As the king finishes his words, Jeremy's hunger is at its height. He fears everyone around him can hear his stomach complaining.
The king attempts to stand to give a formal farewell to the men. He stumbles backwards and into his throne as two guards run to his side and a servant helps ease him back to his feet. "There are twelve Great Men from my kingdom and the surrounding villages and one Hero from the Upper Land who stand among us today. I feel a heaviness of heart as I send you brave men off. Each of you will be given a pack from my palace treasury. Inside are items to help you on your way. And the light from this palace will lead you back home." As the king says these final words the tall strange servant that had led Jeremy Curst to this crazy quest, steps forward and hands each man a bag and instructs them to be on their way. Jeremy is the last to receive his bag.
The man mumbles, as usual, and he stands almost twice as tall as Jeremy. "Here. Here it is... Use it wisely... Do not waste it... Hero looks so small... But strength and courage are in the heart...He can do as well or even better at this quest then the largest man who stood in this row... Go... Go." Then in an instant, a blink of an eye, the servant's face changes, his expression shifts from that of a wondering crazy man, to that of a sane, stable and strong mind. "Hero, you are our one hope. The others will fail in one way or another. Hero, you were sent here for this purpose and you have the most important key. Find it and you will prevail. Find it, Hero." And just as quickly the sane mind is gone again and the blubbering man is back. "On you go now... On you go... Don't wait...Go on I say." And the servant shoos Jeremy out of the room and down the hallway to the main entrance.
As Jeremy Curst steps out into the sunlight he looks around him at the woods and the path. He can't go back the way he came. Just then a servant motions for him to follow around the castle wall. Jeremy obeys and finds himself before a feast. Tables stand full of wonderful foods, most he knows but a few plates have strange foods that smell weird.
He skirts around the table and grabs what he wants to eat, avoiding the food that looks odd but trying a few new things too. He is full before he gets to all the tables. He takes a few things that will last and sticks them in his backpack along with the package from the king. He feels unprepared, but then again, how can anyone really be prepared for the unknown. He sees a path that leads to the back of the garden and around to the back of the castle. He decides to follow that path and hopes it leads to a new road to follow towards the first quest.
As he sets out he hums a quiet tune to himself. He can't remember where he has heard it before but it is soothing and calms his nerves. He feels that it is important to him and that is all that really matters at this moment in time.
The path does in fact lead out of the castle walls and to a new road to follow. And so Jeremy Curst sets his mind to the first quest and steps out to the road with a new courage.
The road is empty, which seems very odd to Jeremy seeing as there were several other men who should be out on this very road to fulfill the very same quest he is on, but perhaps there is a different way to travel here that Jeremy doesn't know about. He is in a strange and seemingly magical land after all. So Jeremy ignores the odd feeling and keeps walking towards the dark Ever Wood. He tries to remember what his task is. He knows that fairies always seem to be very quick and small in the fairy tales he has heard. Also the majority of them always are kind. He doesn't remember if he has heard of fairies with feathers before but maybe this fairy is different.
Suddenly he feels the path lower to the ground and he gets to the place where it meets the earth and so he steps gently to the ground. There is no path to follow now but the Ever Woods is just in front of him and it surrounds him on three sides. Jeremy knows that going back is not an option so he steps forward to the tree line and then slowly makes his way deeper into the forest. The trees seem to close in around him and he realizes almost too late that he will never find his way back if he walks this way any farther. He cannot leave a trail and though a map may be useful he doesn't have one of those either. Jeremy thinks for only a second or two and decides that he must just continue walking.
Sometimes in life we think about the past and what we have done or where we have been and wish and dream of being back there. We imagine the times we had and the fun it was, but going back is not an option in life. Going back in life is impossible. Even if we did return to our past it would be different from how we remember it, because we only choose to remember the parts we want to remember. Jeremy Curst was right in deciding to keep walking forward. Walking and moving forward is all we can do. And the best part is that when we keep walking memories and adventures will be sure to come our way and they will be much grander than the ones we remember having.
