The Short Story

This epic tale starts eight generations past the event catalyzing thuman history, depicting the lives of people living life in the shortest way possible. Keep in mind whether or not that equates to a tragedy is entirely up to interpretation.

People bustled about around the forest's Mouse Village safely hidden beneath the Bird Barracks within the tree branches. The forest was alight in old Christmas lights, torches, and makeshift decorations using old items of the human world.

The Mouse Village and Bird Barracks were celebrating the alliance fifteen ago. Five generations prior to the evening's festival, a roaming party of thuman survivors wandered into a forest and settled into the grounds setting up tents and embers and used the forest's resources to survive. Eventually one thuman found a mouse and trained it to bare some labor to make their jobs easier. It was a revolutionary idea. The other thumans came around to appreciate it and rode the swarms of mice into the old cities to gather supplies and the makeshift village gradually began prospering going from tents to architecture within three generations.

Eventually a second group of survivors spotted the forest. Survivors, whom have been together for generations since the event have formed a tribal mentality and don't trust outsiders too easily. They were highly suspicious of the settlers of The Mouse Village and opted in not interacting with them, instead keeping to their own and climbed the trees for resources.

The Mouse Village which once endured two generations of bountiful harvests from the nuts of trees and berries from shrubs began to see a massive dwindle after two more generations. Eventually The tribe in the trees became known and a war broke out over the resources.

The Mouse Village had been nearly brought to their knees when the Tree Tribe exposed their yellow canary artillery. The tamed mice were no match against flying birds and the mouse villagers were forced to go further out into the forest to seek new refuge with the constant fear of rustling leaves above their heads at every turn. They eventually came across a group of mercenaries known as The Order of The Odonata who claim to have been around since the big event eight generations ago. They specialized in dragonfly training. But a mere bug can't be any better match against a canary than a mouse. The Order of The Odonata showed they're skills relied heavily on the old ways of acrobatics and fencing. They claimed their specially trained dragonflies flew faster than birds and can lift at least two thumans at a time. Innocent villagers shouldn't trust mercenaries, and The Order of the Odonata could have very easily destroyed the refugees and taken what was left of them, however their leader, Cairo Hapstall believed firmly in the code of honor upheld in the previous human world. Humans may've been reduced to a lowly thuman form no larger than a human thumb, that shouldn't mean survival should take precedence over honor. Kaleo sympathized with the villager's plight and offered the Order's services in their war against the Tree Tribe.

The Mouse Villager's returned with their ace and finally had a winning edge un the war. The Order of The Odonata's dragonfly warriors zipped through the air air-surfing past birds at the speed of bullets of legend, flipping overhead as they unseamed the enemy warriors. Gradually the Tree Tribe began to lose warriors and canaries. The mice were shielded by dragonflies from hell and the Tree Tribe had two options. Retreat and seek refuge elsewhere or offer an exchange of shared resources for peace on both sides. It was a subtle ease into merging as an alliance. The civilians of the Tree Tribe would share in citizenship of The Mouse Village while the Canary military would be reformed into a militia known as the Bird Barracks to guard the Mouse Village with the help of the mercenary group. At first The Order of The Odonata and the Mouse Village were cautious of the proposition, not trusting the Tree Tribe. However many mercenaries had built a home alongside the Mouse Villagers and Cairo felt it wrong to take them from that after eight generations of wandering and brutally taking for themselves. The Mouse Village gave them more to fight for, and risking a potential peace among more Thumans wasn't worth abiding by the old ways.

Peace was struck and fifteen years later landed the Village in tonight's celebratory festival. It was merely a guise to uplift morale, many people were still uneasy and unforgiving after fifteen years of peace.

Tonight, Cairo walked alongside his young son, Keith of eight years as they observed the many residents partaking in celebration. The trees loomed hundreds of inches above them also lit up in celebration for the residents and soldiers still living above. Cairo looked down at Keith as he slid away easily from his father's side. That only meant... Cairo braced himself for the excited one-armed embrace of his long time friend, Lance Overhill, descendant of the Mouse Tamer.

"How's it going Kai? Keith?" Lance reached over to ruffle Keith's platinum blonde hair and he swiftly evaded him scowling at Overhill's lack of decorum in public in his drunken stupor. Lance stumbled using Cairo as reluctant support as he laughed at Keith's presumed mischief. He sobered up as Keith, now at a mild distance to hear Lance's next whispered words.

"Run into any angry birdies?"

"None tonight. Is there a problem?" Cairo asked.

"I just got a bad feeling. People don't just get over a brutal war after a decade."

Cairo sighed.

