The Second Elder

“Ah, Bard, son. You have returned,” A voice broke the morning air, and Bard opened his eyes to see a tall Elder tree with swaying willow branches. “It is good to see you awake, and you brought someone with you.”

Bard was up and at attention.

“Elder Abundance,” He greeted. “You came to meet us?”

“Yes, and this was a portion of the forest that had not been harvested yet,” the old tree said with a gentle voice. Bard noticed Sen seemed very curious about the branches and leaves that flowed easily with the wind and gentle movements. The silver woods wouldn’t have had a willow like tree in it, so it possibly reminded her of her hair in some ways.

As Bard thought that, Sen’s hair shifted around and Elder Abundance let her touch a portion of his branches.

“Do you want any help with that?”

“Perhaps. But first, I see you have a child of the silver woods with you. What is the meaning of this?”

Bard carefully explained how he and Sen had met a few months before he had been captured by the Dryads. He voiced how Sen had saved his life, and they were now pledged and had to receive the approval or token of each of the Elders within a year.

Abundance laughed and shared his condolences since that would be an intense journey comparatively. Bard appreciated another who shared this viewpoint.

“So what do I need to do to receive your token?” Sen interjected and Bard inwardly flinched. A bit direct, but it was slightly appropriate to ask about it. He needed to teach her about Elders soon.

“Ah my dear Sen. Come and help me in the harvest,” Abundance said kindly and Sen looked surprised, confused and then back at Bard.

“We will help as well,” Bard said and Kai barked happily. Working with abundance would be much better than working under Steadfast.

As they followed the tree to a portion of the wood, Bard noticed there were no signs of the Dryads here.

“Have you not had the dryads over here recently?” Bard asked and Sen jumped up in surprise.

“Dryads?”

“No. They are often a bit too aggressive with their harvests here, so I do not allow them over here anymore. It is for the best as there is a special crop here that is just beginning to thrive.”

“Oh? Is that so.” Bard commented. He wondered what sort of crop it was that could cause an Elder to pay more attention to it.

As they came into a marked space, Bard’s eyes paused as he saw trees with unique fruit on them. Bard didn’t get to admire for too long, as Sen tugged at his sleeve.

“Bard. There are Dryads in these woods?” she asked and Bard’s mouth formed a big O. He took in a deep breath and smelled a uniquely warm, woody spice smell, distracting him momentarily.

Seeing his distraction, Sen also sniffed the air before becoming enraptured in the smell as she walked forward.

“Hmmm. What is that smell. It’s so…”

“Cozy,” Bard finished and Sen looked at him and nodded.

They enjoyed for a brief moment before Sen redirected back to her question. She faced Bard square on, not allowing for anything but a straightforward answer.

“Well…”

“You would not do well to meet them, especially with Bard here,” Abundance answered. Instead and Bard felt a bit relieved.

“But why?”

“Because they are not like the Dryads of War Tree’s forest, and they are hostile to any outsiders. It’s why I travel and meet all who come to the forest.”

Bard wanted to point out it wasn’t War Tree, but Defender now.

“But can’t you just prevent them from doing that? Don’t they listen to you?” Sen asked and Abundance paused and swayed thoughtfully.

“Despite my best efforts to guide them, when the war broke out, they sealed themselves from the outside and stopped their sojourns to the other Elders. All that are left, barely remember the outside world and like to spread rumors of what would happen if they were found.”

“How very UN-abundant-like mindset of them,” Bard commented as he stepped forward and looked at the trees they would harvest. One reached its branches down so he could see the fruit more clearly.

“Indeed. Though their traditions surrounding the harvest are still intact, they fail to teach how to keep things in abundance and show compassion anymore.”

“You make it sound like they are but another inhabitant of your woods, instead of serving and working with you.”

“Indeed child. That is the crux of it. They respect me, but mostly in fear that I will take away their things, or kick them out.”

“How sad.” Sen also walked over in amazement, as she took in a deep whiff of the scent.

“How do we harvest this?” Bard asked and Sen looked at the Elder with him.

“Pluck every other one of the fruits. Some need to reach a higher maturity before the seed will be fertile and more can grow. With the threat to the northwest and their storm shades, it is important we grow a diverse variety of the seed.”

“I see,” Bard said and Sen began plucking. Bard watched for a bit, then whistled for Kai to come over.

With Kai’s height, the higher branches could be harvested without resorting to the tree moving those branches too much. Sen was fascinated that the trees moved on their own initiative, without orders or song.

Abundance began to teach them about how to harvest this special fruit and how to determine what was ripe, which had become over ripe, and what was best to leave on for the remainder of the season.

Bard quietly observed Sen as she kept up with the information and still admired Abundance’s gentle teaching way. His perspective was that there was always enough, more than enough and so when someone made a mistake, it was normal, and natural. His corrections were also with this same framework.

Bard recalled his words that when you mastered something you weren’t good at it had greater satisfactorily impact on your life than mastering something you were exceptional at. Because as you practiced what you weren’t good at, you could see yourself grow much easier.

It’s part of why he had let the Dryads stay, despite their setbacks. Because it created a space where he could measure growth.

