Everchanging Reality

Vidra's eyes widened in shock as his father's dead body weighed down on him. His life was over in front of his eyes. His family was dead, the villagers were dead, and the once lively village was nowhere to be seen. 

Though rare, reality can sometimes become completely different in seconds. It only takes a moment for everything to change; there are no absolutes, and preparing for something like this is impossible. A meteor can hit, magic could suddenly disappear from existence, or the world could split in half. 

Sooner or later, anything that has a chance of happening will happen. Vidra was young, yet he experienced something that most living beings will never understand. His life, which barely started, was over. An eight-year-old kid, who shouldn't have any worries in life, was forced to understand his situation. 

The amount of new stimulus overwhelmed him. He didn't want to think about anything. He just wanted to disappear, yet his mind didn't let him go. The warrior whose giant sword pierced his father walked over, and pulled out the giant blade from the corpse.

Vidra, who observed everything, looked up at the gigantic man. His armor was dazzling. It was the kind of masterpiece that usually belonged to the only worthy individual. Whoever this warrior was, he clearly didn't belong to this group of upstarts.

"Grab the kid and take him to the carriage. The rest of you put out the fire. We have to leave before the rival groups notice what happened."

"Understood, sir!"

One of the nearest warriors grabbed Vidra by the collar and walked off towards an unusually big wooden carriage. There were six horses connected to it, every single one of them exhausted. The warrior tossed Vidra inside the dark carriage. He didn't resist, didn't fight back, just stared forward with abandon apparent in his eyes.

There was a small barred window inside the carriage in front of Vidra. He stared at it absentmindedly, not noticing that the giant horse-drawn carriage was full of elven children of his age. Runo was also there, looking at the ground. His condition was no less severe than that of Vidra's.

This is how the children inside spent their time. No one talked, some of them cried, some of them were half dead. The carriage suddenly started moving, and one of the less traumatized children quietly asked, while looking at the ground. 

"Where do you think they will take us?"

No one answered, the silence weighed down even those who wanted to stay calm. The carriage rocked hard as the journey continued. Seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours.

Some of the children who overcame the initial trauma started talking. The pictures of the burning village etched into their minds, yet they understood that no matter where life would take them. This will be something they will carry for the rest of their time.

"They took us because we are young! They only took the children!" 

"Do you think we will be sold as slaves?"

No one answered this question, but deep down, they knew that being forced into slavery was a real possibility. They just didn't want to acknowledge it. Desperately clinging onto the smallest of hopes. The children refused to believe that this could happen to them. Except for some of the smarter ones, who knew exactly what the possibilities were.

Vidra listened to the conversation in silence as the carriage continued to rock onward. He tried to concentrate on as many things as possible. This was his method of processing the horrific events that some of the weaker children wouldn't be able to ever recover from.

Another hour later, the carriage suddenly halted. The children noticed that countless conversations surrounded the carriage from almost every direction as soon as they stopped. The synchronized steps of the hateful warriors no longer echoed, thus allowing the children to take a greater grasp on the situation.

They quickly swarmed around the barred window and looked out. Vidra was no different as he also wanted to see the source of the lively chatter. What he saw, however, was something he would never forget.

"Another good crop this year eh? Leave some to me!"

"Haha, this old man will have the corns as long as you have the coins for it."

Old acquaintances, warriors, wanderers, traders, and people of unknown origin. The city entrance bustled with energy as the long line of humans from all walks of life slowly inched forward.

The city entrance was unlike anything Vidra had ever seen. It was huge and intricate. Patterns adorned the limestone gate, and the walls.

"Woah! Is this the human city the books mentioned?"

The children were surprised. Human buildings, and the atmosphere were way different than their village, where wooden houses were the norm, and the few people of the village was nothing compared to the millions of people living inside the city.

Just the number wanting to cross the gate to do their business inside the city was enough to make Vidra realize how small their village was. The wanderlust took over for a second, but one of the warriors suddenly closed off the window. Leaving them in the darkness.

Having left with nothing to do, Vidra looked at Runo with sharp eyes. There was something he desperately wanted to hear from him. However, he was scared. He didn't want to hear anything about the villagers who weren't with them anymore.

Yet, it was unavoidable. The curiosity to find out what happened with Eileen and Vidra, his pet otter, would follow him for the rest of his life.

"Runo... can I ask you something? You don't have to answer. Just let me ask..."

Runo gulped. He looked at the ground. His gaze was so concentrated, he almost burned a hole in the wooden carriage. The silence allowed Vidra to gather himself.

"What happened with Eileen and Vidra?"

Runo slowly lifted his head, his face soured as he shook his head in denial. Tears rolled down as Runo tried to say something. Yet, no words came out. Vidra just nodded, his expression the perfect example of someone who didn't know what to do next.

Runo looked at him for a moment, just to see his reaction, but his eyes widened when Vidra looked at him. 

"VIDRA! YOUR EYES!"