Standing in the woods alone with shock upon his face

　　the old man checked to see if anything was out of place

　　but far from feeling cursed, he overflowed with energy

　　so much that he started to run forward childishly

　　He waved his hands and magic like he`d never seen before

　　was summoned from his fingertips with such a mighty roar

　　the power he`d been given wasn`t easy to believe

　　the magic that he wielded now was harder to conceive

　　But even more a shock to him was what the fairy said

　　the answer to the question of his life still lay ahead

　　he wondered what the fairy meant by answers found alone`

　　should he seek advice from one with questions of their own

　　The forest was a place of peace, but now he had a quest

　　to find the meaning granted him, and face this final test

　　it`d been a long time since he saw the world of man

　　but even now he couldn`t stop a quest once it began

　　He walked toward the rising sun until he met the sea

　　then walked along the coast until he found society

　　although at first he feared that he might still be recognized

　　with his big white beard the man was well enough disguised

　　He wandered down the street and marvelled at the buildings there

　　"was such a place here all along, how was I not aware"

　　the streets were clean, and smiling faces were not hard to find

　　but then he noticed people unrelated to mankind

　　Here and there, among the crowd of humans in the town

　　members of their ancient enemy had settled down

　　he almost failed to keep his calm while reeling in surpriseUnauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

　　the sight of them at peace together resting on his eyes

　　everywhere he went he found the people in good cheer

　　most of whom were living well without a single fear

　　the more he looked, the more he had no choice but to believe

　　no inhuman person there was being asked to leave

　　Several people looked at him with curiosity

　　wondering what such a rugged man at come to see

　　"excuse me sir, if you need help, I`ll take you to an inn

　　were you lost in the woods a while, you`re looking very thin"

　　A kind young man approached him with some worry on his face

　　he spoke with caution to the member of a northern race

　　"Those ears you have must mean you`re from a tribe quite far from here

　　is it not uncommon for one like you to appear"

　　The young man laughed and pointed to the long ears on his head

　　"I can`t imagine how much of a hermit`s life you`ve led

　　my kind have been here for generations, don`t you know

　　now and then, we do surprise a country bumpkin though"

　　The old man laughed and thanked the man for offering a hand

　　"I`ll be fine, I`ve always been too slow to understand"

　　he carried on, enjoying all the city`s sights and sounds

　　he felt like he was walking on the king`s old castle grounds

　　He found himself within a town where merchants came by sea

　　and sat inside little shop that served delicious tea

　　the shop was old enough to to seem familiar at first

　　he ordered something simple to alleviate his thirst

　　He asked the man who served his drink if he could stay a while

　　the man agreed and welcomed him with his contagious smile

　　the pilgrim was confused at first, to see the old man`s face

　　in his eyes, of pain or loss, he couldn`t find a trace

　　He asked the man about his life, inviting him to sit

　　the owner of the shop said he would love to talk a bit

　　"I`ve been living by the port since I was just a boy

　　it`s been a peaceful life of doing what I most enjoy"

　　"What of when the war was raging all across the land

　　how you`ve lived so peacefully I just can`t understand"

　　he worried that the old man might not wish to speak of war

　　but was soon surprised to see the smile the man still war

　　"That`s the first time anybody asked me such a thing

　　there are few still living who remember anything

　　my father told us stories of the empire in those days

　　but he was born long after the empire was set ablaze

　　You might find an elf or two still living who recall

　　but elves have not been seen for years, if they survive at all

　　tell me honoured elder, why the interest in such tales

　　there`s much more talk in town of ships that travel without sails"

　　The pilgrim now was speechless at the story he had heard

　　he felt he should believe it but it sounded too absurd

　　had so many years gone by since he had held a sword

　　was the world so different than the one he ran toward

　　He thanked the owner of the tea shop kindly for his time

　　"thank you for your story, and the tea was quite sublime"

　　despite the shocking revelation, he would carry on

　　and so he went to find a ship that he could sail upon

　　~