Sen’s smile seemed to blossom as they worked. She was much happier working in the woods, than hiding and worrying about the storms. Bard could tell that Abundance still prepared for the storms, but it was with a different approach.

Perhaps it was because Steadfast had them happen suddenly and without warning, and Abundance had foresight and warning. Each approach had its benefits. In an emergency, he appreciated Steadfast, and in the grand scheme, he liked Abundance.

They worked long into the sunset and Sen realized they hadn’t stopped though the sun had dropped past the horizon.

“Bard, what about the shades?” Sen asked and Bard smiled.

“Shades have a hard time getting close to where Elder Trees are and since we are working with Abundance, they won’t bother us. We can have a peaceful slumber in the dark.”

“Somehow, that doesn’t help,” Sen said softly.

“We’ll get a decent view of the stars tonight,” Bard offered. He did love the stars.

“I… stars…” she muttered. Bard watched her try to relax as the first star showed. It wouldn’t be long till they could easily see the shattered sky and then the rest of the stars.

The light shifted further and illuminated the moon shards in the sky. It was breathtaking against the colored clouds.

It was moments like this that helped time slow down. A true sense of peace.

“Bard?” Sen asked as he laid out his blanket on the gathered grasses and branches. It would be getting colder tonight, at least according to Abundance.

“Yes?”

“Can you share another story?” Her sweet innocent tone reminded him that around Steadfast they hadn’t kept that rule. It had been a bit hard to remember to do that in that crisis.

“Oh, sure. Anything you want to talk about?”

“What was it like earning the tokens?” She asked and Bard paused, a nostalgic smile plastering onto his face.

“It was hard, and long. It took me over ten years to get them all,” Bard answered. “I did share about Steadfast’s token. Well, if hers was stressful and frustrating, Abundance was long and drawn out. Steadfast wants to see that you’ll endure and be steadfast to your commitments. Abundance, well, he wishes to see your patience and your perspective on life. There are always opportunities, more to harvest and more to grow. His token was about becoming eager and patient.”

“Indeed, you caught on much later,” Abundance said as he situated into the soil next to them. “I told you many times that things take time to grow. Whether it is the harvest, an unborn child, even our dreams and ambitions. The larger the dream, the larger the plant and harvest, the larger the child, the more time it takes to grow. Even us Elders had to take time to grow into what we are. It takes patience, but diligence. A good hunter knows that a frightened prey can run a lot longer than they can hunt. But a hunter who walks and slowly pursues, will wear out the prey till it is manageable to catch.”

“That's… a bit hard to follow,” Sen admitted. Abundance shook as his voice rang out with laughter.

“Understanding does come with age, child. You will learn this, too. It doesn’t mean I will slow or slack off, it just means that even when the harvest is poor, I know a greater one will come, and I work towards it, because the world is full of plenty.”

Sen grimaced as she tried to comprehend the depth of this, and Bard smiled.

“Elder, how long was I here when I sought your token?”

“A year. You got to experience every season, but since you both have a time limit from the pledge, I won’t be able to give you the full token.”

“What! Why?” Sen said and then thought a bit. “But that’s not fair.”

Bard chuckled. “It is fair. Harvest is not just in fall. It takes place all year round. I thought it was unfair too when I came, but it makes sense once you have gone through it.”

Sen pouted at this.

“You were supposed to take my side,” she griped, and Bard could tell from her tone that she meant it mostly in jest, but partially in defeat.

“When we are finished with this journey, we can always come back,” Bard said.

“But this is two tokens that are only approval, not full tokens like you, Bard.”

Bard sighed. Out of all the tokens he received, he expected that most would not be for her to gain until they came back, but perhaps it would be different. They had already made good time to get here. It had been about a week now, so perhaps they could spend the right amount of time at more than he initially thought.

“Is there anything else you wanted to hear about?”

“… How many tokens do you think I can get?”

“About five, maybe more… but no less than five.”

“Only five?”

“It’s pretty good comparing it to your Grandfather. He has eight.”

This caused Sen to pause and think on it for a while.

Eventually, Sen started to describe her grandfather and how he would sing to the trees back home. She explained how he generally asked politely, and even when he gave orders, there was this tone of respect he held in his song.

“But I’ve never seen him move the tokens like you do.”

“Well… that’s because…hmmm.” Bard groaned. It was embarrassing as to why he did it this way.

Sen cocked her head in waiting question. “I can’t sing…”

“Can’t sing? Everyone can sing.”

“No. Not everyone.” Bard muttered.

“Sounds like there is a story with that,” Sen stated, and Bard sighed. He got up and rummaged through their things until he pulled out the old flute.

“I made this after Father deemed I could never sing.” He said as he handed it to her. He sat down as she looked it over and over. It was a bit crude, and he had reworked it a bit since his travels began, slowly making it better and better.

“Why did he say that to you?”

“Hmm? Oh, because I can’t sing.”

“Well, did you try?”

“Oh yes, many times. It’s laughable how bad it is.”

Sen shook her head, unable to imagine it.

“Perhaps another time I’ll let you hear how bad it is, but I prefer the melody here and don’t want to disrupt it.”

Sen just shook her head, unable to comprehend it. Sure, he had musical talent, but he couldn’t get his voice to work with the notes in his head. Instruments were far easier to use.