Light as a Cloud

Chapter 15

What had Meroch been doing during Ayra's tribulation?

The elves had brought him to the edge of their territory. "The Long Road is to the south," they said, pointing forward. "If you lose your way, climb in a tree and look from above. The Long Road is hard to miss from that angle."

Then, they gave Meroch a bag full of food and left him alone in the woods, just like the previous time. 

Unlike the previous time, Meroch didn't shed a tear. He swung the bag over his shoulder and headed in the direction the elves had pointed him. 

The first days, all seemed to be going well. Meroch's elf magic helped him keep predators and insects away and make fire at night, and the food the elves had given him made for plenty of energy to keep him going. The elfish influence was clearly noticeable in the woods: even all the plants seemed friendly. They seemed to move out of the way and make a path for Meroch.

What he didn't know was that the path was misleading. He didn't know where the trees that he slept under would take him at night. He didn't notice the slight curves in the path that led him further and further away from the Long Road.

After weeks of wandering in huge circles, Meroch arrived on a road, but not the Long Road that divided the forest into the Elf Woods and the Dragon Forest. On the other side of the road he saw an enormous emerald field, stretching on to the horizon, laced with the colourful sparkle of magical crystalline flowers. Meroch had found the Crystal Gardens, on the other side of the Elf Woods. 

Meroch, realizing the betrayal, turned around with his fist raised and shouted: "Hex you, wretched forest!"

A rustle went through the trees, as if the forest was laughing at him. 

Meroch fell to his knees and remembered with sorrow the last words his mother ever spoke to him: "Be careful where you go if you ever get exiled, for everything north of the Long Road is evil. The further north, the more evil."

Meroch was sitting on the edge of the most northern area in Grisenland. The crystalline shimmer over the field was strangely inviting, which sent shivers of fear down Meroch's spine. Though determined he turned to the east, where on the horizon the Spring Mountains laid, as a beacon of hope in these wicked lands. 

Meroch started walking again. He knew nothing better to do. To the east, to the Spring Mountains, and to Fennekirch!