“A quest. For knowledge? What are you talking about?” “My destiny. There are so many things about this world I don’t know. So many things my books can’t teach me, Anna. I have to go seek the truths the world wants me to find. I can’t just sit around here waiting for something to happen.” “Your father is dying, Christopher.” Anna protested. “You can’t just leave.” “I can do whatever I like.” Christopher responded easily. “Anna, don’t you understand? If I don’t go now I never can. I’ll be trapped here.” Anna’s face fell into disappointment. “So you’re just walking away? From your kingdom? From your duty?” “I didn’t ask to be a prince. I didn’t ask for this responsibility. I’m not cut out to be king. I never was. It will be better if I just leave, and let my fate take its course.” “You’re not coming back?” He was thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe I will. It depends on what I learn.” “Christopher, …show more content…
He found some berries which he knew from his studies of botany were edible, and had fresh food for the first time since leaving home. It was a needed extra burst of energy that helped him to fight his way through the thickly wooded forest, and out onto the other side. After about two days the ground began to slope upward and it took him another two days to conquer the mountain. He had only stopped once in all this time to sleep, that night in the ruins, but he still managed to keep fatigue at bay. Reaching the top, he laid his eyes upon it at last. It was beyond all comprehension, a structure nature had constructed from its own raw resources. A building of stone, with crystal windows and a roof of untrimmed wild branches. A place they said had been here before man and would be here after. The root and source of all knowledge. The sacred hall of scholars. The place Christopher had fantasized about since he was first able to comprehend its importance, and here he was seeing it. He was really