How Does A Garden Grow
It was the hour after low on a Spring day. The sun was down, not completely behind the horizon but still its light greatly diminished from noon. Taesh was laying in the garden, his hands behind his head. His boots laid a little ways away from him, his pant legs rolled up to above his knees. Flowing lazily through the Garden was an evening breeze, carrying the last warmth from the day along with the floral and herbal scents of the Garden. Taesh laid off the path that others walked, so as to stay out of the way of anyone walking, and to remain undisturbed. He needed a moment, just a moment to himself, to be a part from everything that the Tower was and demanded of him. He needed just the time of respite and then he could return, prepared and able to do what was required, what was needed, but he had to have a moment.
Today had been a trying day for the young Soldier and he needed a moment to relax. If he were on the Star Song he would lay out on the deck of the ship and let the sound and motion of the sea slowly ebb away his frustration. Since he was landlocked here in the Grey Tower, he found refuge in this Garden. It was often strange, at least to Taesh, that someone born to a life on the seas would find the green and growing things of the land so fascinating but he did. After a day like today with new lessons, concepts and techniques continuing to increase in complexity and difficulty leaving the young Seafolk channeler feeling somewhat defeated and despondent, he needed a chance to be at peace. The Garden gave him the chance. The feel of the soil, the grasses on his skin was both exhilarating and calming. The breeze playing over his body seemed to carry each care away with every touch. This place, more than any other in the Tower was sanctuary. Every sensation was a soothing one, the song of the waterfall lulling Taesh's turbulent mind into a more stable state, distant to the worries and disappointments of the day.
The breeze picked up in strength for just the briefest of moments, causing grass and budding flowers to brush enticingly across the Atha'an Miere's skin. This moment crept slowly into the detached place that Taesh's mind was. At first the sensation was distant, barely noticeable, but it began to fill the void that Taesh had taken refuge in. Instead of focusing on being apart, his mind began to focus on the grass. He saw it in the void and felt it with his entire being. In the void the colors of the grass were vibrant, every nuance of green that could be was visible. How the flora bent in the wind yet kept it's shape was visible. Even within, where the plants stored water and used it to grow. Where the parts that collected the light and turned it into energy for growth. His mind, in the flora filled void, even sank into the roots of the garden and felt the stability the unseen components of plant life provided, and almost saw them collecting nutrients from the ground.
It was as if Taesh was seeing every part of the plants at once, even the parts that had yet to grow or show. He could tell, every seed was a blueprint for what a plant would be, and it only waited for the right conditions and available energy to make itself so. The energy came from each of the Powers, some more than others. Water was there, and Earth of course. But there was even something that Air provided and the light from Fire was well. Even Spirit played a part, as it did with all life. Taesh could see it in the Void, and could see how the Powers inter-played to provide the seed what it needed to grow, to fulfill the plan within it.
As more and more of the sensation of the verdant growth of the Void filled even more of the secrets of plant-life was unlocked in Taesh's mind. He saw the innermost workings of the plant, and understood how a land could be covered in green long before any other species could make the attempt. The ability to procreate completely resided in just one plant, what an almost perfect design.
In the Void of the Garden in Taesh's mind there were sparks, small and verdant to his inner eye. Shadows, green shadows, overlaid them, and he realized the sparks were seeds, and the shadows were the potential of the seeds. He saw, within this space in his mind that the Garden had intruded upon, that it wasn't the seasons that dictated growth, it was the availability of resource, and now he knew that resource. He opened himself up to saidin and the alluring tempest that it was. To Taesh the half of the One Power that he had access too was like a living storm, the winds of which would either speed him on his way or dash his ship on the shore. He plucked at a weave of Water, he could see what the seed needed and couldn't stop himself from providing, he was running solely on instinct. The weave flowed into the seed, looking like a stream feeding a pond, and he saw the seed respond. His mind knew though that Water was not enough, and so he added Earth, then Air to his weave and continued to feed it into the seed. The stream became a river, a river that birth tributaries that spread to other verdant stars that were seeds in the Void. More and more the seeds responded, the shadows of potential becoming real, but still more was needed. Lastly Taesh spun Fire and Spirit into the weave. They were the Powers he was weakest in, but he knew somehow that there was little of each needed. He only needed the thinnest thread of Fire to create the energy that light provided the plants, and the same for Spirit. With all five Powers in the weave, Water and Earth dominating, the sparkling seeds in his mind became chaotic with growth. A seasons worth of maturing happened in seconds as the seeds had what they needed to fulfill their potential.
