Elder Cultivator

It was easy enough to find Flora inside, patching up a pair of work pants. Jasper hesitated a moment, clearly unsure how to broach the subject. “Your mother… she was from out east, right? Did she ever talk about where specifically?”

Flora’s fingers continued to stitch without slowing, “She probably mentioned it once or twice, when I was little. Mostly to mention how much she liked being in Edelhull.” She looked up at the two of them, “What’s so important that it made the two of you come in from the fields? Still covered in dirt, even.”

Anton looked down at the path of dirt behind them. He was usually more careful about things like that, since keeping the house tidy was hard enough without actual mud and chunks of dirt. However, it was easy enough to wave his hand and push it all away with some energy. It took quite a bit less than the power required to kill a giant boar, though it took a couple passes to get everything. “Sorry about that. It’s probably not urgent… but I’d really be interested. Or if she mentioned her parents at all.”

“Did she mention them? Certainly. But I only remember hearing about them as grandma and grandpa.” Flora thought for a few moments. “I think I have some old letters from her. They might have names. I could dig them out this evening. It’s a bit of a trip to Edelhull just to ask her, of course.” She looked at the two of them with suspicion. “What is this about?”

Jasper sighed. “Maybe nothing at all. I’d rather not mention it if so.”

“Alright. It’s been some time since I read the letters anyway. Reminds me that maybe we should write or visit sometime. You know she’ll never come out here.”

Jasper grinned, “Why do you think I like to stay here?”

“Oh hush, she’s not that bad. I might remind you of someone else’s mother. She’s not even so far away. I’m sure she’d be glad to visit.”

“You wouldn’t do that… to either of us,” Jasper recoiled. “You’re right though. We should keep in touch with Ashlyn more.” He nodded, “I think we’d like to see those letters, if you can scrounge them up. Until then, there’s work to do.”

-----

There was something different about the soil on the Riley’s farm compared to at the Order. Anton would say the quality of soil was high in both places, but it was actually easier to work the soil away from the Order. He hadn’t noticed because he’d been cultivating for several months before arriving at the Order. The soil there was thick and heavy. Quite full of nutrients for plants, he was sure, and the abundant natural energy helped as well… but it was harder to work than normal soil. Now that he had something to compare to in recent memory, he was certain. That also made it easier to work quickly.

It wasn’t necessary for him to hoe a field by hand- they had oxen and ploughs for that, and it wasn’t the right season anyway. However, he still had to dig out stubborn weeds with deep roots. Some of them would break away at the surface, but if he left them they’d merely grow back. He could dig with a shovel or with his hands… though wrapping the whole thing in energy and tugging also did the job.

Jasper had some questions, “Can anyone do that, with a bit of cultivation? Move like that and pull up the plants by barely touching them?”

Anton considered for a moment, “You have to develop one thing at a time. However, this is all at an easily achievable level. The first star is a full tempering of the body. That won’t do much for your ability to pull out whole weeds, but even a basic control of energy should be sufficient with a little effort.” Anton looked at Jasper, “You attempted cultivating before, correct? What stopped you?”

Jasper shook his head. “Couldn’t sense the energy, really. I wasn’t able to gather it or do anything with it.”

“Let’s take a quick break,” Anton gestured over into the shade. “Have a seat.” Jasper did so. “Close your eyes. Try to feel the natural energy. It’s the air around you, the breeze…” Anton gathered a bit of energy and washed it over him, “It’s just everywhere.”

“I think I feel it. Just a little.”

“Grab onto it. You can’t grasp it in your hand, but you can breathe it into your lungs. From there, it flows around your body.” Anton traced a line of energy along his skin, guiding the path as he felt Jasper begin to circulate it, “Through your whole body. Then… don’t forget to breathe out.” Anton smiled, “Now that you’ve done it, you can do it again. But here’s the secret. You don’t have to sit still. Look here,” Anton waited for Jasper to open his eyes. He swirled his arms around and swung a hoe in front of him. “You breathe while working. The energy will be more content to settle into a moving body. Just like the air in your lungs is used up faster when you work. It will take a bit of effort to move your body at the same time, but if you spend a month getting this down… even by next year it will pay off.” Anton snapped his fingers. “Oh, I imagine your daughter took the cultivation manual with her, correct? The Order doesn't have so many they can just hand out one to each person.”

“That’s right,” Jasper confirmed. “Though I had plenty of access to it before. I just couldn’t make use of it.”