The king attempts to stand to give a formal farewell to the men. He stumbles backwards and into his throne as two guards run to his side and a servant helps ease him back to his feet. "There are twelve Great Men from my kingdom and the surrounding villages and one Hero from the Upper Land who stand among us today. I feel a heaviness of heart as I send you brave men off. Each of you will be given a pack from my palace treasury. Inside are items to help you on your way. And the light from this palace will lead you back home." As the king says these final words the tall strange servant that had led Jeremy Curst to this crazy quest, steps forward and hands each man a bag and instructs them to be on their way. Jeremy is the last to receive his bag.
The man mumbles, as usual, and he stands almost twice as tall as Jeremy. "Here. Here it is... Use it wisely... Do not waste it... Hero looks so small... But strength and courage are in the heart...He can do as well or even better at this quest then the largest man who stood in this row... Go... Go." Then in an instant, a blink of an eye, the servant's face changes, his expression shifts from that of a wondering crazy man, to that of a sane, stable and strong mind. "Hero, you are our one hope. The others will fail in one way or another. Hero, you were sent here for this purpose and you have the most important key. Find it and you will prevail. Find it, Hero." And just as quickly the sane mind is gone again and the blubbering man is back. "On you go now... On you go... Don't wait...Go on I say." And the servant shoos Jeremy out of the room and down the hallway to the main entrance.
As Jeremy Curst steps out into the sunlight he looks around him at the woods and the path. He can't go back the way he came. Just then a servant motions for him to follow around the castle wall. Jeremy obeys and finds himself before a feast. Tables stand full of wonderful foods, most he knows but a few plates have strange foods that smell weird.
He skirts around the table and grabs what he wants to eat, avoiding the food that looks odd but trying a few new things too. He is full before he gets to all the tables. He takes a few things that will last and sticks them in his backpack along with the package from the king. He feels unprepared, but then again, how can anyone really be prepared for the unknown. He sees a path that leads to the back of the garden and around to the back of the castle. He decides to follow that path and hopes it leads to a new road to follow towards the first quest.
As he sets out he hums a quiet tune to himself. He can't remember where he has heard it before but it is soothing and calms his nerves. He feels that it is important to him and that is all that really matters at this moment in time.
The path does in fact lead out of the castle walls and to a new road to follow. And so Jeremy Curst sets his mind to the first quest and steps out to the road with a new courage.
The road is empty, which seems very odd to Jeremy seeing as there were several other men who should be out on this very road to fulfill the very same quest he is on, but perhaps there is a different way to travel here that Jeremy doesn't know about. He is in a strange and seemingly magical land after all. So Jeremy ignores the odd feeling and keeps walking towards the dark Ever Wood. He tries to remember what his task is. He knows that fairies always seem to be very quick and small in the fairy tales he has heard. Also the majority of them always are kind. He doesn't remember if he has heard of fairies with feathers before but maybe this fairy is different.
Suddenly he feels the path lower to the ground and he gets to the place where it meets the earth and so he steps gently to the ground. There is no path to follow now but the Ever Woods is just in front of him and it surrounds him on three sides. Jeremy knows that going back is not an option so he steps forward to the tree line and then slowly makes his way deeper into the forest. The trees seem to close in around him and he realizes almost too late that he will never find his way back if he walks this way any farther. He cannot leave a trail and though a map may be useful he doesn't have one of those either. Jeremy thinks for only a second or two and decides that he must just continue walking.
Sometimes in life we think about the past and what we have done or where we have been and wish and dream of being back there. We imagine the times we had and the fun it was, but going back is not an option in life. Going back in life is impossible. Even if we did return to our past it would be different from how we remember it, because we only choose to remember the parts we want to remember. Jeremy Curst was right in deciding to keep walking forward. Walking and moving forward is all we can do. And the best part is that when we keep walking memories and adventures will be sure to come our way and they will be much grander than the ones we remember having.
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