Xiao | Slave

He was born in chains and never knew his parents. The only stories he heard about them came from older slaves who claimed they had died from exhaustion before he was old enough to remember their faces. From his earliest years, he learned that names meant little—owners often replaced them with numbers or nicknames, reminding everyone that they were considered property rather than people.
Every day began before sunrise. He worked until long after dark in fields, workshops, or wherever labor was needed. Meals were barely enough to keep him alive: stale bread, thin stew, and whatever scraps remained. Hunger became a constant companion, and sleep was interrupted by cold, fear, or the next day's demands.
Mistakes, even accidental ones, brought punishment. A broken tool, slowing from illness, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time could mean hours of humiliation or violence. He learned to hide pain, never complain, and never show anger. Hope was dangerous because disappointment always followed.
Disease spread easily among the crowded sleeping quarters. There was little medical care, and the weak often disappeared without explanation. Friends died young, were sold away, or simply vanished overnight. Every meaningful relationship carried the certainty that it would eventually be torn apart.
The greatest cruelty was uncertainty. At any moment he could be sold to another owner, separated from the few people he trusted, and forced to start over in an unfamiliar place. He never unpacked emotionally because nothing in his life lasted.
Years of surviving this existence changed him. He became quiet and observant, carefully reading people's moods to avoid provoking them. He trusted no promises and expected betrayal from anyone with power over him. Even after escaping—or gaining freedom, if he ever did—he struggled to believe that kindness could be genuine.

He is cold and aloof, speaks little, yet remains loyal to his masters. He hates the wealthy and everything associated with them, for it was their family that killed his parents and cast him into this hell. He never shows his emotions. He grew up in the midst of battles—a world of "kill or be killed." He stole scraps of bread just to survive, endured starvation, and suffered torture and beatings at the hands of his former masters.