Early Years
Jarrod was born a third-generation free slave. His paternal grandparents had been freed in their late adulthood by their owners - a kindly old couple who purchased workers from passing traders but offered them freedom, and assistance leaving town, when they came of age. Jarrod's father was born a free Keidran and the first in the family to be offered a formal education. He became a night guard and met Jarrod's mother during one of his rounds. Jarrod's mother worked as the chief assistant of their village's apothecary. Jarrod himself was born with little knowledge of his grandparent's life. He often spent time climbing the walls of the village buildings in order to reach the outer forest. To try and calm down her wild offspring Jarrod's mother began give her son down lessons on plants. These lessons included small quizzes on the ingredients for medicine made in the apothecary. Jarrod learned the different types of plants that were grown for the apothecary supplies. Jarrod would obediently recite the plant names, for he had a talent for memorization, but he quickly grew bored with the lessons. Whenever his mother had to help customers Jarrod would look for a way to escape outside.
Taken
When Jarrod was five years old he wandered away from his mother during a routine shopping trip. While his mother was busy purchasing some herbs Jarrod ducked between the vendor stalls. He was small and slipped by the vendor unnoticed. He began heading toward the sweet roll vendor but something else caught his attention. A large crowd was moving to the village square. By the sounds of it, some sort of commotion had broken out there. Jarrod was curious. So he made his way toward the square.
The commotion turned out to be an argument between a group of slavers and the local law enforcement. The loud shouts between the two forces had attracted the crowd. The slavers were loudly protesting that they were allowed to be in the village, that they were allowed 'by law!' to try and sell their goods. The guards countered that the village had declared their independence and slavery had been outlawed some ten years past. The crowd, bolstered by the guards' words, began to grow angry. Several villagers began to demand the slavers leave.
Wanting to get close to the action Jarrod pushed his way through the crowd. His small body fit between the adults quite easily. One large human male, however, took offense to Jarrod's rush. He shoved the young Keidran away from himself causing Jarrod to stumble and fall. Dirt from the road coated the boy's clothes as he scrambled to his feet. Young Jarrod froze when he saw the line of slaves fitted with their collars and iron restraints. Several looked to be his own age. All of the slaves were haggard and their clothes were threadbare as they stood shivering in front of a small wooden cart. Having never seen a slave before the sight confused Jarrod.
Abruptly the guards and crowd began to herd the slavers and their wagon to the front gates. The slaves, most of whom were chained in a line to the wagon, went along with their captors. The mob of a crowd followed as well. Jarrod fought his way to the font of the crowd again. He wanted to see the slaves. He didn't understand why they were chained. By the time he reached the front of the crowd everyone was outside the village gates. The crowd spent time hurling insults at the slavers. Though the law was clear about not allowing slavery, the residents knew if one of the slavers attacked, it was grounds for them to be arrested and their 'property' to be handed over. This included the slaves. The traders bore the insults and tossed back some of their own. But neither side attacked the other.
When the crowd became bored the noise died down. The residents slowly returned to their duties and the guards busied themselves surrounding the gates and informing the slavers about the path they should take 'for their own good'. Everyone began to leave except for one. Jarrod, now dirty from falling on the ground, attempted to get closer to the wagon. A slave that looked to be his own age had his hands through the bars that made up the door. The slave, a young feline Keidran, noticed Jarrod getting closer and reached out to him. The crowd reached the gates and people began filing into the village. Their backs were turned. So no one noticed when Jarrod was grabbed by the nearest slaver. The boy fought immediately, but the closest man put one massive, beefy hand around the young Keidran's muzzle to keep his cries from being heard. A sharp blow to the head knocked Jarrod unconscious making it easy to toss his unresisting body into the cage of slaves. The young Keidran quickly went to the groggy Jarrod in an attempt to help him. The slavers resumed their travel, hastening the horses to put as much distance between themselves and the village as possible. They now had one more item to sell at the next stop. It was a good day, as far as they were concerned. No one paid attention to the frantic Keidran female who was describing her son's clothes to the one of the guards at the gate.
