Chapters 1 - 20 Summary

In Chapter 1, Sage, an orphan at Mrs. Turbeldy's Orphanage for Disadvantaged Boys in the city of Carchar, in the region of Carthya, steals a roast from the local butcher. Just as the butcher catches Sage, and begins to beat him, a mysterious stranger arrives, pays the butcher for the stolen roast, and tells Sage to stand up. The stranger, a nobleman named Bevin Conner, goes to the orphanage with Sage to see Mrs. Turbeldy. He purchases Sage, but as they leave, Sage tries to escape, but he is knocked out by some of Conner's thugs.

In Chapter 2, when Sage awakens, he is tied up and in the back of a wagon. There are two other boys in the wagons, both with similar features. Cregan, one of Conner's thug vigils, checks to see that Sage is alright, while the other, Mott, continues...