Chapter 34 - 31 Setting Out
A grueling long journey lied ahead, the endpoint at the very boundary of the world.
No Priest knew where that place was, nor why Prophet Al suddenly proclaimed he must leave the Kingdom to venture toward a faraway land no one had ever set foot in.
God’s guidance, God’s revelation... Even straightforward words couldn’t dispel the confusion of the Priests.
"Prophet, why not let someone else go in your stead... You are old."
A Priest stepped forward, asking with incomprehension:
"Look at your body... Your back is bent, just stay in the Pattern Garden filled with golden wheat."
Another Priest, almost as old as Al, approached with a reluctance to let go and advised:
"Al, like you, others misunderstand us for being outdated, but I know that at our age, we have done enough for the younger generations and we no longer have the strength, we must stay where we are. Now... why suffer to go to a place so far you cannot return?"
Beyond the well-meaning persuasion, those young Priests who did not follow the Prophet or thought the Prophet was old-fashioned, not only failed to understand but also mocked Al in secret for his overestimation of his abilities. To a place not even the Kingdom’s bravest Hunters could venture, how could an old man reach such a distant end?
Al looked at the people of all types around him: misunderstanding, pitiful, sympathetic... How many thought he was muddled by enthusiasm, forgetting how truly old he was.
The Prophet left with only one sentence: