Haedrin

I do not remember my past... All I have is my name... Haedrin... I took that name...

Memories... The visions keep returning to me... Every once in a while... Dark memories...

I see that face... Again and again... The eyes filled with fear... He haunts me still...

He starres at me... And all fades into darkness...

 I wake up, laying in the green grass of the Tranquil Plains... Birds are singing... Bees are huming...

And the gentle trickles of the nearby stream encourages me to rise and go for a drink...

As I stand up, I quickly fall to the ground... And everything goes black...

I am consciouss...

 I feel the hard, moist wooden planks under me moving... It is too dark to see anything...

I hear the clashing of steel... The screams of war...
And the crunching sound of wheels crushing rock and bone alike...

I pass out again...

We come to a halt... Where am I?

Two strong arms grab my neck... And the steel mask that has blindfolded me is removed... 

 At first the light is blinding... My eyes slowly get used to it... And I discover where I am...

It is a prison... I am in a cage... I can barely move around...

Skinny men and women are working hard... Shovling coal in the furnace... Working at the anvils... Crafting weapons of war...  Some of those weapons I never saw before...
The noise is deafening... The heat is unbearable...

A large man, unlocks the barred door... He looks cruel and ruthless...
A long leather whip in one hand and a set of keys in the other...

He screams in crude tongue: "SLEEPY TIME'S OVER! GET UP SCUM!"

I try to stand up... But my legs are too weak...

"NOW!" He screams... His eyes burning with hatred... As he slaps me with the whip...

I force myself up... The fear of what is to come if I disobey his command - encourages me...

He picks up a shovel and throws it to me... Then appoints me to work at the furnace...

Many mooncycles pass while working at the furnace... I see many horrible things...
Disobedient men being tortured... And butchered... Women being raped by our masters...
Slaves fighting over scraps and leftovers... Even canibalism...

I killed a man this morning... For a small piece of bread...
I smelt the fear and saw it in his eyes...

I can not go on much longer...

As I shovel coal... And think about my certain doom... It happens...
An open door... And for some reason no guard...

I quickly realize that this could be my only chance... So I go... As fast as I can...
I do not look back... The adrenaline is pumping in my blood...
Cold sweat is running down my face...

I come to a huge iron gate... Jammed with a bar...
Lit with large torches at each side and guarded by a gargantuan man in plate armour...
A greataxe is standing up against the wall behind him...

For a second I freeze, as he is starring right at me... But I realize that darkness is covering me...

 I am hidden!

 I summon my courage... Pushing my body up against the wall, and sneaking closer to the gate and the guardian...

I pick up a rock... It is big - and I grab it with both hands...

 Then take one step closer, moving in behind him, lifting the stone above my head...

He turns as I slam it to the back of his head... I crush his skull... And he falls to the ground with a loud bang...

I quickly pull the bar out of the socket, push open the gate and run off into the night...

 Outside the huge fortress, I see a vast wasteland... I run, untill I collapse...

...

I wake up... To the most beautiful day I ever saw... I am free!