A Garden of Gold

[Jeremy Casing]

3rd Spring, 515AV

If Jeremy was ever going to prove himself to be a self-sufficient and independent man, he needed to learn how to grow his own vegetables. It sounded like an easy task, but having spoken to some of the local farmers, the Kelvic was quickly realising that gardening was hard.

His home was small, but the garden that stood at the front of his home was decently sized. It was full of weeds, tufts of grass and a strange amount of broken bricks, but nonetheless it had potential. His plan, neatly drawn out on a sheet of parchment and tucked into his pockets, outlined Jeremy's idea. He would remove the weeds, grass, and bricks, before churning all the soil to breathe in new life into the ground. He planned to square off a two-foot by four-foot rectangle for his garden, framing the borders with whatever decent bricks and stones he could find.

It would be hard, laborious work.

Fortunately, one of the more hospitable farmers, a man called Clive, had given Jeremy an old spade to use. But the metal flat at the end of the wooden handle was wobbly and poorly made; so the Kelvic had to stop every two or so chimes to tighten it all back together. Nevertheless, he had made some progress. A small pile of discarded weeds and grass tufts were strewn outside his front door. Jeremy hoped to do something with them - make tea, maybe - so their lives wouldn't be wasted.

He stuck the spade beside another weed, applied his weight to it so it sunk deeper into the ground, and pulled at the spade handle. The weed wobbled, the earth up churned, and Jeremy lifted the dandelion plant away from the soil to discard it with the others. The Kelvic moved onto another weed, carrying out the same routine with stiff, autonomic movements: dig, uproot, discard.

Dig, uproot, discard...

Dig, uproot, discard...

Inching his way up and down his little plot of land, Jeremy slowly plucked away all traces of green and weed from the soil. It was a sorrowful act, and the Phylonurist apologised to every shock of green he uprooted. But sometimes, he was learning, life had to give way for other life to flourish. The vegetables and fruit he hoped to grow would feed himself, Jester, Jip, as well as any other animals that would enter into Jeremy's care in the future. The initial pain and guilt he felt in effectively killing the weeds would, hopefully, come to pass.

[Jeremy Casing]

Clive the farmer had also given Jeremy a collection of young saplings to plant in his miniature garden. Why the Kelvic had deserved such kindness, Jeremy wasn't sure. He tried to not be suspicious; Clive was, and always had been, one of the nicer farmers after all. Whereas the others rolled their eyes at Jeremy and gossiped behind his back, Clive had smiled and listened.

But it was one thing to entertain Jeremy's attempts at educating the farmers, but it quite another to extend friendship is such a caring and sharing manner. Perhaps the saplings that Clive had given Jeremy were not a selection of onions, carrots, beetroot and peas, but instead all cabbage? He could imagine the farmers now, lining up outside his small home and all laughing at his lack of farming skill.

"Oi, feather boy! Them carrots look a bit green and cabbage-like to me!"

The Kelvic winced at his own imagination and paranoia. He should not let his awkwardness or mistrust burn bridges that were not even built yet. If the farmers were going to trust his advice, Jeremy needed to extend his faith in them as well. Perhaps, if he could bring to life enough healthy vegetables, they would finally acknowledge the fact that he had something to offer their farming community.

He was no expert in farming or gardening, and Jeremy didn't believe he was. But the gift of Nura - the very gift Caiyha had given him as a boy - gave Jeremy an edge. He could understand the silent language of plants and animals, hearing their desires and emotions. A simple change - watering a rose at twilight, for example - could vastly improve its health. These were things the farmers and their workers might not appreciate unless Jeremy told them -- but unfortunately for the Kelvic, this appreciation had still not reared its head yet.

Regardless of the reasons behind Clive's generosity, Jeremy could do nothing else but continue his work. Having removed all the weeds from his garden, he now needed to consider where to put the sapling plants. He considered what he'd learnt in the Mithryn so far:

"The risk of carrot fly can be reduced by planting them next to onions." He muttered quietly, his fingers gesturing in the air as he visualised and plotted out his plant arrangement, "and beetroot plants prefer sunny spots." So the latter would be planted furthered away from the house, and more importantly the shadows cast by the building. Carrots would be next, then the onions, and finally the peas, which would need some kind of support to grow up.