“Not everyone learns by reading.” Anton nodded. “I happen to have an extra I can leave with you.” After Grand Elder Vandale had given him the full technique, he hadn’t found a chance to return the body tempering technique. It was allowed to be freely distributed, so the Order wouldn’t be concerned if he gave it away. They would just be handing it out to someone else eventually. He might as well pick someone specific.

“Oh, thank you.” Jasper nodded. “Do you think I can really learn? Catarina picked it up so easily and I had so little success...”

“Of course you can. Your wife too, though I imagine she’ll be slightly different. As for making it beyond the beginning… perhaps not.” Anton was fairly certain anyone could complete the first full body tempering. Then came the second star, a prime tempering. The easiest one, but also the hardest since the cultivator would still be inexperienced. Then the third star just showed they could continue beyond that, which was sufficient for the Order to be willing to recruit them after a test. And apparently, the fourth star was sufficient that they didn’t care about tests. Anton supposed he had been able to contribute sufficiently to work in the fields at just the fourth star. Though he didn’t know if the Order actually profited from that work. Some of the early work of their disciples probably cost them more than it was worth- except for the training it provided.

-----

As she promised, Flora dug out some old letters that evening. “I don’t think there’s anything too personal in here… she was never much for spilling her feelings in a letter. Anton can help us look through for names.” Flora clearly trusted her husband’s silence, but Anton could tell she was curious as to why they were doing what they were. Maybe it didn’t need to be kept secret, but Anton also didn’t want to cause excitement for no reason. Perhaps not everyone would want to discover new old relatives, either.

Catarina was present as well. It wasn’t possible to keep a secret in such a small household, not that they tried. “Why are we looking for names?” she asked. “Do you know grandma?”

Anton smiled as she cut right to the idea. “Perhaps.” That was all he was willing to say for the moment. If he was wrong… he would be rather embarrassed. Though he couldn’t say how things would go if he was right.

There were only a few dozen letters. Anton found it easy to scan through them for names extremely quickly. Especially since he knew what names he wanted to see. The handwriting wasn’t as orderly as most cultivation techniques, but it also wasn’t filled with difficult language or complicated concepts.

‘Your father and I have been looking to expand the factorage. It’s much more pleasant to handle selling rather than producing all the goods…’

Letters of that sort dominated. Anton couldn’t say the hand was familiar, but it would have been many decades since he’d seen it… and at least a few decades of development after the last time when they would have been written.

“William?” Jasper asked.

“No, not what I’m looking for.”

Catarina also found a name, “Barrett?”

“That’s not it either…” Anton shook his head. “There are a number I’m looking for.”

Flora found something that sparked his interest. “Cora?”

“That’s a name I recognize… what does it say?”

“Let’s see here… ‘Cora came to the factorage today. Her vegetables are good quality, but a bit too expensive.’ I don’t see much else.”

Anton sighed, “That doesn’t sound right. I’m looking for people she would have known from before. There could be a lot of things, but Miles and Leslie are the best connection.” They were nearly done with the letters when Anton’s eyes finally found a name. It even had the right context. “...your grandpa Miles used to eat so many potatoes, I had no trouble discerning the quality of the batch at all. We won’t be buying from that farm again.”

Just as Anton was about to say something, Catarina held up her letter. “This mentions a Leslie. Ahem. ‘My mother, Leslie, gave me this recipe for potato soup, but honestly it has far too much-”

“Celery,” Anton said. “She always complained about that.”

Catarina paused, looking at the letter. “Yes. Celery. Did you read this one?”

Anton shook his head. “No. But Ashlyn always said the potato soup had too much celery. Every time.”

Flora eyed Anton. “You certainly sound like you knew her well enough.” She seemed to have gathered some idea of what was going on. “Are you perhaps… an uncle of hers?”

Anton grinned, “I am flattered you think me so youthful. But Ashlyn properly referred to me as grandpa.”

“Grandpa,” Catarina muttered. “Even grandma had a grandpa?”

Anton thought that part was quite obvious. He was rather more excited about discovering another generation he hadn’t known existed. It was a bit strange to have a great-great grandchild older than merely his great-grandchildren, but over a handful of generations it wasn’t that odd. “You two look quite like her… and she was quite like Janina.”

Catarina’s thoughts were clearly still processing things for a moment, then her mouth rounded and her eyes grew wide.