Consequences
The slave wagon traveled for days. The slaves, still cramped in the small wagon, were given very little water and scraps of food. On the sixth day Jarrod was roughly dragged from the wagon. He was hauled by the neck out into the daylight and thrown onto a patch of cold damp earth. In the middle of an unfamiliar forest the young Keidran was fitted with bands of metal over his wrists and a thick collar of the same material was put around his neck. Money was exchanged between the slavers and a tall human with greying hair. The man had a heavy build and a there was an axe fixed to his belt. In a matter of minutes Jarrod was bought and sold. The slavers continued on their journey. But Jarrod was left behind. The large man looked Jarrod up and down, gave a derisive snort, and instructed his assistants to bring the boy with them. "For that much money, he better be a good worker." the man said.
Jarrod was carried, without clothes, and deposited next to several other shivering furred bodies. They were other slaves. Everyone in the group had been recently purchased. After the grey-haired man finished his speech, five Overseers used fist and whip to herd the slaves to their designated areas. It took Jarrod but an instant to bolt away from the burly Overseer and his cracking whip. Running on two legs and then four Jarrod fled from his captors. But suddenly Jarrod struck something or someone. His head ached brutally and his vision went black as he fell to the ground. The Overseer gathered the unconscious slave and carried him to his designated area. A quick face-full of water revived Jarrod. He awoke gasping and sputtering. He glared at the Overseer but the man simply pointed to a nearby tree. It was marked with a bright red X made of paint.
"Cut it down." the man said. He tapped his folded whip against his leg. It was clearly an order. Jarrod refused. The Overseer struck Jarrod across the face. Once. Twice. He yelled obscenities at the Keidran. And when that proved fruitless he hit Jarrod a third time knocking him to the ground. When the boy refused to stand the Overseer seized hold of his shirt and dragged him back to the main camp.
It took three days and three food deprived nights for Jarrod to finally realize that he couldn't escape from the wretched place he'd been transported to. The metal bands that he wore prevented him from leaving his the work camp. Every escape attempt he tried failed. When the exasperated and angry Keidran tried to strike out at the humans in anger, his fists seemed to slide off an invisible wall and the bands lit up with odd symbols. He was trapped. He was defenseless. Sullenly Jarrod turned his anger to his so called 'job'. He attacked trees with a vengeance. He pooled his anger into his fists and arms and all that resulted was that the Overseer happily noted the increase in logs. Despite his failures Jarrod was determined to find a way to escape.
The man who purchased Jarrod, he learned, was the owner of a lumber yard. Jarrod's job title was lumberjack or woodcutter or slave or chopper or tool. He was called many things. His first assignment was to cut down designated trees and then to cut the fallen trees into smaller logs. He was to fell as many trees and sections as he could from morning until afternoon. After a very short lunch break (bread and water) the second part of his job started. Jarrod had to haul all of the logs to a designated pile were they were sorted by another group of slaves. "It's a simple job. For simple animals." the company manager often told the Overseers. Jarrod was not the only woodcutter but he noticed that other slaves had different jobs. Whenever Jarrod deposited a wooden section into the pile, there was always another slave there ready to take it away to be prepared. For what, Jarrod was never told. He was never told anything that didn't have to do with his particular job.
For a year Jarrod was the only woodcutter in his designated area. Under the careful eye of the Overseer he and other slaves chopped and hauled trees in their own areas of the forest. It was a densely wooded forest. And the trees selected to be cut down were carefully chosen. Jarrod overheard another slave say that they only marked certain trees so that the slaves would always have work to do. To Jarrod the job seemed endless. Day after day he worked. The constant labor kept him awake at night with aches and pains until his body and mind became used to the strain. He began to develop the muscles in his arms and back.
During Jarrod's second year the company lost three of their slaves to felled trees. The man in charge decided to try a new tactic. Jarrod was given a partner, a fox Keidran who was a year or so older than Jarrod - despite the fact that Jarrod was a good five inches taller. With the "buddy" system each slave took one of the jobs. One would do the bulk of the cutting, and the other would be in charge of cutting the sections. Then they both hauled the wooden sections during the latter half of the day. The man in charge was immensely satisfied at the increase in production.
