is clean, you will make sure the water barrel is full and ready to use, the tools are in good shape and there is coal for the fire". With that he gave me the broom and said harshly

"Get to work"

"Yes sir" i said looking straight at his bearded face and with that I set to work sweeping the vast room full of tools, weapons, saddle pieces, and many other metal artifacts. After that i stepped out with two buckets in each hand, filled them with water and as I lifted the buckets up i screamed in pain and let them fall back down. I had forgotten about that, my injured right hand was infected. I filled the buckets up again and looked at my hand, a red scar marked my hand. A simple pressure was excruciating and part of it had split open and instead of blood a greenish substance was seeping out of it. I picked up the buckets up carefully this time and carried them back to the workshop struggling. The blacksmith saw me and stepped over to help, lifting the buckets with ease and pouring them into the barrel.

"Here show me your hand" he said, at the sight of the cut he winced in consideration.

"We're going to have to fix this or you will get high fever and probably die, come with me", he finally said after a long moment of examining and poking.

"Yes sir" I answered anxiously, he led me to the now blazing fire, he grabbed two knives and put one into the fire leaving it heat. He looked at me in the eyes before warning me

"This is going to be painful", without leaving time for me to speak he sliced the crust of my cut and pierced several part of my skin and squeezed the green liquid out to the last drop into a jar and then he gave me a bucket of water and made me to get wash my hands thoroughly. 

"That didn't hurt", I said 

"That no, this yes he" said turning around holding the hot red knife.He grabbed my hand and squeezed the burning blade on the cut of my hand leaving it there for several long and excruciating seconds before pulling it off, the skin around my cut was melting back together, I fell to the ground and dropped my hand into a cold water bucket. Once I realized that I had screamed and I was still screaming, i forced myself to stop even though the pain was beyond anything i had felt before.

"I am sorry I had to do that, show me your hand please" he said putting the knife back into the fire. After a lengthly examination of my hand he put the knife in the water and turned towards me passing a hand in his sweat soaked black hair.

"You experienced a burn much quicker than any other black smiths, no working today I'll show you and teach you, and you will learn through your eyes till that hand of yours is healed, and i am sorry to say but you will be left with a scar." 

"Yes sir" i said sitting down and started to listen to him talking. 

After several hours of talking the blacksmith stood up and said

"Now go home and don't forget what i said and careful with that burn" the blacksmith added gently.

"Yes sir" I answered I turned around and walked out of the shop and headed for the house, I ran most of the way home, stopping just once in the main road to catch my breath and walk the rest of the road home. As i arrived home the front door was hanging by one of its hinges. I carefully stepped into the house. As i slipped under the hanging door I silently glided into the house my senses alert. At the sight of a group of thugs standing over my sister and my mother in the small living room I shouted and punched one of them as hard as i could, when he hit the ground, two others started moving towards me whilst the boss of the gang was slapping and undressing my sister, i grabbed the a metal bar laying half in the fire, and the attackers rushed towards me knives out. I slashed out blindly in front of me blindly cutting one of them in his stride as the bar caught him unexpectedly in the side of his hide sending him crashing to the ground slowing the last boy. I attacked suddenly and as violently as possible, sweating and raining blows on him till he fell to the ground and continued beating him till he was out cold. Gripping the bar even tighter i rushed to the boy who was standing centimeters away from my half-naked sister and my unconscious mother. Far faster than i expected he turned around and sent my weapon crashing into some rags with his short sword. He started moving slowly forwards towards me faking to strike me, my stomach was constricted with fear and i couldn't move, when a sudden movement behind him made him turn around. He buried his short sword straight to the hilt into my sister's stomach, who had tried to knock him out, screaming in rage I jumped towards him whilst he struggled to turn around with his weapon, I was punching him with as much strength as possible, he lay there his face a mess when the smell of smoke pulled me out of my rage, the house was on fire. In a state of panic I realized that I would not be able to pull both of them out in time. I would have to choose who too save, my mother or my sister. The door burst open and my father ran in, I felt relieved as he screamed

"Get your sister we still have some time before the house burns down."  I ran to my room grabbed my small pouch and filled it up with my important objects clumsily because of before running back down grabbing my sister, the money from behind the fire place and running out of the house, I couldn't find my father I turned around and saw my father holding my mother and heading to the fire place to get the money 

"I have it" I screamed suddenly realizing the mistake we had made, but he didn't hear, once he realized the the money was gone he rushed towards the door, but before he could run out, the foundations crashed down ontop of him weakened by the fire. Panicking I called for help and rushed back towards the house when a familiar voice said 

"Stay here" the massive figure of the blacksmith rushed into the house leaving me outside next to my sister. I turned around to my sister who's head was tilted a bit to the side and her eyes were half-opened, her breathing slowing drastically till I could not hear it. I swayed slowly and crumpled to the ground, this is all a nightmare I thought, I will wake up.