Herbal Gardens

[Tei'serin Nji'ryn]

33rd Saun, 717


Tei'serin hated doing errands for Thorin with a passion. She could do everything she was told, right down to the most minute detail...and it wouldn't matter. He would still find fault in her work. And his punishments for failure were...

She shuddered at the thought of them. They were bad enough that she had started to dread being sent to Ne'haer. The city itself had nothing to do with it, of course. But she was only ever sent into the city if Thorin wanted her to do something for him. And since she was only allowed to go to Ne'haer when he sent her, she was starting to associate the city with the punishments that were hers for her failure on the errands that brought her into the city to begin with.

If it weren't for the fact that I can usually find the time to sneak in a gardening class when I am in the city, I would probably hate Ne'haer. she thought as she made her way to Valfield Farms.

She truly enjoyed the classes, though. So much so that the punishment were almost worth it. Almost.

And if Thorin does have someone spying on me the way he did last time, I will tell him that I was taking the class as part of my job as an herbalist.

It wouldn't even be a lie. The more she learned about gardening, the better luck she would have in being able to grow her own herbs. If she was able to grow her own herbs reliably, not only would she have a steady supply of the herbs that she needed the most, she wouldn't have to spend money to buy the ones she needed. Noe would she run the risk of not being able to buy the herb she needed when she needed it. Finally, if she was able to grow her own herbs, she wouldn't have to forage for them so often. She could tell Thorin that it would mean less time spent in the woods around her home...even if she didn't mean it. He hated it when she spent time in the forest...probably because he knew how much she loved it. Her reasons wouldn't be enough to spare her from being punished. Tei'serin wasn't foolish enough to even hope for that much. But as much as Thorin hated to allow her anything, he knew that she needed to work...and be seen as a working member of the community, or people would look at her with suspicion. Suspicion that would fall on him as well since he was her guardian. So if she managed to convince him that the occasional class was a necessity for her job, her punishment might be less than it could be.

Or so she told herself, at least. Either way, it was worth the risk.

Off Topic

***Beginner's Gardening Class - 30gn - Bonus 3 skill points for Gardening/Agriculture skills only once thread is completed per individual. For Novice level skills only. From here***

The points will be used for Gardening, and the money for this has been deducted from my ledger.

[Tei'serin Nji'ryn]

Tei'serin had been attending at least one class a season for the past three seasons now, so the farmer that taught the class recognized her when she came in. He greeted her with a smile and a hearty greeting as she gave him the thirty gold nels she owed as payment for the class. She returned his greeting with one of her own before finding a place among the other students. By now, she was starting to recognize a few faces, and they were starting to recognize her. So there were a few trills of quiet greetings before everything settled down again.

"The first thing I would like to do is welcome you to this lesson. For those who do not know who I am, my name is Graros Elnan."

He paused, and greeted a woman who walked up and joined him.

"And this is my wife, Wenlawa. Please call her Wen. If you don't, I will never hear the end of it."

"She's my mother, too!" Kaise piped up, causing several among the group to smile at her.

Tei'serin murmured a polite greeting to the Sev'ryn woman, as did several of the others.

"You are probably wondering why she is here this trial when I haven't asked her to come to one of these lessons before. It's really quite simple. This trial's lesson will begin to explore herbal gardens, much the way that yestertrial's lesson discussed vegetable gardens. Wen here is a very skilled herbalist, and she grows all of her own herbs. Who else better to teach you about herbal gardens than a skilled herbalist?"

For a brief trill, Tei'serin had to bite back a squeal of excitement, reminding herself that she was an adult now, and not a silly child. But her eyes sparkled with delight as she waited for the lesson to begin in earnest. This was exactly what she had been hoping for.

[Tei'serin Nji'ryn]

Wen thanked her husband for the introduction before turning to address the class once more.

"I am aware that many of you have attended several of my husband's classes. But most of what he teaches on the beginner's level is very generalized information. So for the purpose of this lesson, I am going to assume that none of you know anything about growing herbs. Have any of you ever had an herb garden before?"

