Rodentia Adventures

CHAPTER 5: A TALE OF A TAIL

There were many types of mouse cities, of varying sizes. The fortress surrounding the palace was, in truth, a rather unusual one. Some were large, most were small, but for all of their differences, the one thing all that mouse settlements prioritized (at least those which managed to survive for any length of time at all) was defense. Metal walls are large and cumbersome, so instead most relied on concealment, simply hoping to avoid the gaze of any would-be attackers. These settlements, usually small villages, could function well aside from one fatal weakness: they only needed to be discovered once. 

Three months ago, Jerin and her family lived in such a village, not quite within the forest, but similarly not far from the concrete towers of the world of the Makers, either. Within the small gully, the grass grew tall, making it appear from overhead to just be another flat plain. Within, several families lived simple yet content lives, with an adequate yet hardly abundant supply of food and water nearby. Places like this, particularly those out of the way of humans, tended to be lower on the technological scale. They had very little in the way of constructed homes, instead relying on underground burrows, and even less in the way of scavenged tools, clothing or weapons. While on occasion they would stumble upon something useful, as even outside the human cities, there was hardly anywhere on earth where trash couldn't be found, scavenging wasn't a way of life like it was within the larger mouse communities. Beyond crudely whittled tools, virtually all material goods came from the occasional traveling merchants. 

On this day, Jerin, a considerably tinier version of the already diminutive mouse, was playing alone outside near the town boundary. She hadn't developed much of a sense of curiosity at this point, rarely wondering what lie beyond the village. She especially didn't consider such things now, with her attention focused on her Champions of Xinthor action figures (these first version ones were little more than a collection of sticks bound together into a loosely mouse-like shape, relying heavily on the imagination. Despite the objectively low quality, they are considered valuable collectors items these days). The young mouse was gifted with both a long attention span, a trait which would fade as she aged, and being very easily entertained, a trait which would not. When she found something that had interested her, it could hold her focus for hours and hours. Her brother, not much tinier than he is now, on the other hand, was quite the opposite, always seeking new adventures and challenges, pushing boundaries and looking for new battles (mostly but not entirely metaphorical ones) to be fought. 

While his parents actively encouraged such explorations, some of the neighbors worried that his wanderings might draw unwanted attention, dangerous creatures potentially following him home, and bringing doom upon them all. Their concern wasn't an invalid one, but in the end, they were only half-right. The doom which befell them wasn't brought upon by Aaron's sense of adventure, it came all on its own. 

Little Jerin was the first to notice that something was amiss. The wind had suddenly shifted, pulling the tall grass towards the village entrance. Then there was the shadow. It was still mid-day, and while the grass offered regular shading, the sun was strong. In the distance, however, it was like a small ball of night, hazy along the edges, hovered in mid-air where there should have been light. Even stranger, it was moving. It took a lot to pull Jerin's interest from her toys, and the epic battles which they fought, but the strange anomaly succeeded in that task. While she may have been the first to see this strange disturbance, she wasn't the only one. Farmers in nearby fields (which didn't really grow crops, mostly just digging around for seeds and the like) saw it as well, and reacted like they do to most things: with fear. Even as they dropped their crude tools and fled to their underground homes, Jerin remained in place. She wasn't being brave, she simply hadn't considered that she should be afraid, so there was no fear to be overcome. She simply found herself transfixed by the strange phenomenon which drew steadily closer.