Umejii

Uhtred is a man from unknown origin, having been neglected and abandoned by both his parents. He is believed to be the son of a prostitute and a commoner; at least that is what the people of his Orenian village used to say. He was found in an alleyway and brought home by an aged blacksmith named Svenn and his wife, who had been unable to bear a child after a miscarriage. They believed Uhtred to have been godsent, sent by The Creator himself, after their misfortune. Uhtred brieflly delved in the art of blacksmithing, but despite the repeated coercion of his “father”, he showed different aspirations; the boy had grown fond of the exalted tales of war heroes – the Brave Henry Rothesay and John of Carnatia – and wished to live in their likeness.

His hometown was regrettably plagued with corruption and tyranny from the chieftain. After seeing a rebellious assembly of acquaintances getting decapitated at the age of 14, amongst which Svenn, the only father figure he had ever known, Uhtred impulsively bolted towards and jumped on a carriage heading north and hid in a nearly empty barrel. He had promised himself to never shed a tear, to never show weakness and to shrink back from nothing or no-one.

The carriage stopped. Uhtred hadn’t closed an eye for at least three days. When the realization hit that the carriage had arrived at its destination and the driver would undoubtedly catch him, he painfully sneaked out of the barrel he had been imprisoned in for what felt like years, and ran out of sight. As fate would have it, right when he felt a sense of security, a cold hand on his shoulder broke this bubble: a large, imposing man stood behind him and shouted “I’ve found another one!”. Before Uhtred could react, he was picked up by two armored men and thrown in a cage with around a dozen children wearing ragged clothing.

Hardly a day after, he was sold to a soldier as a slave to tend to his horses. All things considered, his life as a slave was not as bad as one would expect: his master fed him well, he was treated with common decency and his light work often permitted him ample free time, allowing him to train, as it were as a real warrior, using sticks and stolen daggers. When he reached the age of 18, his master, at this time more or less a friend, noticed his talents as a fighter and trained alongside him on a daily basis.

Despite the favourable conditions in which he lived, the title of slave had disconcerted Uhtred since the very day he had received it. His master had denied his repeated requests for liberty, which time and time again soured their relations, leading him to resell Uhtred to a wicked lord out of anger. He was placed in the coal mines where he performed heavy labour for years, before meeting an assembly of other slaves wishing revenge. They plotted to stage a mine-collapse, a plan that would catch their slavers off-guard and end their tyranny once and for all. Uhtred empathized with the innocent townfolk who had to bear witness to this gruesome affair, but knew this was necessary. It was their one chance at escape.

Rocks crushed every unsuspecting soul that had entered the mines earlier that day. Uhtred stole the gambeson, fur coat and longsword of a knight, along with a considerable amount of his money. Along with the other slaves, he disappeared into the night. This marked both the end and beginning of a new era, Uhtred knew it. He simply did not know where to go, what to pursue, what to believe. He was a godless ghost of unknown descent, looking for a chance at life.