Braham gave the sword he was working on a final polish and held it up to the light to investigate it.
-"Master, I have finished."
-"Good work, lad. You can go home now if you want."
The young apprentice gathered what few belongings he had and left the forge.
When he rounded a corner, he spotted them. "Carey and his friends.", thought Braham. "I don't like them. They are not nice kids...". Indeed, when Carey spotted the lumbering giant, he picked up a rock and threw it at Braham. "Ah, our Braham, with a brain smaller than a crow's egg! I guess that's why your parents left you on a doorstep when you were a baby!" All the boys laughed and quickly ran away. Braham had never hit them, but still, it was better to be on the safe side with someone as big and strong as he.
Braham sighed. Sometimes he wished he wasn't standing out so much, with his white hair and being a lot bigger than most other humans in Heldren. But a single thought rarely occupied Braham's mind for long, so dusted off his clothes where the rock had hit them, and continued home, to his attic room at Mr and Mrs Becket's ...