Jeremy nodded, pleased with his decision. But the actual planting of the saplings would have to wait; now, the Kelvic needed to plough through the soil to freshen it all up. In a perfect world, he would use a pitchfork for this, but needs must. Jeremy only had a shovel.

He picked up the poorly battered tool and set to work, churning up the soil as deep as he could and flicking it over. This manipulating of the soil was exhausting and it took time. During the process, Jeremy revealed several earthworms that squirmed and writhed, all pink and fleshy. Worms were good, apparently. They aerated the soil instead of eating the roots, as Jeremy had first believed. "For that reason, you can stay." He promised a particularly long worm.

[Jeremy Casing]

The soil was now well churned and turned over, so now the planting could begin. Jeremy had received three beetroot plants, four carrots, four onions and finally two pea plants. It might not be enough for a feast, but Jeremy did not have a big appetite. None of the food would go to waste, and tending to his garden would be hugely rewarding.

"Jeremy! Yoo-hoo!"

The Kelvic winced as the singsong voice of a particularly over zealous farmer's wife floated his way. Mandy Thorpe was dumpy and kind, but the woman loved nothing more than to force-feed Jeremy her home baked good and pinched his cheeks. As he turned around, Jeremy saw the undeniable sight of a pie balanced on her chubby hands. With a sigh, he admitted defeat and the torturous conversation that would soon follow. "Hello, Mandy. How are you?"

The woman flapped her free hand away to bat off Jeremy's question. She made several clicking sounds with her tongue behind her teeth and waggled her finger towards the Kelvic. "Never mind me, young man! How are you? Aren't you cold? Spring has only just turned and the weather's still chilly. Do you want me to knit you a jumper, or perhaps see if Paul has an old jacket?"

Paul was the name of Mandy's son, who had long ago escaped his mother's grasp and moved to Zeltiva. He also approximately half Jeremy's height and three times as broad, yet the woman was still adamant that Jeremy should receive all her son's cast-off clothes. When she had forced him to try on a pair of his old trousers, they had only reached down to knees and could have housed another person in the gap between the waistband and Jeremy's skinny body. Nevertheless, Mandy Thorpe had forced the pair of trousers onto Jeremy, and they now lay at the bottom of his wardrobe.

"No, thank you Mandy. The gardening is keeping me warm." He tried to keep his gold eyes on Mandy's face, hoping that if he ignored the pie, it would simply disappear.

"Oh, I’m glad. But a man like you really ought to have someone to look after him, you know. Me and the others are always worrying about you." There was that minor threat again. The farmers' wives meant well, Jeremy assumed, but they seemed hell-bent on finding him a wife. Even when he explained his race, his gnosis, his lack of desire to find a lover, they were still adamant.

How many of their daughters had they sent, all armed with flowers or cakes or pies, to try and win the heart of the strange young man who lived at the edge of the community?

Answer: too many.

"I'm more than fine on my own, Mandy. You know that."

"Rubbish. A man always needs a wife to cook him dinner, stitch up his old socks."

She has a point there, Jeremy admitted glumly, I only have one pair of good socks left. The ones he wore now had several holes in, so his big toe protruded out nakedly.

"And anyway, I thought you'd be too tired after gardening all day to cook yourself something for dinner, so I made you this. It's chicken liver and sage." Mandy extended her hand outwards, careful not to dirty her shoes on the soil Jeremy currently stood on. Leaving the safety of his island, Jeremy stepped off the soil and towards the plump woman. With a sigh, he took the pie off her and said his thanks.

"It's no worry, my dear."

[Jeremy Casing]

"You know where I am if you ever need anything."

After waving, the plump woman bustled away, her burnt orange curls bouncing. Jeremy stared down the pie; it's flour-dusted crust and the pastry flowers buttered on its top. No doubt it would be delicious, but in accepting Mandy's offering, Jeremy had proven the broody woman correct. She would be more adamant than ever that he needed a wife.

