"Coming with you? Why would I come with you? What will happen to the others?"
Asked Vidra, the mysterious woman, after she allowed him to process the sudden turn of events. It took him a few minutes.
"Your friends will be fine. The Eberhart Knight Order will admit them into an orphanage specially tailored for children of their circumstances. They will either remain there or get adopted by new parents. However, one thing is for sure. They won't have to go through something like this ever again."
Vidra sighed in relief, but the wariness remained somewhat, not knowing who the carefree woman was before him.
"Now that we've discussed this, I think it's time to tell you what is going to happen to you. The red crystal, that pig, Gord wanted so much. What did you think about it?"
Asked the woman from Vidra with a smile that revealed nothing but interest in his answer.
"I got dizzy, but who are you, lady?"
"You got dizzy? As I suspected. There is a lump of unawakened something within you that reacted to the mana. Now, let's go."
The woman suddenly whistled using two of her fingers. A gust of wind swept across the street as a white eagle appeared in front of them, seemingly out of thin air. It had a majestic white mane, and its body armor was a mix of leather and finely crafted, silver armor with golden lines spread across it.
Vidra stared at the majestic eagle as the woman hopped onto its neck. It was his first time seeing an animal appear out of nowhere. The creature in front of him belonged to an important individual. It looked like something out of those fantasy novels he used to read.
"Hop on, boy."
"Wait, you still didn't tell me where we're going, and who are you?"
Vidra was hesitant, given the lack of information.
"Why so chatty all of a sudden? We're going to your forest to find out what caused that interesting change within you. I'll tell you who I am once I've confirmed everything with my own eyes. How about it, boy? You coming or not?"
Hearing that they were going to visit his homeland, Vidra climbed the eagle to sit behind its owner. For some reason, her presence was calming, and he didn't think anything bad could happen as long as they were together.
Most importantly, he wanted to bid a proper farewell to his mother, his father, Vidra the otter, Eileen, and to the others who took a part in raising him, and gifted him moments of joy. The eagle took off towards the remains of what once used to be Itaka.
"Just so you know, we're not about to visit a burnt-down village riddled with corpses. Everyone's been buried. Aside from that, we left everything intact. The knight order decided not to touch anything, as it is not our right to decide what should happen to the remains."
Vidra nodded, but remained silent. Seeing this, the woman smiled awkwardly.
'Maybe I was being a bit blunt. He isn't depressed now, right?'
The rest of the short journey was spent in silence. Vidra concentrated on the village as they approached, while the woman simply didn't know what to say. A few minutes later, the village was in sight.
The burnt houses, bloody roads, everything remained intact as promised. Seeing Inaka engulfed in silence, Vidra clenched his teeth. Memories of his past resurfaced inside his mind as they landed.
Each house, he remembered like the back of his hand. The elves who used to live inside, their personality, and the things they did. Usually foggy memories, he didn't care about resurfacing with unusual precision.
"Take your time, boy. I'll look around."
The woman walked away into the forest, seeing that Vidra needed his time alone. He walked around the village, reminiscing. Every house told a story. Vidra took his time to properly bid farewell to Inaka itself, his birthplace.
There was an open field a few steps away from the village, in a rather unusual part of the forest, where most living beings wouldn't assume to find a mass grave. This is where the knight order buried the villagers of Inaka.
"We didn't know how your kind treats their people after passing away, but we couldn't leave them in the village for understandable reasons."
Vidra nodded as he looked at the mass grave in front of him. The truth was, even he didn't know the proper procedure. The elves of Inaka often lived for thousands of years, but he was just eight years old. Death was so rare that it was not unusual for them to not even know what it meant until much later in their life.
Vidra stood in front of the villagers in silence when the mass grave suddenly caught fire. Vidra jumped back, startled, but couldn't hold his ground as his legs gave in from a sudden jolt of pain.
"What the hell? What is happening?"
Vidra asked, looking at the woman who had an amused smile plastered on her face. He knew that this woman had taken him here for a reason.
"Congratulations, boy. You're about to become one of the trait holders. You must have heard of what we call magic, right? Everyone can become a mage, as long as they learn how to use the mana inside their body; however, trait holders are different."
They awaken when certain conditions are met. You can think of them as special, mutated mages. They have unique abilities and are known to grow into strong mages."
Vidra barely held it together as the woman explained what was happening to him. The fire burning over the mass grave started seeping into his body. It surprisingly didn't hurt. There was a warm feeling growing stronger inside his stomach. It was pleasant and revitalizing.
Soon, all of the mysterious fire entered his body. Vidra slowly stood up, not feeling any difference. However, everything changed once he blinked. He opened his eyes half a second later to find a floating window in front of him.
[Elven Spark]
Type: Unique, Growth, Miracle
E-Rank Trait (Progression: 0%)
Description: This spark is the last gift left
behind by the village of Inaka.
Vidra looked at the status window in front of him with widened eyes. He didn't know what most of it meant, but the description explained the most important part. Whether on purpose or not. The last will of the villagers manifested inside him. They wanted someone to carry on the legacy of Inaka. Someone to let the world know, they were here.
The woman walked up to stand beside Vidra as he looked at the grave.
"Well, now that everything is over, I think it is time to introduce myself, boy. My name is Enriel, The Witch of White. I'm a trait holder just like you. Our meeting might've been short, but I enjoyed it."
Vidra nodded.
"Vidra."
"Is that your name, boy? Vidra, hmm? How cute, my pupil is the same age as you. Maybe you'll meet her in the future. You're both trait holders after all. Hahaha, it's unavoidable, isn't it? Anyway, say your farewell, Vidra. Time is up. We need to leave."
Vidra looked at the grave, knowing that his life would be vastly different than how it was supposed to go. He will be adopted by another family... or not, but the rest of his life starts from the moment they leave this place with Enriel.
"Let's go."
Enriel took Vidra to the orphanage, where he met with the others and many other human children in similar situations. A few months later, Enriel pulled her strings to place him on a special adoption list along with a few other talented children.
Thus, it didn't take him long to get adopted by a human family, living inside the capital. Now, in a safe environment with a noble family behind his back, a few years passed by in the blink of an eye.