Chapter 1: A chance encounter
During my travels I once came across a young child huddling on the shoulder of the road as I approached the village of Radika. Most travelers will know of Radika, the city that has grown strong and wide, surrounding a great fresh water lake at the foot of the great mountain range which divides the regions of Vishud and Vadhis. Serving as an oasis and refuge at the end of Ankur’s Path through the mountains, the road-weary often stop here for rest and resupply before they begin their journey into the great desert region of the Vishud.
Coming upon strangers resting at the side of a road is not all that uncommon. Coming across a lone young child, with dirty clothing and seemingly no one to care for them however is fortunately much less common. Upon noticing the small child trembling at the edge of the road, I decided to stop and make camp there for the night, instead of continuing on my way towards the local Inn as I had originally intended.
With an abundance of plants and small trees growing in the region near the lake of Radika, I was quickly able to gather some suitable pieces of timber and thatch to use as kindling, and soon a nice fire was peacefully crackling at the edge of the road. Sparks began floating high into the slowly cooling skies, as the last ebbs of daylight began to fade away with the sun becoming hidden by the looming mountains behind us.
I chose to use my last few minutes of daylight to follow the welcoming sounds of fresh water bubbling over nearby rocks, and filled my traveling flasks with the cool, refreshing waters of the mountain stream that continually feeds the beautiful lake of Radika, nestled in the middle of the nearby city whose many torches and candle displays had already begun their nightly task of illuminating the many streets and smaller pathways of the great city.
The child watched me carefully - albeit from a safe distance - from the other side of the road. I pulled out some Rabbit jerky - a treasured staple in the diet of many nomadic travelers making their way across the various lands of Jaelara - and added it to the pot of now boiling water that was resting on top of my roadside fire. Soon my senses were tingling, thanks to the delicious aroma that began to drift into the air from that simple traveler’s pot. Gamey, yet already oh so enticing, I reached into my shoulder bag and pulled out a few select herbs to complement the meal that was beginning to take form. I quickly rubbed the herbs between my hands to form a powdery mixture, which I then added into the broth with a flourish of finesse for the enjoyment of the pair of eyes watching, which had become mesmerized by the pull of the simple yet irresistible aroma.
As the shadows on the ground deepened and stretched away into the distance, I pulled two metal bowls out of my nearby shoulder bag - one for myself and one for my silent dinner guest, who eagerly scrambled across the roadway to join me in the first moments after I laid the bowl of stew on the ground near the fire and gestured to her.
At first we ate in silence. No doubt we were a strange pair, who would likely have caused more than a few eyebrows to be raised if any other travelers should have happened to pass us by on the road at that moment. A young girl - likely no older than 8 years old - with fair coloured skin and a thin layer of dust caked along the edges of her face. The look in her eyes revealed that this young girl had likely already experienced far more hardships in her first few years of life than someone of her age should ever have to.
As for me, anyone who might have passed us by would likely not have given a moment’s thought to myself. A humble, weary traveler sitting on a road side with only a simple traveler’s bag, a hooded cowl dyed in the customary shades of red with green trim along its edges that inform those who happen to see me that I am one of the many wandering traders who are known to travel the lands of Jaelara in search of trade and occasionally a minor adventure or two. Of course, most people who see me pass by during my travels never tend to look closely enough to notice the one unusual item in my wardrobe that might cause them to pause and reconsider this average trader in their midst…
“Who ARE you?”
Her meek voice broke the silence of the night. I was startled out of my thoughts and caught off guard by her pleasant, soothing tone. The question from the young girl who had now finished her meal and was staring curiously at me had caught me off guard, which is a feeling that has become so rare in the course of my long life that I cannot actually recall the last time this had happened.
“My name is Sad.” I replied, returning her gaze and making eye contact with her for the first time since our paths had crossed, now more than an hour ago.
“What kind of name is that?” she asked, turning her head back towards me and leaning slightly forward, a curious sparkle now glinting off her eyes in the campfire light. For the first time, her demeanor warmed slightly and she appeared to be finding some comfort from her new and unexpected company this evening.
“It is the name I have come to be known by, given to me by the many people I have encountered on my long journey” I answered truthfully, with a slight shrug of my shoulders.
“Why are you on a long journey?” she asked, now leaning slightly forward with a curious sparkle gently warming the expression of her soft eyes.
“I am on a journey to find answers to the many great questions of the world. I seek the truth of all of our shared existences. I wish to know why all is as it is. And throughout my journey I have met many fascinating people, not the least of all is yourself, young one. And I hope to meet many more fascinating people before my journey ends.”
“When will your journey end?”
It is a fair question, and one that has been asked to me many times. And in all my years of traveling across Jaelara, the answer has never changed.
“My journey will end when I finally know all there is to know.” I told her.
She sat there for a long moment. Not moving, and barely even breathing. The peaceful crackling of the fire between us shifted slightly, and a flurry of sparks flew up, into the now dark night sky. I could tell that something large had taken place inside her thoughts, and that her mind was now consumed with it. And with such a look of such serious concentration taking hold in the face of one who is still so young, one who had not been given the many kindnesses in early life that most simply take for granted, I offered her a gift in that moment which I rarely give.
“The night is deepening, and we should take our rest soon. But for you young one, I offer you a gift. You may ask me one more question - anything that you wish - and I shall give you its answer before sleep comes to claim us tonight.”
The young child’s head snapped to look at me before the words had finished passing through my lips. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on mine, as if she was searching for some sign hidden in my eyes that I might be able to reveal the answer to a mystery that she had long been consumed with. The moment passed abruptly, and she took her empty bowl and dipped it into the remaining stew that sat cooling in the pot resting upon the glowing embers at the edge of our campfire. She sipped from it, and asked me a question that I was not expecting from someone so young.
“Why is our world the way it is?” she whispered softly, with a voice barely audible across the crackling fire between us.
“You should make yourself more comfortable, Child” I began, “for that is a question that will take longer to answer than I was expecting from someone so young. Sit back, and relax. Sleep will have to wait to join us later this eve, for tonight, I will share with you the deepest secrets of the nature of our world.”