The Scholar

Heavy clouds hang low in the sky. Fearful of rain, we quicken our pace — only to see, on the path ahead, an abandoned pack. Its contents are strewn across the track: parchments, quills, inks and more. We examine them, wondering as to the identity of this travelling scholar.

As if in answer, a gust of wind catches a scuffed journal, blowing it open. Eagerly, we read the owner’s life story: their wide travels, their hopes to study the Elder Wood itself, and their philosophy on the pursuit of knowledge. The last entry declares:

“I have read of a Being which haunts these lands. By some chroniclers, it is claimed to be a local god; by others, however, it is made a demon. As I peruse the varied accounts of this ‘Lord of the Wood’, I am struck by the age-old adage that there are two sides to every coin: god or demon, truth or falsity. But a respected scholar is not seduced by extremes of judgment; they know that truth lives in the middle ground of possibility.”

We feel strangely moved by the scholar's wisdom. Perhaps all of life’s trials are best observed from such a perspective of moderation.