Jarrod didn't talk to his assigned partner. Nor did his partner talk to him. Not so much out of fear of the Overseer, but because neither was used to talking. But at night eventually Jarrod became curious. He learned that the fox Keidran was named Thane and that he was born a slave. But he was not born a laborer. Before being brought to the forest Thane had been a house-slave. Something that he'd done had caused his master to sell him. Thane wouldn't say what it was. Jarrod found it odd that Thane was not outraged by his captivity. He never tried to escape and didn't even complain or name-call the Overseers. Instead Thane seemed to endure the work and daily insults without comment or complaint. "I am a slave." Thane explained to Jarrod during their evening mealtime. "It is all that I am and all that I will be." Despite Jarrod's vehement denial that Keidrans not supposed to be slaves to Humans Thane could not be persuaded. Despite their differences in opinion a friendship was formed.
Hope
Winter was the most difficult time to endure. Whereas the Overseers had large bonfires and cabins as housing the slaves were given a series of cloth huts and some threadbare blankets. Often the slaves slept in large groups simply to remain warm.
During one such winter Jarrod caught his partner doing something strange. Early in the morning before the sun rose Thane slipped outside into the forest. Jarrod was awoken by the sound of the wind picking up. He peeked outside of the hut. After gathering a pile of half-frozen branches Thane began to arrange them in a way that seemed to mimic the tents Jarrod slept in. When he was finished Thane knelt down in the snow and pulled out a small stone from his pocket. And he stared at the pile of branches. Jarrod wondered if perhaps he was praying. He'd heard some of the other slaves prayed. Jarrod stepped outside to try and approach his friend when the branches suddenly caught on fire. Startled, Jarrod fell and landed muzzle-first into the snow. When he rose, shaking ice from his fur, Thane was sitting calmly next to a decent sized fire. Jarrod approached his friend cautiously.
Thane admitted freely that he knew a bit about magic. It was, he explained, part of the reason his previous master was forced to sell him to the traders. Jarrod ignored the confusing comment and pleaded with his friend to be taught how to use magic. At first, Thane refused. It was dangerous, he said. And magic wasn't a toy to be played with. And not everyone had the ability. But Jarrod continued to persist until Thane agreed to give him a small lesson. "Just to see if you can." Thane admitted.
And so, in secret, the magic lessons began. The two slaves quickly found out that whereas Thane's affinity and abilities were based around fire, Jarrod's affinity was with something entirely different. He had an affinity to plants. Whenever he aimed at a tree, trying to create a fireball, the tree would instead sprout into life; even if it was out of season. Thane asked Jarrod what his parents' jobs had been. The answer seemed to interest Thane but Jarrod failed to see any sort of connection. He continued to experiment with his newfound gift using Thane's mage-stones. The stones had a name, Thane mentioned one day, but he'd forgotten it a long time ago.
Over the next two years Jarrod and Thane practiced their abilities whenever they had free time. Thane would show Jarrod something, and then Jarrod would work on creating an equivalent. Thanks to the abundance of plant-life the slaves lived with every day finding material for Jarrod to practice with was not difficult. Jarrod even practiced on the marked trees during lunch. And at night there were plenty of roots and vines within reach of the tent's cloth walls. Once Jarrod found and strengthened his main skills the lessons took a slight turn. Thane and Jarrod began using their abilities against one another. They participated in mock battles to see how effective their magic was in combat situations. They had but one stone to use so the battles were short and done in extremely close quarters. These sessions were only done during times that the humans had a feast or night of drinking. Very often the Overseers consumed too much wine and slept as though dead. Jarrod and Thane were very careful during these sessions and made sure that they weren't noticed.
Plans
Toward the end of the fourth year of Jarrod's captivity he and Thane came up with a plan of escape. Or rather, they came up with a plan for Jarrod to escape. Thane had no desire to leave. "I will be caught." The fox explained, "And the next master I have may not be so kind." Jarrod objected that their current 'masters' were not kind at all. Thane countered that there were worse things a slave could do than cut down wood. Jarrod became upset and questioned these 'worse things' but Thane would not explain any further. HE considered the matter closed.
