"When I was twelve, the army of Zhandeshi City-State attacked our village. They wielded powerful weapons called matchlocks, and we had no means to resist. Many people were killed, and the rest were captured and forced to work in the mines.
"My family was relatively fortunate; my grandfather, father, mother, and two sisters weren't killed in the battle. We all labored together in the mines. The work was even harder than farming, yet our food was much worse.
"My grandfather was old and soon died from exhaustion.
"My parents were heartbroken and furious but powerless to resist. When I was sixteen, the City Lord decided to hold a grand banquet, and all the women in the city were conscripted as serving maids. My two sisters were among them.
