Anyone Open to Critique a Piece for Me?

Hey, all! Before I get into this, please look into joining Mibba's Unoffical Discord Chat!

I haven't been as active on here as I've wanted to, but I have been lurking. But that's beside the point.

So, last November, for NaNoWriMo, I started writing a story called The Land of Infinite Whispers. I got, over thirty-thousand words in and then stopped. It's stuck with me since, though. It's been that one story I can't get out of my head. I love everything about it--the setting, the plot, the characters. I think it's excellent.

I recently joined a critique group for fantasy writers, as I considered this piece a fantasy story. I submitted it, and I wasn't expecting glowing reviews, but I got... a lot of shit. I don't think any of them liked it one bit; they said the prose itself wasn't bad, but the story, the characters, etc... y'know. One of them actually commented, (on a particular narrative choice), "I don't think it's necessary and I will never like it. I will comment on it every week until it stops." A bunch of stuff that seems a little harsh to me. I just would like a second opinion to assure myself that I'm not being overly defensive (as people get when they receive criticism).

Would anyone wanna read through it and give me that second opinion? I'd really appreciate it. They honestly kinda killed my want to move on for a while, but now that its passed I'm looking at it again and I'd like to continue. Would anyone wanna look at what I have (I've edited it a lot since posting to Mibba) and tell me whether they agree/disagree? Or give me an entirely different opinion? I'd even be down to do a swap, where we critique each other's stories! The section I need opinions on is about 5,000 words, and I'll do one of similar length in return!

Thanks guys!