I still remember it like it was yesterday, the ever hot sun beating down on us, as was normal in Africa. Our village was towards the South and we were fairly peaceful despite our small fights between neighboring villages, however most of the time they didn't end in violence and were instead resolved with words or sports. I was never very big as a child, but suddenly when I was a teenager my growth sped up very quickly and I became larger than any of the other kids I had grown up with. I went from being the runt of the litter to being the biggest of them all. Which despite all of the teasing that I had to endure while small, I think it made me more humble when I got so much bigger. People always thought it was funny that I still retained my joyful and caring personality despite being so big and muscular. People were definitely more intimidated by me now, especially from the neighbouring Villages who didn't know me personally.

My Village wanted me to learn our traditional fighting style, seeing as how with my big body I would be the person able to put it to its best use. It was many years of hard training, and I started as soon as my body became as large as it was at the age of 13. I trained every day, it became my purpose in life to master these fighting styles and be able to protect our village. I end up being known as The Protector. Only one person was given that title per generation, and it came with a ceremony to officiate it, since it was more than just a title, but was said to come with protection from the spirits of our ancestors. I was honored to have been given it and I held great pride in making sure that I did everything in my power to have earned it.

My parents were some of the village elders and were actually a few of the ones who participated in bestowing this title onto me. They were very proud that there second bourn son ended up being so strong, considering that our village is known for having weaker second born children. Some people even said that it was a curse that our village had, one that people thought I had broken. There was a lot on my shoulders, more than just being The Protector and a sign of strength, but I also became a sign of good luck because of that. Some even rumored that I was part god. Of course I never really believed that, I just felt to human for something like that.

My younger brother, who was eight years old at the time, looked up to me quite a lot. He was pretty small too just like I was at that age, but he was still closer to average sized than I was so he didn't get teased, also I think it may have been because of who I was too though that kept the village kids from saying anything mean to him. After all, more than just protecting the village, my second family, I protected my first family. It was a lot of pressure on me back then, and yet I had no idea how simple that life was compared to what was coming. The day I woke up just screaming and sheer panic sweeping over our village. This was the day I lost everything, the day that ended the world that I lived in.

I remember it so clearly, the smell of burning flesh. The Colonials had come in and started to burn down our houses with people inside. The people that they didn't burn they caught and made into slaves. My parents died that day, a lot of people died that day. Including a part of myself. I did my best, fought off a lot of them and managed to protect my little brother. He got away but to do that I ended up having to sacrifice myself to these monsters. My older brother fought a lot better than I did I'd say, he fell in battle like a true warrior, never giving in until the end.

I however then soon found myself crammed into the hull of a slave ship. There were some people from my Village and many others from neighbouring villages. I had no time to grieve over all the family members that I had lost or over the title that I was given that I let down. I thought that if I continued to work hard I could eventually truly have earned that title, but that day, that day I lost it. What kind of protector was their entire Village get either captured or killed?

I spent many days and nights on that ship, despite being crammed with people I was completely alone. I lost my appetite. I knew that I was getting weaker and I could feel it, death was looming over me and I had already decided that when it came to take me I wouldn't stop it. However before my soul could leave my body and be judged by the Gods something happened. It turned out that the ship we were on was also smuggling goods that a certain pirate desperately wanted for himself and his crew. 

I still remember it like it was yesterday. He killed all the slave traders and then proceeded to offer the rest of us two things. We could ether join his crew or he would bring us to the nearest land and let us make up our own destiny. At the time I had lost all hope and my purpose that was once so clear had vanished so suddenly. The captain himself asked me specifically if I wanted to be a part of his crew. He saw how big I was and probably saw that as something that he could use on his ship. However his charisma and odd kindness was what drew me to him. Despite having clearly live through more horrors than most, he still cared deeply about his crew, as if they were his own family. He was a man that had principals I could stand behind. Plus considering the fact that I had no more home, he was offering just that, a home. So I joined up and since then me and the captain have become good friends. I have never regretted my decision, not even for a minute.