Their plan was simple. "The problem," Thane explained, "is the bands." The magic infused metal bands that kept slaves from escaping. If they could get the bands off Jarrod could be free. Their first attempts at removing the bands failed miserably. Thane attempted to use his magic to melt the bands. Despite his best attempts to control the heat the attempt caused his magic to backlash. The superheated metal severely burned Thane's wrists. Jarrod's wrists were also affected but his fur had minimized some of the damage. They were lucky that the scars were hidden by the thick metal but several days afterwards Jarrod had to help Thane with his job. Their Overseer complained about the decrease in production, but did not bother to investigate. It took two weeks for the burns to heal. And even after the singed fur grew back, the scars still remained. The second attempt at removing the bands was a tad more successful. Using his ability to control plants Jarrod tried to use them to pry the bands off. But due to his lack of experience the mana stone drained before he made any real progress. But at least, Thane commented, there were no scars that time.
Their third attempt was over two cold and rainy nights. The slaves were allowed to leave early because of the lightning the storm brought with it. The man in charge didn't want to have to deal with the mess of an accidental felling and dead slave. Huddled in a corner of their hut Jarrod used his magic once again. Instead of gradually using his magic to coax the plants to move he poured all of his energy into a single effort. The thin vine he controlled strained and twisted in its obedience trying to pry apart his left wrist band. But still there was no true progress. The next night Jarrod focused his energy more carefully and right at the end of the stone's capacity the vine lit up from within - the same color as the runes on the bands and the sigils that always appeared at the edge of the forest. The color grew brighter, then dimmed, and the band clicked open.
The resulting commotion that Jarrod made resulted in several slaves starting to approach. Frightened that he would be discovered Jarrod quickly snapped the band closed again. He whined quietly at the sensation of being trapped again. The curious slaves ignored Jarrod as being sick. But he was in fact invigorated. He knew how to get the bands off! He just had to practice.
Several months passed while Jarrod honed his ability. The trick, he learned, was putting just the right amount of power into the vine and doing so quickly. Each band seemed to have its own amount of power required. Thane called it a frequency and he tried to explain how the plants were acting as a key. Jarrod didn't quite understand. But he did understand that when he abandoned the tactic of brute force prying he had just enough energy stored in the stone to remove the two wristbands. But that still left the collar. "It's time I taught you one last lesson." Thane decided after seeing Jarrod succeed for the fifth time at taking both wrist bands off but run out of energy for the last item.
Jarrod's last lesson was on how to put mana into the stone by himself. Thane felt that perhaps he could get more mana into the stone. It was the hardest lesson yet as it required complete concentration. And Jarrod was distracted by the possibility of escape. Weeks passed. A few slaves tried their own escape attempts. But all were caught, punished, and forced to return to work. One slave had managed to blind an Overseer. That slave was not returned to work. His body was lashed to a tree for all the captives to see until the birds and predators stripped it of any resemblance to a Keidran. The gruesome sight drove Jarrod to be more diligent during his lessons. His diligence and Thane's patience paid off. Jarrod became able to prepare the stone himself. As a reward for succeeding in his final lesson Thane gifted Jarrod with the stone. "You will need it more than I." was the cryptic response to Jarrod's partial protest.
Spring was in full swing the day that Jarrod decided to escape. Thane was to be the distraction. "It is," the young Keidran assured Jarrod, "the least I can do." Thane said that if he was clearly in the camp he would not be in very much trouble.
They worked the morning as though it was any other day. But just before they were to haul their first cartful of wood back to the base, Thane began to wail. Faking a bout of severe stomach sickness, he moaned and groaned his way to their Overseer. He pitched himself forward, crying, wailing, and making and as much noise as he possibly could. Concerned only that he would infect the other slaves the head Overseer approached the flailing Keidran. And in his moment of inattention Jarrod reacted. He ducked behind the nearest tree while pulling the stone out of his pocket to call upon his magic. Finding the closest growing plant he grabbed it. The plant, or briar, as it turned out to be, cut into Jarrod's skin. But he ignored the pain and concentrated on the amount of energy he was using. The vine twisted and writhed but obeyed. Jarrod got one wrist band off. Then he broke the other. The collar was harder but with a solid push it too released. Thane was still moaning loudly and the Overseer was yelling about moving faster. But Jarrod was free! He shook his wrists and the bands dropped to the ground. But the sound of metal colliding caught the Overseer's attention.
