Rand was a very active boy growing up even without a father figure. With only his mother's love and increasingly growing body, Rand thought he had everything he needed, although he wished he had a family like the other kids at his village's schoolhouse.

"why is he so big?"

"he shouldn't be so big"

"why is he here?"

Rand's hearing wasn't as bad as he pretended it was. It hurt to hear the parents of the other kids talk about him badly for no reason. He knew it would make no difference whether he responded or not.

He had been in such situations for the last 4 years he had come to this school and he had realized after he had responded to one of the many name-calling parents asking why they called him names, they only said "because it's true!" These words confused him.

His mother had always told him that no matter what differences others had, they were still living breathing beings who deserved to be treated with respect. Rand always looked up to his mother's words. Rand walked home every day, it wasn't a particularly long walk but he enjoyed the only time he was alone with his thoughts. When he walked through the almost broken door he yelled out "Mom?" 

He heard a reply from the end of the small house "I'm in the back! I caught some good rabbit it'll make a good stew."

"ok mom"

Rand loved all of his mother's cooking no matter what it was or how it was. She was an adept hunter and cook meaning whatever she caught was dinner for the day. 

...

After he enjoyed 3 servings of his mother's stew he cleaned himself in the river by the house and thought about why he was disliked so much.

'I've never been bad to them have I?'

Then he heard a sound that would haunt his dreams for the rest of his life.

A scream like no scream imaginable

As Rand rushed back to his house he could see three men writhing on the ground outside with blood pooling around them he quickened his pace and used all his strength to bust down the now-broken door and found his mother and a man fighting without slowing down to look in his direction.

He rushed to help his mother and he charged the intruder with all 140 pounds on his body. The intruder ran and burst a human-shaped hole into the flimsy wall of the crumbling home.

Rand rushed to his mother's side "MOM! Are you okay??" 

She collapsed in his arms as if all the strength she showed a minute ago was only a show put on to deter the intruder from realizing the gap between them. As she breathed heavily Rand noticed she was stabbed and bleeding on his hand. Rand started to panic, he had never seen his mother hurt. 

"Come here, my child"

"Yes, Mom I am here!"

"I never told you about your father, he was a giant."

"What? Mom, I don't know what that is"

"Go to the mountain peak and you will find the answer to everything"

"Mom! Mom!!"

And with her last words telling Rand to embark on a dangerous adventure she left this plane.