12 Astonishment

"Answer mine first" Logar said in a commanding tone.

"Of course sir" Rada nodded.

"Where are you from?" was the first question.

"From a village far away from here" the boy tried to remain vague.

"How far?" pressed Logar.

"Quite far, chances are high that it won't even show up on your maps" the answer left the two men astonished.

"Do I look like I'm in the mood for a joke!?" the man changed his expression and raised his voice.

"Your choice sir" Rada shrugged his shoulders.

But this time even his expression was serious, the Elder continued to remain silent and observe the man and the boy in comparison.

At the same time he had a thoughtful expression, immediately he interrupted the two, "Suppose the boy is telling the truth Logar, don't you see? In his eyes there are no lies, he would have no reason to do so."

The Elder decided to believe the young man's vague answer. After all, the world was big, who knows what other mysteries it hid.

Logar remained silent and nodded, he continued to stare at Rada looking for some "flaw" in his defense, but there was nothing that could arouse suspicion in him, in a way he admired his calm, it was not usual for a young man to remain calm under the pressure of his authoritarian presence.

He continued with the questions, "How did you find yourself in the river dying?" he still had many suspicions, but at the same time he was also very curious.

Rei had told him about his dire condition, he must have been practically dead. Plus he had seen an immense energy within him, but it was raw, like a newborn baby that had yet to start taking its first steps.

"Ehh... it's a long story" Rada heaved a sigh.

"We're in no hurry son" the Elder replied, smiling. The old man stretched his legs and gave a sign to relax, ready to listen.

So Rada began to tell about his events in the woods with the wolves, his meeting with Kiba, his escape for life.

Meanwhile Cody served tea in silence, listening and widening his eyes at every dangerous part.

The two men and the little boy were completely shocked by his tale, they all stood staring at him. An awkward silence suddenly fell for some time.

Rada was surprised, (What now???) he thought.

(Could it be that those woods were off-limits and I broke some law!?) he continued to think furiously.

All he wanted to avoid was getting into trouble with the law.

After some time the Elder interrupted the silence.

"My boy, if what you say is true you are without a doubt an out of the ordinary person ohoho" he did not hide his excitement in saying this.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Rada raising his eyebrow.

"Big brother you're amazing!" exclaimed the little boy, running towards him with his eyes lit up with excitement.

Only Logar remained silent, from his expression it seemed he was continuing to scan the young man.

"Yes, it's all very interesting, but can one know what you are talking about?" asked Rada puzzled.

"Ohohoh, for not knowing about that place it seems that you really are not from around here son" the Elder laughed.

But with intelligence in his eyes, he gave a small nod towards Logar and let him continue for him.

"The forest you speak of, is the Forest of the Howling, it is said that the great clan of divine wolves inhabit it, no human is allowed to set foot in it, all those who have taken that place lightly have never returned."

Logar continued, "If what you say is true, you are the only one who made it out alive, plus, the pup you brought with you might be part of that mysterious clan."

At that point, Logar and Elder's expression was extremely serious.

"Son, that puppy might be your greatest fortune, but it might also be the reason for great catastrophes," said the Elder in a serious tone.

"Divine wolves??" Rada gasped.

"They are wolves of mystical powers," the Elder replied, "It is said that their blood comes from a deity, but it is all shrouded in mystery, no one really knows of such a deity, nor how powerful this clan is, yet no one has ever questioned their power."

Rada nodded slowly and mechanically, his eyes were staring into nothingness. He was finally beginning to gain information, but the more time passed, the more questions he had.

But he stopped his line of thought and replied to the Elder, "I already knew that little guy was special, but not to this extent, rest assured Elder I will keep Kiba safe."

The Elder nodded with a strange light in his eyes, every time he looked at the boy, in his expressions, or in his movements, they let the old man think something, but what he was thinking no one could know.

The three of them continued talking until the evening, Cody stayed there listening, running back and forth from the kitchen from time to time. The tension had subsided, the air wasn't as heavy as before, so the boy was able to watch the conversation and then go to tell his sister everything.

After he had finished talking, Rada was taken to his room, he was not yet fully recovered and needed to rest for a few more days.

When he arrived in his room, he got into bed and began to stroke the little hairy ball at his side that was sleeping blissfully.

"You look how blissfully he sleeps..." he seemed to be scolding the puppy from his tone, but the smile on his face gave him away. Meanwhile he thought about all the information he had received from Logar and the Elder.

The village he was in was called Bran, a name taken from their founder, the village was located in the lands of Grham, one of the three largest kingdoms of humans. The thing that left Rada shocked, was to know that in addition to the human kingdoms there were other different races.

The Elder did not elaborate on the subject of the other races, he thought it was too early to talk about them with the young man. Moreover, they were confidential information, and it was common to talk about them as little as possible, as if to ignore their existence.

At that point, Rada resigned himself to the evidence, inexplicably he was in another world, completely different from his own.

He thought about not asking the name of the world he was in, but he was afraid of arousing suspicion, so he decided to wait for a better time and find out for himself.

"Another world... "

Thoughts continued to wander through his head, he still had many questions.

Since he had found himself in another world, what about the one he was in before? What about his family? How would they take his disappearance?

He decided though, to put those terrible thoughts aside, any thought of what his parents might be going through was a tug on his heart. There was no familiar face to give him comfort or support, he was completely alone.

But he couldn't afford to give in to despondency, it would have been the end otherwise, the thing he felt he had to do then, was to find as much information as possible, from there he would decide what to do next.

"We can only count on each other, don't you agree?" he asked, stroking the puppy's soft ears.

He approached a small window located not far from where he was, it was pitch dark, there were no streetlights to illuminate the streets or the sound of cars passing by. He could feel, however, a gentle breeze caressing his face that made him sigh.

Although there was uncertainty and hesitation, at the same time inside him grew the desire to know the new world in which he found himself.

He felt that he wouldn't mind at all, it was certainly full of dangers, but when he thought of the strange mark in his hand his eyes lit up.

Thanks to the sign, he could forge his own destiny, that was the feeling he got every time he looked at it, a feeling of absolute control.

After some time, he went to bed with the puppy by his side, and although the thoughts were many, he fell deeply asleep without even realizing it.