Featherune, Veratar
Over the past several weeks I’ve made my way from Phaedra north to Strata and then on to my current stop, Featherune. After meeting up Arcan and learning more about the Athite stone, Solan’s final journey the Shrinking Depths and the inscription on the stone itself, I’m convinced an expedition to discover what happened to Solan is in order.
Yet, anything worth doing is difficult. While Arcan believes there may be others willing to help with such an expedition, he says it will be difficult to arrange. As I’ve mentioned before, my goal is to seek out as many of Solan’s friends and allies as possible. Perhaps one or more of them will be open to the idea of an expedition.
I sit now staring out into the morning light, pondering the next road I will take. In the distance, the Andoras Peak towers over the city of Featherune. My thoughts wander.
Like Solan, the early explorers of Earth’s history risked their lives so that we could understand our world more fully. Some never returned home. Others discovered new lands, only to see kings and queens exploit their findings. For Magellan, Leif Ericson and Shackleton exploration was a calling. It still is.
Despite modern misconceptions, exploration is not about thrill-seeking. It’s rooted in ideals such as understanding our ancestors, solving deep geological mysteries and uncovering truths about our planet which can make our lives better.
Sometimes, in waking sleep I imagine I’m standing on a high altitude trail on some fictional world, looking up at a dizzying height. Colleagues pass me on their way up to a dig site where the remnants of an ancient civilization wait to tell their story. The oxygen is thin. My nose is an icicle. With a determined step, I press on.
Perhaps I missed my calling.
-Eric
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