Taesh felt that what he saw in the Void was in fact happening in reality, but he could not stop. Feeding the Powers to the plants like this seemed right, it seemed like it was something he was rediscovering, not stumbling into for the first time. He continued to feed the Powers to the rapidly growing plants, but changed the way he did it. Now he fed more Water than anything, giving each plant more versatility. He focused on one particular plant, a creeping vine and found that with Water he was able to bend the plant in ways it would not normally grow, but it was flimsy. So he added more Earth, which strengthened the weave and plant. Air, Fire and Spirit now were only needed to continue to give a source of energy. As the vine grew Taesh noticed buds, where leaves should have been, but they were much smaller than those on a normally grown vine.
The Atha'an Miere Soldier tried to grab even more of the Power but found he was reaching his limits. Even his mind's eye vision of the Void was faltering as the fatigue of what he had done was beginning to take it's toll. What he thought had been mere seconds was actually half an hours worth of work and his body was beginning to feel it. For someone so new to channeling and the rigors of wrestling saidin this feat of plantweaving was straining and tiring. Taesh released the weave of the Powers and slowly released the Void in his mind. Blinking he thought that perhaps he had been here for much longer than he thought or felt. There were shadows over him, it was a lot darker than he though it should be. Blinking some more his eyes focused and he lifted his back and realized the shadows were not from the lack of sun, it was from exceptionally high grass.
"Bloody..." Taesh forced out in awe as he fully sat up, feeling grass twined about his half bare legs and feet, grass that not too long ago was neat and kept. Light help me... he thought. He reached up to stroke a piece of the long grass, and at the merest touch between the blade and his finger the dull grass broke, the bottom already browning. He looked around him and saw the same happening to much of the explosive growth, that thankfully had not affected the entire Garden. The grass was dying, the vine shriveling, looking more and more like the dried corpse of some sort of weird snake. Yet Taesh could not focus too long on what was happening to the growth that he had brought about, as across the way, at the entrance of the Garden he saw Asha'man headed in his director, Aes Sedai with them, with Accepted and Dedicated right behind.
"Bloody..." Taesh said again.
Today had been a trying day for the young Soldier and he needed a moment to relax. If he were on the Star Song he would lay out on the deck of the ship and let the sound and motion of the sea slowly ebb away his frustration. Since he was landlocked here in the Grey Tower, he found refuge in this Garden. It was often strange, at least to Taesh, that someone born to a life on the seas would find the green and growing things of the land so fascinating but he did. After a day like today with new lessons, concepts and techniques continuing to increase in complexity and difficulty leaving the young Seafolk channeler feeling somewhat defeated and despondent, he needed a chance to be at peace. The Garden gave him the chance. The feel of the soil, the grasses on his skin was both exhilarating and calming. The breeze playing over his body seemed to carry each care away with every touch. This place, more than any other in the Tower was sanctuary. Every sensation was a soothing one, the song of the waterfall lulling Taesh's turbulent mind into a more stable state, distant to the worries and disappointments of the day.
The breeze picked up in strength for just the briefest of moments, causing grass and budding flowers to brush enticingly across the Atha'an Miere's skin. This moment crept slowly into the detached place that Taesh's mind was. At first the sensation was distant, barely noticeable, but it began to fill the void that Taesh had taken refuge in. Instead of focusing on being apart, his mind began to focus on the grass. He saw it in the void and felt it with his entire being. In the void the colors of the grass were vibrant, every nuance of green that could be was visible. How the flora bent in the wind yet kept it's shape was visible. Even within, where the plants stored water and used it to grow. Where the parts that collected the light and turned it into energy for growth. His mind, in the flora filled void, even sank into the roots of the garden and felt the stability the unseen components of plant life provided, and almost saw them collecting nutrients from the ground.