The big man gave a startled yell and raised his whip. He snapped it toward Jarrod but the Keidran quickly picked up one of the bands and threw it the Overseer. The whip hit the band instead of Jarrod.
"Run!" Thane urged his friend, no longer faking his sickness. Jarrod ran.
The next crack of the whip caught his ear and the pain nearly blinded Jarrod. But still he ran. There was a loud shout behind Jarrod and a cry of pain. It was a real cry of pain, not a fake cry of sickness. Jarrod stumbled to a halt in order to turn.
"Run!" the voice called again. But another cry of pain sounded.
Jarrod watched the Overseer's hand raise preparing to strike Thane once again. Jarrod angrily called upon the grass to hold the Overseer in place while he charged the man. Together they fell to the ground. Jarrod kicked, scratched, and bit the human doing as much damage as he could to whatever he could reach. It didn't occur to either of them that they had axes on their belts until Thane called for Jarrod to use his. Still on the ground Thane was struggling to rise.
Jarrod was fast. But the human wasn't distracted by Thane's condition. The human was faster. The blunt edge of his axe connected with the side of Jarrod's head. Knocked semi-conscious Jarrod fell back to the ground.
The Overseer rose to his feet and began sweeping dirt from his pants. "Stupid slave." he grumbled.
So intent was he on cleaning his clothes and complaining that the Overseer missed Thane coming up behind him with the Overseer's own whip in his hand. A sharp crack sounded as the whip wrapped around the Overseer's feet. Thane jerked the whip backwards and the Overseer fell. His momentum was increased by his own weight and his head collided with a rock on the ground. The Overseer did not rise.
Stepping over the inert body Thane approached Jarrod and shook him several times to wake him up. Jarrod awoke with his head pounding and his eyes unable to focus.
"Get up." Thane said urgently. "You have to go. They're coming."
Jarrod had a hard time focusing but he remembered. The plan. The escape. Freedom. Jarrod hurried to stand and pulled at the broken collar still partially attached to his neck. As he turned Jarrod saw the slain Overseer's body. Realization made him stop his efforts. Injured humans meant dead slaves. A dead human certainly meant a dead slave. Pulling out the stone, Jarrod tried to take his friend's wrist.
"You can't." Thane said firmly while shaking his head.
Jarrod became angry then confused. Then with a sickening feeling in his gut he raised the stone and looked closely at it. His still blurred vision revealed what he hadn't realized. The stone was broken. Cracked through its middle. Somewhere in the fight he'd destroyed it. The stone would never hold mana again. He truly couldn't save his friend. Not now. Not ever.
"Run." Thane said again. The single word held sadness and determination. He folded Jarrod's paw over the broken stone. "Go." he urged. Jarrod shook his head. He didn't want to leave. There was a dead Overseer and an escaped slave. His friend wouldn't live through the night if he stayed. Thane pressed his felling axe against Jarrod's chest before giving him a shove. "Now," Thane insisted a final time.
Frightened, heartsick and angry Jarrod fled. He ran past his designated area, passed the tall trees, passed the boundary fence, passed all of the known forest. He jumped over the sigils that no longer acknowledge his existence. And still further Jarrod ran until he collapsed onto the ground. He crawled to a small stream. Using the last of his strength Jarrod pulled himself onto a stone covered in moss and hidden by leaves. And there he slept.
Freedom
When Jarrod awoke he was alone in the middle of a strange forest. But he was free. Jarrod finished removing his collar and set it on the ground. He used Thane's axe and several large stones to break the collar into pieces. With every blow he imagined one of the Overseer's heads. Even that of the man in charge. Jarrod took the pieces with him in a pouch made of his shirt. He wandered through the forest for days feeding off of the rabbits he could trap and fish he could catch. He found another stream which became a river which lead to the ocean. The coast lead Jarrod to real civilization. A small city. A port city. Cautiously he approached the front gate. The guards welcomed Jarrod and asked if he needed assistance. When he reached the gate the guards noticed his appearance.
