Peli's Journey : Chapter 1

Nightfall.

The summer night had always been too hot and humid for Peli. Wearing nothing but a pair of short pants, he sat on a large, flat rock near the village entrance and looked over to the dirt path that leads towards the forest. He had always wondered where would the road lead. Alyssia was surrounded on three sides by forest, and a big, sapphire ocean to the east. The only land route that arrived in Alyssia came through the single dirt path. In fact, the only reason why there was any land route into Alyssia was the occasion arrival of pilgrims and travellers, since Alyssia rely on its robust sea trade. Most of its residents were sea-faring sailors and fish-hunters by trade, having taught since childhood that learning the sea trade was the only way to live.

Peli was a bit different. He was brought up as an orphan. In fact, no one in the village had ever told him how he arrived to the village. Thus, when he decided that he was not at all that interested in faring the sea, he was met with no objection.

What ultimately captured his attention was the single dirt path leading to the forest. Where did it lead? Why had no one leave the village via the path? The questions kept coming.

There were many stories about the forest.

Some said it was haunted, that the King’s army had slain a group of bandits and the ghost of the bandits were roaming the forest, extracting revenge from any soul unfortunate enough to set foot in the forest.

Some said a coven of witches and warlocks lived in the forest, and they preyed upon travellers who were not aware.

Some said deep within the forest laid the fountain of wisdom and that whoever drank from the fountain will achieve enlightenment.

And of course, the most popular legends said that the path leads to Elyia, a mythical place which was not unlike heaven in the minds of the people of Alyssia.

Despite all these, Peli was simply curious about the path itself. There was something compelling about the lone path. Sometime he thought of himself as that worn, deserted, forlorn path. Neglected, forgotten, but had so much hidden within. Peli had just reached the age of 18 last night, and it had been a quiet celebration. To him, it meant he had to do something about his life. Working chores in the village no longer satisfied him. Everyone in the village told him to find a nice girl, settle down and raise a family, but he was not sure he wanted that.

And that’s why on the first night of his 19th years of life, he sat on the rock and wondered about the path.

And this was meant to be a special night: a night when his life was forever changed.

Surprise came as a lone figure emerged from forest. Clad in ragged robes, this figure stumbled into Peli’s view like a ghost emerging from the dark and foreboding forest. Peli jumped and gave a quick yelp.

The figure stopped in his track and looked up, and a tired but kindly face showed up in front of Peli. Despite the bushy brows and unkempt beard, his genuine smile settled the skittish nerves of Peli.

“A great evening, my boy!” Although the traveller seemed tired, his voice carried an uplifting ring. Peli was tentative and shyly smiled back. Seldom did the village receive any travellers, but when they arrived, they were usually great and important people.

“Is this the village of Alyssia?” The traveller slowly walked over and sat on the flat rock with Peli.

Peli nodded with great deference while he shifted slightly to make space for the traveller.

“Ah, finally.” The traveller leaned back against his hands, and breathed in the heavily sweet scent of late summer’s flora.

“Where did you come from?” Peli asked, curiosity brimming at the edge of his question.

“Why, I came from Elyia, a place far away.” The traveller said softly.

“Elyia!” Peli eyes widened at the mention of the name. “What is it like?”

“Well, things might have changed, so I don’t know now, but you can find out for yourself.”

“How?”

“By going there, of course. Just follow the path!”

“But I can’t travel out of the village! No one ever does that! How would I find food? How would I know where to go?”

The traveller looked at Peli with a slight smile in silence. Peli caught himself and stopped talking abruptly. The traveller asked softly,

“Don’t you want to find out what is behind the path?”

Peli nodded forlornly without saying a word.

“Well, did someone tell you not to go?”

Peli shook his head sadly.

“So why don’t you just go?”

“But I have no idea where to go!”

“Sure you do. You want to go to Elyia. You have a choice: you can stay in this village for the rest of your life and always wonder about what hides behind the path until the day you die, or you can travel along this path.”

Peli did not reply, instead, he looked ahead at the path.

It was dark and menacing. He didn’t know anything outside of the world of Alyssia. But someone had just arrived, so which means it can be travelled.

“So, what do I need to travel the path and reach Elyia?” Peli asked, looking at the stranger intently. Somehow he felt he could trust the stranger.

“Well, I don’t have a map, but I do have some gifts for you which will make your journey easier.”

The stranger took out a few items from his back sack. There was an ivory cone, a bronze lamp, and a black stone. And then the stranger removed his cloak and handed it over to Peli.
“This cloak will keep you away from dangerous animals and poisonous insects, as long as you put it on all the time.”

“The ivory cone will be magically refilled with magical nectar everyday. The nectar will quench your thirst and hunger, but it will only refill once per day.”

“The bronze lamp is a source of light and warmth. It will always give you fire when you rub it three times.”

“And the stone…” The stranger had a distant look on his face.

“What about the stone?”

“Oh, it is probably nothing to you, but I did bring it from Elyia, and I would like to ask you to return the stone to the village. Would you promise me to do so?”

“Sure! I give you my word.”

“Thank you! Well, now you can get going!”

“But what about you?”

“Me? I am staying here in Alyssia. A journey ends, another begins. This one without travelling.”

“Well, is there anything I can help you with?”

“You already did, by promising to deliver the rock. It is an important relic and I would like to see it going back to Elyia.”

Peli smiled at the stranger, whose name he did not know, and he jumped off the rock.

Dawn was creeping near and the morning mist had started to fill the air. Suddenly the edge of everything became blurred, and the dirt path became like a road leading into a dream. The dark forest that was menacing a few moments ago now seemed calm and sleepy.

Peli had been wondering about the path and where it led for a long time, but that moment he suddenly knew beyond a doubt that it was time he started his own journey.

So it was that when the sun came up for the village of Alyssia, the person called Peli had left without a trace, engulfed forever by the forest, and a weary traveller sat on the rock where peli had been.

There were some questions among the villagers, but life went on. As far as the villagers were concerned, Peli had just gone somewhere else.

However, life as they knew it would never be the same anymore.