Sowing what you will soon reap

[Wa'Djinnabi]

1st of Spring 520 AV


For some kinds of planting, one needs only to plant once merely keep it alive into the years. Grapes and fruiting trees would be a good example. They would be a long, and fruitful investment. But it was the other kind of planting that Djinn and Dawson, among others, that would be embarked upon on a that early spring morning. Pound per pound, these seasonal crops yielded far greater amounts at faster rates then the static vines and trees and would prove year after year to be the staple that sustained the majority of sapient life on Mizahar.

With all the strange seasonal effects of Morwen's absence, spring had already started nearly a half season away. Whichever god that governed spring and Bala, the goddess of autumn, were hard at work, extending their influence into winter's domain. But Dawson was a superstitious sort and refused to take advantage of the inauspicious good climate for an extended growing season and insisted on starting the growing process on the day the watchtower changed. Being only a few miles away from Zeltiva, the Merkai could see the change from across the bay. And with that, Dawson started the sowing process with a prayer, " Tavasi, god of spring, god of growth and god of new beginnings. Bless this work we are about to begin. Bless these crops with the life to grow and compete as is your way. Give unto us the start that will grant us into to Sivah's embrace and Bala's bountiful harvest so that we will survive Morwen's deprivations." He paused, fully aware that next year was just as likely to herald another year without Morwen and her life renewing touch but he merely held his tongue in contemplation. He raised his head and looked over his farmhand's bowed heads and nodded. "Alright folks, lets get to work. Djinn and Darcee, you two can start on this year's corn crops. Seed corn is by the stables." He then went on to pair off others of the Merkai who had volunteered, or who had been voluntold to help out with the spring planting. They would plant carrots, tomatoes, barley, wheat and other grains. Beets and potatoes as well as many varieties of herbs were planted in the gardens.

The manor grounds and the surrounding fields were a hive of activity as the merkai started the process of making the food stuff that would sustain them into the year. Even the actual hives of bees were getting fitted and moved into the crop areas. Not that the newly planted seedlings would have flowers for any great amount of time.

Djinn was saddled with hauling the seedcorn out while Darcee got the two of them something like a sack or a satchel that she tucked into her belt. She saw Djinn staring and grinned, "It's for easy access, watch." She used a wooden cup gathered from the kitchen and scooped some of the seed into her satchel contraption and when it was full she headed out to the bare fields and started scattering seeds out in neat rows. Djinn could immediately see what she was getting at. Instead of having to haul the entire sack he could just fill this pouch that hung from his belt and scatter a bit at a time, returning when he needed more. "Clever" he said when she came back for more seed, "can you show me how to get this on?" He offered the other satchel to the woman.

Darcee shrugged and leaned in close to get the straps in place. It felt... uncomfortable, Djinn liked his personal space and the bubble of it was larger then most due to his size and upbringing. It was an intimate moment with a near stranger but in no time at all she had the satchel attached and held up a cup to him. Wa'Djinnabi automatically took up the cup and used it to start filling up his pouch. In moments, he was ready to begin the sowing of corn.

WC: 669

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[Wa'Djinnabi]

Darcee was an excellent workmate. She was clever and teasing, but never going too far into her banter to be insulting. She was surprisingly knowledgeable about plants though she wasn't usually in the business of growing them. She tended to lean towards wild flora and the uses of the stuff. "So I went over to old Dawson to ask about the corn, I mean, seems kind of early right? All these different plants usually have different growing times throughout the year. Seems kinda odd to plant em all at the same time. He said that the weird winter seasons we've been having has put that all out of sense. We just aren't getting the morning frosts like we should, so we're gonna be taking advantage of that and planting a lot of this more summer crops early. Its the frost that kill the seedling plants anyways, no frost, no problem." She shrugged as she scattered a hand full of kernels out.

"Makes sense" Djinn said slowly, "I suppose I never would have thought to ask. Dawson is the boss." Perhaps he was relying on the old human too much? He wasn't quiet sure, Dawson just had this wealth of knowledge that Djinn simply did not. Djinn took a couple of handfuls and copied Darcee's motion. It had rained recently and the soil was still springy and moist. The land had good soil, supposedly, Djinn wasn't much of a judge of that sort of thing. Hard to be when you spent much of your life in dry, sandy locales. The kernals pressed into the ground when he stepped on them, or settled into the folds of the dirt. He was tempted to reach down and unleash bala's gift, but that would result in the corn growing unevenly since he could only affect up to ten per day. He figured the garden would better benefit from his gift rather then the more... mass produced crops. If he could simply tap in the divine's power more often, he could easily get the field jump started.

He relayed these thoughts to Darcee who looked back at their work thoughtfully. "Well... lets see... you can help 10 plants and there 91 days in the season. So over the season you can help 900 or so plants. Maybe less if you focus on the garden. Still a pretty big boost thought I don't know how much the fields will actually end up growing." She reached into her satchel and threw another handful. "You could probably do some sort of math once these seeds germin- ah, all out." Djinn wasn't out of seed but he headed back with her and refilled his bag too; he was far too engrossed in their conversation.

WC: 455
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