Tei'serin raised her hand, but it soon became obvious that she was the only one in the group who had.

"And how much luck did you have with it?"

"Not much." Tei'serin admitted ruefully.

"So we'll start at the beginning, then. An herbal garden is just what it sounds like; a garden where all of the plants are herbs."

A few of the students chuckled at this.

"Some herbs need to be used when they are fresh. Others can only be used when they are dried. Still others can be used both fresh or dried. Knowing this isn't all that important for your herbal garden in and of itself. But some people like to plan their gardens out carefully. And one way of doing that is keeping all of the herbs that can only be used when fresh together, and so on. Other people prefer to group their herbs by the symptoms they are used to treat, or by...well, there are as many ways of organizing a garden as there are gardeners in the world. And that doesn't apply to just herbal gardens. One of the joys of gardening is planning out your garden to suit your needs or tastes."

Wen paused for a few trills so that everyone could process what she had just told them. When no one asked any questions, she continued.

"Most herbs need roughly four breaks of sunlight per trial. That means that they should be planted in an area that gets plenty of sunlight for at least four breaks per trial. There are exceptions to this, of course. But we can get into more detail on individual herbs in the more advanced lessons if anyone has any interest in the subject. Herbs should be watered whenever the soil around them feels dry to the touch. Again, this is a very generalized idea, and more detail can be discussed in more advanced lessons in the future."

Tei'serin liked the little tempting "suggestions" that they learn enough to be qualified for the more advanced classes if they wanted to learn any more than the most basic of information. They were quite effective. She certainly planned to do so if she could continue sneaking lessons in any time she was in the city.

"You can begin to harvest an herb when the plant has enough foliage to maintain growth. When harvesting your herbs, you can safely harvest up to three fourths of the season's growth without causing damage to the plant. Herbs should be harvested early in the morning. Ideally, it should be done after the dew dries, but before the heat of the trial."

She paused for a few trills so that everyone could process what she had just told them again. There were a few questions this time, and Wen answered them patiently. Once she was done, she talked a little about how some people, such as chefs tended to focus on growing herbs that could be used as spices, where as herbalists would often grow any herb that could be used medically. After a while, Wen asked if anyone had questions again. Several did, and Tei'serin listened carefully to everything that was said.

Then the class was dismissed. As Tei'serin made her way towards the front gate of the farm, she found herself looking forward to getting home so that she could try some of the things she had learned in class.

[Aegis]

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Thread Review

This was a pleasant herbology solo. I'm a sucker for this type of thread, especially plant based. Informative and entertaining. Well done.

Tei'serin

• Skill Points - 10 (+3 to Novice Agriculture or Gardening only)
• Renown - 0
• Skill Knowledges
  1. Gardening: an herbal garden is a garden where all of the plants are herbs
  2. Gardening: most herbs need roughly four breaks of sunlight per trial
  3. Gardening: most herbs should be watered when the soil feels dry to the touch
  4. Gardening: you can begin harvesting an herb when the plant has enough foliage to maintain growth; up to 75% of the season's growth can be harvested at one time without causing damage to the plant
  5. Gardening: herbs should be harvested early in the morning, after the dew dries, but before the heat of the trial
  6. Medicine: some herbs need to be used when they are fresh, and others when they are dried, still others can be used both fresh or dried
• Non-Skill Knowledges
  1. Graros Elnan: teaches gardening classes
  2. NPC: Wenlawa Elnan
  3. Wenlawa Elnan: is Graros Elnan's wife, and Kaise's mother
  4. Wenlawa Elnan: likes to be called Wen
  5. Wenlawa Elnan: is a Sev'ryn
  6. Wenlawa Elnan: is a very skilled herbalist
• Items and Other Rewards

Player 2

• Skill Points -
• Renown -
• Skill Knowledges
• Non-Skill Knowledges
• Items and Other Rewards

Final Notes

If you have any questions, please PM me. Also please add the provided stamp to your review request found here and please update your CS with all of this information.

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