A story

my personal interpretation of a part of Estonian epic "Kalevipoeg". It doesn't really match the original that well, but it serves my purpose much better.

***
Once there was a leader of men who decided to travel to the world’s edge in search of precious treasures and ultimate wisdom. His councillors, agreed that in order to get to the edge of the world he should sail north, towards the pole star. They cautioned him though, that it is dangerous to sail north, as the wood will be burned by the northern lights. This did not stop the brave leader and he ordered his ship to be made of pure silver. After many months the work was complete and the ship was ready to sail. The leader took many wise advisors and brave warriors with him and off they sailed, guided by the light of the pole star.
The ship and its crew met many hardships as they sailed towards the world’s edge. Evil wind wizards sent great storms on their way, which wrecked the sails to bits, sea gods created maelstroms which tried to swallow the ship, yet the leader and his crew continued to pursue their goal.
They saw strange lands and encountered unknown creatures. They saw a land of fire where nothing living could survive, and they saw a land covered in ice. They saw a land where the grass was gold, home of the proud giants, and a land inhabited by dog-people, creatures that looked part like humans, but had a dog’s head and a dog’s tail. More often then not, these creatures did not take kindly to newcomers and the leader and his crew, mighty warriors as they were, ended up bringing havoc and destruction to the lands they came to.
Once, heading back to the ship after another battle, the great leader met a local wise man, who asked him why he, a noble man, was destroying the people and the land in his anger. The leader answered that he did so because they slowed his voyage. When the wise man learned that the leader was looking for the world’s edge and the ultimate wisdom buried there he said:
“You were deceived. The world does not have an edge, and no secret knowledge or precious treasures are hidden away from humanity. As for the ultimate wisdom, how can you ever hope to achieve that if in your blind rage you destroy nations?”
The leader then understood his mistake, turned his ship and set sail towards his homeland. When he saw that his crew was disappointed with his decision and the fact that they haven’t found anything along their journey, he said:
“Do not despair, for we have gained something much more valuable than any precious treasures. We have gained the knowledge that the world has no bounds and limits and that we can learn everything there is to know from just looking around ourselves.”