Jarrod was seized before he could properly run. His clothing, coupled with the remnants of collar that fell from his pocket, was enough for the guards to deduce Jarrod was a runaway slave. To the frightened Keidran's astonishment the guards released him inside of the city. They told him that within their city's walls slavery was not tolerated. And escaped slaves were welcome though not 'officially' they were quick to explain.
With the remains of his slave collar clinking quietly in his pocket Jarrod walked further into the city. A passing elderly woman took one look at his appearance and gave him a few small circular items. Coins, he was told, for him to get some food. Jarrod followed his nose to the nearest produce stall. Using the kind woman's money he bought his first decent meal in five years. From bits and pieces of conversations Jarrod was able to determine that he'd escaped to a city called Arroy in the Republic of the Free Lands.
During his first week in Arroy Jarrod became a scavenger. He asked, begged really, for money and food and took whatever was offered. He found bins of old food behind the taverns. A few mischievous Keidran children taught Jarrod how to break into the city's garden/greenhouse where they promised he could sleep without the night guards noticing. It had to do with the night guard being allergic to pansies.
One afternoon a gruff grey-furred Keidran refused to give Jarrod any coins saying that anyone with his tools could find better ways to get money. Before walking away the stranger informed Jarrod that if he was looking for a job to be at the docks at sunrise. Jarrod arrived when the moon was still in the sky. The Keidran that had spoken to him was there waiting. "Good." the stranger commented. "You'll do." They shook paws and a deal was made. The Keidran turned out to be the owner of a docking company. And the company needed a few extra hands for the spring season. So Jarrod became a dockworker. He started at the bottom of the job chain sweeping floors and hauling out trash. Slowly but surely he worked his way up to become a full time worker. Most of his full time job was made up of manual labor. He helped unload the ships that arrived and load the ones that were leaving. He broke down old crates that were too damaged to use any longer and put together new crates for fresh shipments. Jarrod was paid enough that he could get three meals a day and he was allowed two days of rest every month. For the first time in his life Jarrod felt free.
Working at the dockyard gave Jarrod many advantages. Among them was the being the first to know when a new shipment of mana stones arrived. Each month Jarrod saved part of his pay so that he could eventually purchase new mana stones from the market. He purchased three stones in total. Not counting the one that he'd broken. Jarrod never restored the stone he'd escaped with to a useable state. Instead he found a jeweler who, for a modest fee, affixed the stone to a clasp and leather string. Jarrod began to wear the stone around his neck as a reminder of where he'd come from, and who he'd lost.
Jarrod slowly began talking to his coworkers. He stopped sleeping in the gardens and rented a room at the Inn. But he talked to the gardeners and visitors of the garden. He learned that along with slavery being banned in the city magic was allowed. One of the gardeners had what he called 'a smidge' of magic. It was just enough to let him sense when weeds began to take root. On his free days Jarrod visited the market and bartered with old man at the apothecary. He practiced his abilities during the night when no one was in the gardens because even if it was allowed using his magic in public made Jarrod nervous. If he made a mistake or accidentally uprooted a plant he made sure to replace or substitute another plant with seeds he purchased.
Current Events
While in Arroy Jarrod began to dream of his childhood. His memories, buried under anger during his time as a slave, began to resurface as he spent time in the gardens. He remembered his parents? faces, and his mother's voice, but nothing concrete about the village he was born in. He dreamed of his lessons. At times he recalled certain parts of the village. A fountain, the sign from his mother's apothecary, the neighbor's roof where he liked to hide. But Jarrod wanted to know more. He wanted to find his home. But he had no idea of where to start. And Arroy had been good to him. He was starting to feel safe in this city.
Jarrod's dilemma began to show itself at work. He stopped talking to his coworkers in favor of mentally weighing his options. One of his coworkers, thinking that Jarrod was bored, suggested he try visiting Wreathwood if he was feeling restless. It was a neighboring city to Arroy, very close by. Jarrod's boss informed him that there were always companies willing to hire security details for their more valuable goods. There was even one company who signed an agreement with five of the port cities on the coast just to make sure there would always be workers available to use. Some sort of perfume company. "They pay us and we let them have one of our guys wherever their latest batch leaves." And as it so happened the latest batch was leaving soon.
