Chapter 1

The day started out like any other. Yuugi and his brothers Ryou, Jounouchi, and Malik woke up at dawn. Yuugi and his younger twin Ryou were 5, and Jou and his older twin were 7. Being so young, their jobs were to take care of the family cattle. After pulling on their shentis, they walked out to the shed where they kept their 5 cows: 1 bull, 2 cows, and 2 calves.

Yuugi and Ryou grabbed their herding sticks and followed their brothers out to the cow shed. Malik and Jou pulled out the bull, Yuugi pulled out one cow while Ryou got the other. The calves immediately followed. The group made the half-mile journey to the Nile in a matter of minutes. The brothers relaxed by the Nile's edge, unaware of the trouble that was about to befall them.

A short while later, loud screams came from the direction of their village. Forgetting their cattle, the boys dashed back to the village. They only made it half-way before men on horseback galloped towards them, and pulled them onto their horses' backs. Realization dawned on the elder boys: they'd been captured by slavers.

~One Year Later~

Yuugi and Ryou stood facing a stone wall, their hands chained above their heads. Their master was punishing them for breaking a bowl. A single tear rolled down Yuugi's face. Then crack! A braided whip tore at his back, and then moved to Ryou's. Tears were soon streaking down both of their faces, and screams tore at their throats. Jou was being restrained by guards, yelling at their master to stop. Ryou just closed his eyes, and prayed for deliverance.