Role

Chapter 1

Zieq looked sleepily up at the rocky ceiling above him as the yells for
the slaves to wake came. He quickly stretched his large limbs out and
stood up, though he had to hunch forward to not hit the ceiling. He had
long ago learned that being slow provided painful lessons. The dream he had
last night hung in his mind, the last image of a shackle strengthening
him burned into his brain. It truly stuck with him for he did not ever
recall dreaming.

He thought the same thought he had every morning - he was not meant for
this. He had been a slave so long that he barely remembered his life
before, sold as a young fire giant to Aran'gird. This morning he had a
new thought with the image of a shackle still fresh in his mind - what
if he actually tried to be a good slave?

He began hauling rock and moving quickly. If another slave struggled, he
would help those who were simply past their physical limits but if they
were just pretending he would strike them to quicken their step. He found
that in time his behavior was noticed and his life improved. The guards
gave him more food and as long as he caused no problems they ignored him.
If another slave wanted to cause problems for him, the rest of the slaves
would step in and put them in their place. They knew Zieq was if nothing
else being fair and treating them all equally, even if brutal at times.
The guards that used to torment them for fun now rarely if ever stepped
in to strike a slave. It just wasn't necessary, Zieq had it under control.