THE MOMENT
Nax did not stop running until he was thoroughly lost in the forest. He braced himself against a tree and hunched over to let his lungs try and catch up; he squeezed the stitch in his side to try and ease the ache. While his body recovered, Nax's mind replayed the last few minutes to try and make sense of it. Once he took stock of his situation, he couldn't help but laugh.
"I've gone mad...," giggles popped up through his wheezing. Not long ago he finished closing the smithy for the night. After locking the door, he traveled through the darkened alley between his room and the smithy's back door. The passage was dark without the furnace burning on a normal night. But on the night of a new moon, he couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed, without actively moving them. Those were his favorite nights.
Nax loved pretending he would find a better life when he passed through the darkness. Not that he hated his life. Nax loved learning all he could from the master smith. But, he always felt like there was more out there. He wished he could find something other than his room at the end but he never did.
At least, not until he tried closing his eyes in the dark. That particular night, Nax found himself in an exceptional mood by the end of the day. It was his 14th birthday. He had to work; but, the master smith and his family did everything they could to make Nax feel special and loved throughout the workday. He rarely felt like an orphan, and that day the detail never crossed his mind.
At the end of the day, he was completely content as he reached the dark passage to his room. Out of habit, he began to wish for a better place; but, he was having trouble. Usually, it was enough to vaguely hope for "better". Unfortunately, the night could not get better for him without taking the time to think up specific details. So, he did.
He imagined a fantastical city where magic and machinery co-existed and people of all races lived in peace. He closed his eyes to concentrate on the incomplete, hopeful thought and completed the journey to his room.
Nax counted the steps; but, he began hearing a strange noise as he crossed the threshold. It sounded like the murmur of a crowd, then he heard, and smelled horses. He opened his eyes to a sea of green, blue, and red faces. A green-skinned orc in chain armor took notice of Nax and stepped toward him.
"Hey," he grumbled with a stern expression. This was the moment Nax panicked and fled in the opposite direction. He dashed through winged and horned strangers and spotted what looked like the main gate. The orc tried calling after him. "HEY! WAIT!" But, the smith's apprentice was too frightened to stop and listen. Now that he was standing in a very real forest and able to look at what happened, he found it funny.
"I wonder if he wanted to help...," Nax chuckled to himself. After a few more minutes, he finally caught his breath and looked around the dark forest to get his bearings. "Alright, well next time I guess...," he mumbled to himself as spotted a path and chose the direction that led away from the strange city.
He walked the forest wondering if he was dreaming or dead, but something caught his eye. In the distance, he spotted a faint green glow that seemed to be growing brighter. Nax watched the glow until he realized it was getting closer at a rapid rate. He moved off the path and hid in the trees.
He was glad he did when the neon green glow reached him. The source was a green skeleton running along the path. Nax held his breath when he realized what it was and remained still. The skeleton continued on the path; but, it stopped directly in front of him, then turned.
"Hey, you okay?" the skeleton asked. She had a youthful voice that matched her appearance. Upon her question, the green glow dissipated and in an instant, a teenage girl with neon green hair was smiling at Nax. She wore a dark green robe with the hood pulled down. Part of Nax wanted to run again; but, he was surrounded by trees. And, he remembered that panicking was what got him into the forest to begin with.
"Um, I think I'm lost," Nax said. The girl burst into a fit of giggles.
"What's your favorite number?" she asked.
"35," Nax replied. It wasn't anything he'd thought about, but somehow his answer didn't surprise him. The girl nodded.
"My name's Outbreak," she said. Then, she waved him forward. "Come on, let's get you to a Mundo."
"Nax," he introduced himself. Then, he asked a question as he emerged out onto the path. "What's a Mundo?"
"Someone that'll tell you what a Mundo is," Outbreak said. "It's more complicated than I want to talk about in the forest." Nax nodded.
"So.. how'd you know I was hiding?" he asked. Outbreak pointed at something above his head. He looked up, but found only the night sky. "What?" he asked as Outbreak giggled again.
"Sorry, it moves when you move your head," she said. "You've got an icon that tells people you haven't registered yet."
"Registered.. what?" Nax asked.
"Your character," Outbreak replied as she started leading him back to town.
"Character?" Nax didn't understand the context. "What for?" Outbreak grinned at him.
"The game's harder to play if you don't know who you are."