Chapter 29: A New Beginning
1050 Words
The forest road stretched endlessly beneath the warm afternoon sun.
Greenhollow had long disappeared behind the rolling hills, leaving only distant memories of frightened villagers, hurried footsteps, and a melody that still lingered in Echo's mind.
The journey had been quiet.
Unusually quiet.
Even Echo, who usually found something to complain about every few minutes, walked silently.
His wooden sword rested against his shoulder while the basket of gifts from Greenhollow hung from his back.
He wasn't tired.
He was thinking.
The monster...
The mysterious footprints...
The silver-haired figure...
And that melody.
It all felt strangely connected.
Yet every answer seemed just beyond his reach.
---
Dorothy, walking at the front, slowed her pace.
Without turning around, she spoke calmly.
"Echo."
He looked up.
"Yes, Master?"
"What have you been thinking about for the past three hours?"
Echo scratched the back of his head.
"...Was it that obvious?"
Mira smiled.
"Very."
Even Kodie nodded once.
Echo sighed.
"I keep wondering..."
"...Why did those monsters run?"
"They were strong."
"Strong enough to destroy the village."
"So why were they afraid?"
Dorothy remained silent for a few moments.
Finally, she answered.
"Strength alone doesn't decide who fears whom."
Echo frowned.
"I don't understand."
She stopped walking.
The others naturally gathered around her.
Dorothy pointed toward a massive oak tree standing beside the road.
"Tell me..."
"Do you think that tree is stronger than the wind?"
Echo looked between them.
"...No?"
"And yet..."
"The tree has stood here for centuries."
She smiled gently.
"It doesn't survive because it is stronger."
"It survives because it knows when to stand firm..."
"...and when to bend."
Echo quietly repeated those words in his mind.
"When to stand... and when to bend..."
---
They continued walking.
Not long afterwards, the road narrowed into a winding trail surrounded by ancient pines.
Sunlight filtered through the branches, painting shifting patterns across the ground.
Birdsong echoed from every direction.
For the first time...
Dorothy suddenly stepped off the path.
"This way."
Echo blinked.
"...Home isn't this way."
Dorothy smiled mysteriously.
"I know."
---
After several minutes of climbing a gentle slope, the group reached a wide clearing surrounded by towering trees.
In the centre stood several weathered wooden posts, their surfaces covered with countless sword marks and magical scorch marks.
Some had clearly stood there for decades.
Echo looked around in amazement.
"...What's this place?"
Dorothy rested a hand on one of the posts.
"My classroom."
Mira smiled knowingly.
"So we're finally here."
Echo looked at her.
"...You've been here before?"
She nodded.
"Many times."
Kodie quietly examined the training ground.
"It hasn't changed."
Dorothy chuckled.
"Good."
"That means nature has been taking care of it."
---
Echo slowly walked between the posts.
Some had been split cleanly in half.
Others bore strange claw marks.
One enormous boulder near the edge of the clearing had a single cut running straight through its centre.
"...Who did this?"
Dorothy answered simply.
"My students."
Echo froze.
"...Your... students?"
He looked back at the stone.
His eyes widened.
"...They cut... this?"
Dorothy nodded.
"Not in one day."
"Not in one year."
"But yes."
Echo slowly swallowed.
Until now...
Training had meant learning simple spells and sword movements.
Standing here...
He suddenly realised what true masters were capable of.
---
Dorothy faced the three students.
"Greenhollow changed something."
No one spoke.
She continued.
"Until yesterday..."
"...your mistakes only affected yourselves."
She looked directly at Echo.
"When you missed a strike..."
"...only your pride was hurt."
Then she turned toward Mira.
"When you hesitated during practice..."
"...there was no patient waiting."
Finally, she looked at Kodie.
"When you overlooked a footprint..."
"...nothing happened."
A gentle breeze swept through the clearing.
"But yesterday..."
"...people entrusted their lives to us."
Her voice remained calm.
Yet every word carried weight.
"From today onward..."
"...we train differently."
Echo instinctively straightened his posture.
Dorothy planted her walking stick firmly into the earth.
"Every lesson from now on..."
"...will be taught as though someone's future depends on it."
Silence filled the clearing.
For some reason...
The forest itself seemed to listen.
---
Echo slowly tightened his grip on his wooden sword.
His thoughts drifted back to Greenhollow.
The frightened children.
The wounded villagers.
The old woman who thanked him despite doing so little.
A quiet determination settled in his heart.
"Next time..."
"I'll be someone they can truly rely on."
He didn't say it aloud.
He didn't need to.
Dorothy noticed the change in his eyes.
She smiled to herself.
---
"Today's lesson..."
Dorothy continued,
"...is not about winning."
She picked up four smooth stones and placed them on a fallen log.
"You have until sunset."
"Each of you will cross this forest."
"You may use no magic."
"No weapons."
"No fighting."
Echo raised his hand.
"...Then what exactly are we training?"
Dorothy looked at him with the familiar warmth that always carried a hidden lesson.
"Judgment."
She pointed toward the trees.
"The forest will present you with choices."
"I don't care how quickly you return."
"I care..."
"...why you chose the path you did."
Mira nodded thoughtfully.
Kodie simply turned toward the woods.
Echo blinked.
"...That's it?"
Dorothy laughed softly.
"You'll soon realise..."
"...thinking is often harder than fighting."
---
The three students disappeared in different directions.
Dorothy remained alone in the clearing.
For several minutes...
Nothing happened.
Then...
A gentle breeze swept through the trees.
The familiar melody floated across the forest.
Dorothy didn't turn around.
"I know you're there."
Silence.
Then a warm voice answered from somewhere beyond the branches.
"...You're raising them well."
Dorothy smiled.
"I've learned from the best."
A soft laugh echoed through the forest.
By the time Dorothy looked up...
The trees stood silent once more.
Only a single white feather drifted gently to the ground.
She picked it up carefully.
"...Not yet..."
"...They're not ready to meet you."
The wind carried the feather away once again.
Far in the distance...
Echo suddenly paused during his walk.
For just a heartbeat...
He thought he had heard someone laughing.
He looked around.
Nothing.
Only the whispering trees.
He smiled faintly.
"...One day..."
"...I'll find you."
---
End of Chapter 29
«The greatest battles are not fought with swords or spells.
They begin the moment a person chooses the kind of strength they wish to pursue.»
- Writer