It was as if Taesh was seeing every part of the plants at once, even the parts that had yet to grow or show. He could tell, every seed was a blueprint for what a plant would be, and it only waited for the right conditions and available energy to make itself so. The energy came from each of the Powers, some more than others. Water was there, and Earth of course. But there was even something that Air provided and the light from Fire was well. Even Spirit played a part, as it did with all life. Taesh could see it in the Void, and could see how the Powers inter-played to provide the seed what it needed to grow, to fulfill the plan within it.
As more and more of the sensation of the verdant growth of the Void filled even more of the secrets of plant-life was unlocked in Taesh's mind. He saw the innermost workings of the plant, and understood how a land could be covered in green long before any other species could make the attempt. The ability to procreate completely resided in just one plant, what an almost perfect design.
In the Void of the Garden in Taesh's mind there were sparks, small and verdant to his inner eye. Shadows, green shadows, overlaid them, and he realized the sparks were seeds, and the shadows were the potential of the seeds. He saw, within this space in his mind that the Garden had intruded upon, that it wasn't the seasons that dictated growth, it was the availability of resource, and now he knew that resource. He opened himself up to saidin and the alluring tempest that it was. To Taesh the half of the One Power that he had access too was like a living storm, the winds of which would either speed him on his way or dash his ship on the shore. He plucked at a weave of Water, he could see what the seed needed and couldn't stop himself from providing, he was running solely on instinct. The weave flowed into the seed, looking like a stream feeding a pond, and he saw the seed respond. His mind knew though that Water was not enough, and so he added Earth, then Air to his weave and continued to feed it into the seed. The stream became a river, a river that birth tributaries that spread to other verdant stars that were seeds in the Void. More and more the seeds responded, the shadows of potential becoming real, but still more was needed. Lastly Taesh spun Fire and Spirit into the weave. They were the Powers he was weakest in, but he knew somehow that there was little of each needed. He only needed the thinnest thread of Fire to create the energy that light provided the plants, and the same for Spirit. With all five Powers in the weave, Water and Earth dominating, the sparkling seeds in his mind became chaotic with growth. A seasons worth of maturing happened in seconds as the seeds had what they needed to fulfill their potential.
Taesh felt that what he saw in the Void was in fact happening in reality, but he could not stop. Feeding the Powers to the plants like this seemed right, it seemed like it was something he was rediscovering, not stumbling into for the first time. He continued to feed the Powers to the rapidly growing plants, but changed the way he did it. Now he fed more Water than anything, giving each plant more versatility. He focused on one particular plant, a creeping vine and found that with Water he was able to bend the plant in ways it would not normally grow, but it was flimsy. So he added more Earth, which strengthened the weave and plant. Air, Fire and Spirit now were only needed to continue to give a source of energy. As the vine grew Taesh noticed buds, where leaves should have been, but they were much smaller than those on a normally grown vine.
The Atha'an Miere Soldier tried to grab even more of the Power but found he was reaching his limits. Even his mind's eye vision of the Void was faltering as the fatigue of what he had done was beginning to take it's toll. What he thought had been mere seconds was actually half an hours worth of work and his body was beginning to feel it. For someone so new to channeling and the rigors of wrestling saidin this feat of plantweaving was straining and tiring. Taesh released the weave of the Powers and slowly released the Void in his mind. Blinking he thought that perhaps he had been here for much longer than he thought or felt. There were shadows over him, it was a lot darker than he though it should be. Blinking some more his eyes focused and he lifted his back and realized the shadows were not from the lack of sun, it was from exceptionally high grass.
"Bloody..." Taesh forced out in awe as he fully sat up, feeling grass twined about his half bare legs and feet, grass that not too long ago was neat and kept. Light help me... he thought. He reached up to stroke a piece of the long grass, and at the merest touch between the blade and his finger the dull grass broke, the bottom already browning. He looked around him and saw the same happening to much of the explosive growth, that thankfully had not affected the entire Garden. The grass was dying, the vine shriveling, looking more and more like the dried corpse of some sort of weird snake. Yet Taesh could not focus too long on what was happening to the growth that he had brought about, as across the way, at the entrance of the Garden he saw Asha'man headed in his director, Aes Sedai with them, with Accepted and Dedicated right behind.
"Bloody..." Taesh said again.