I'll live to regret this, no doubt He thought as he entered his home, stomping muddy footprints all the way to his table, on which he placed the pie. Jester bounded up from the floor to his feet, her shining black nose quivering excitedly at the sight of the meat pie. "Leave this pie alone, you." He told her with a smirk. The puppy whined guiltily and lay back down. Where her master just appreciated Mandy's pies, Jester adored them. Already she was salivating.

Jeremy returned to the newly toiled garden at the front of his property. The soil was churned, the saplings ready to be planted. After picking up the spade, Jeremy dug three rows for the beetroot, carrots and onions. He knelt down and gently eased each young plant into the shallow holes he'd dug for them. After bedding the saplings, he filled the holes with fresh soil and patted the top layer down.

Soon all of the saplings had all been planted, save the two pea plants. These were trickier; they required some sort of structure to climb up. Climbers, such plants were called accordng to Jeremy's botany book.

The sticks he'd chosen were as straight as nature would allow. The Kelvic had snapped off any twigs and smaller sticks growing off the main body of his two chosen branches. He stuck them in the soil unceremoniously, setting the sticks equidistant from the edge of the garden plot and approximately ten inches away from each together. The pea plants would do well, unless the summer bought with it a particularly strong wind. But if the weather turned in that way, Jeremy's roof would likely blow off as well - the health of his peas would be not be at the forefront of his mind.

[Jeremy Casing]

After planting the peas, he gently guided the delicate saplings to touch the sticks that would serve as their growing guide. With some luck they would grow, and Jeremy would be able to feast on peas for the next season. His garden was pathetic compared to the crops grown by the Mithryn farmers, but it was a start. He would be self-sufficient soon. Hopefully.

The garden was tended to, the sapling planted. The rest was up to Caiyha and her daughter now, but there was one more thing Jeremy could do. He dropped to his knees, discarding the shovel just before he landed in the fresh soil with a soft grunt. His fingertips brushed the dirt lightly, and then they delved deep into the cool dirt. Folded beneath him, Jeremy's toes wiggled. He allowed himself to exhale slowly, closing his eyes as he did.

Feel the soil, the life it can breathe into plants and all other living things. He tried to ignore the sounds around him, the distant voices and random booms and bangs of farm life. But they broke into the Kelvic's consciousness no matter how hard he tried. He gave an exasperated sigh, and then began his prayer.

"Bala, I pray to you as a servant of both your mother and your own. Let this season be good to the people of the Mithryn, their crops and their animals. Bless them with a good harvest and healthy crops. I will do my utmost to protect the domain of your mother's, but there is only so much I can do.

Bless me with knowledge, and the understanding of your plants and flowers. I cannot heal them as I do the animals. I am limited to my own ability and for this apologise. You represent all that is green, and therefore all that is good."

His voice was low and quiet. Jeremy suspected that most, if not all, of the Mithryn farmers at least passively worshipped Bala. But it was quite another thing for a young man to openly pray to the Goddess on his knees.

"Oi! What've those carrots done to deserve your company?"

The holler snapped Jeremy's eyes open and his head up. Four of the more... challenging farmers stood across the way from him. They jostled and chuckled amongst themselves loudly before moving on.

Jeremy could only sigh and shake his head.

[Sayana]

Jeremy Skills: Skill EXP Planning +2 Gardening +4 Bodybuilding +2 Philosophy +1 Botany +3 Organization +1 Observation +4 Socialization +1 Meditation +1 Prayer +1 Lores: Weeding: Dig, uproot, discard Botany: Dandelions, a weed Philosophy: Old life must sometimes give way to new life Gardening: Plant carrots with onions to reduce risk of carrot fly Gardening: Beetroots like sunny spots Gardening: Peas need some sort of support to grow on Gardening: Worms good for the soil Mandy Thorpe: Well-meaning farmer's wife Gardening: Setting up sticks for climbers A prayer to Bala to watch over the Syliran Fields Gardening: Clear the soil, till the soil, dig holes, plant saplings Comments : Great thread. It’s nice seeing how much Jeremy cares about nature (like the dandelions and the worms). Also, I love the collage on your CS. Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request in the grade request thread. However, make sure to keep the link so that the DS can review graded threads with ease. If you have any questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message (like really, I’m all ears if you feel like I missed something). Enjoy.