"I'll keep an eye out. Just go wherever you came from. I'm sure your wife and baby miss you."

"I'll report to you if anything turns up." Lance said as he walked off trying and failing to ruffle Keith's hair goodbye.

Cairo and Keith continued wandering through the festival.

"Have you found any of your friends around tonight?" Cairo asked looking down at his stoic boy. Keith merely shrugged in disinterest.

Going out wasn't inherently easy for the small Hapstall family. The mercenary legacy among the clashing Mice and transitioned Tree residents left them in a compromising and awkward position among the civilians. Sticking out like weeds among vegetation.

"Sir Hapstall, young Hapstall. What an honor." Cairo briefly scrutinized the two individuals approaching them. A young man no less then twenty-five years and a young girl with short black hair and a yellow dress.

"Sir Griffin Iosua, and this must be Galia. Your younger sister I presume? Forgive me for not offering my condolences sooner." Cairo asked.

"Thank you, and dad spoke highly of you. I look forward to continuing the work you two started."

"Hey Griff." Galia tugged on her older brother's shirt sleeve. "I see some kids from my new class down by the booths. Can I go?" Galia asked.

"Sure, but you should invite... erm...?"

"My name is Keith Hapstall." Keith introduced himself haughtily.

"Nice to meet you. Galia?" Griffin looked at his younger sister.

"I'm Gal Iosua. Would you like to join me at the booths with the others?" The little girl asked adressing Keith.

"No."

Both siblings and father were taken aback by Keith's rudeness.

"Keith!" Cairo scolded. Galia merely shrugged and took off to meet with her classmates.

"Stay where I can see you." Griffin shouted. Galia took off speeding past the Hapstalls without sparing a second glance.

"Why don't you go with her?" Cairo asked looking down at Keith.

"I don't know anyone down there."

"We all live in the same village. Try and make some friends." Cairo urged as he pushed his son in the direction of the booths. Sir Iosua shrugged and chuckled.

"Kids these days listen to too many war stories."

"I fear hate is transcending." Cairo said.

"Can't say I blame him. Iosuas are a key branch of the former tree tribe. N-no pun intended! I mean..."

Cairo let loose and laughed.

"You certainly are your father's son Griffin."

Griffin replied to Cairo with a smile.

"Fifteen years of fresh peace isn't enough for a new generation, even if they weren't there to see it." The two adults looked down as they saw several kids at the booth ignoring Keith's presence while he merely observed their antics. There was a villager hauling around an ancient smartphone on a rickety wooden trolley taking photos of the kids and celebrating civilians, catching both Keith and Galia by surprise with the flash. Sir Iosua snickered. "I take it Keith will be going into Odonata's training soon? He won't be partaking much in the general youth classes?"

"We have a new generation to train in survival. All the skills passed down from our ancestors is all we have of the world. Many good unassuming humans died in the event due to the inability to survive without their conveniences. Where all that's left of scholars and doctors. I believe my ncestors were some form of flea circus entertainers. Training bugs helped my family and many others survive."

"I hear my ancestors survived via a child's wagon and a trained beast carting them through the old cities. Speaking of which, don't you think it'll soon be time to venture back out there?"

Cairo took a moment to ponder.

"Is this something you wish to present to emperor Ondre, with my backing?" Cairo asked.

"Will you consider it? We have the resources to venture further. So far we've only scoured the bare minimum with our brief scouting missions into the outskirts of the nearest towns."

"It may still be dangerous."

"But there could still be many resources out there we can reconstruct. So much lost knowledge."

"And potential threats. We're competitors in nature now along side the animal kingdom. There could be other groups of thumans out there who may not seek peace like we did."

Griffen sighed as he prepared his next response, before he could a loud crash was heard near the outskirts of the village. Cairo and Griffin looked at one another right away, glanced at the startled kids at the booths and took off with many off and on duty warriors in the direction before a large eruption was heard and sparks flew around at a distance.

"What kind of animal is that?" Griffin asked?"

"That's no animal!" Cairo whistled to call over his dragonfly, Surfer. Many others did the same, calling their birds and riding their mice in the direction of the eruption. Cairo stood on Surfer like a board and took off flying in the air alongside several others of the Order and Canary Warriors.

As the warriors rode closer a loud screech was heard overhead. Cairo covered his ears as Surfer began to wobble in the air. What he saw above him was a swarm of monstrous creatures all flying down in formation with unknown riders having tied sticks with sparking strings and cutting them off over the Mouse Village for them to erupt.

Keith took off to follow his father in the direction of the eruptions, Gal and several of the other kids tried to pull him back , but he kicked and punched at them to get away and he ran into the sounds of horrific screeches...