Late Fall, Season of Reddening Leaves

Riviera, the Western City of the Dove

Li sat around the cottage dinner table as he had done countless times before, and yet, the fact that the chair was new, made of sturdy wood that no longer squeaked, and that the table had been refurnished and stamped at its center with a glowing rune symbolizing a red blossom – the symbol of the farmer's guild – made him aware that times were changing.

His eyes, now permanently aglow with a faint green hue – a result of his enhanced comfortability with his divinity over the past two months – scanned the table to take note of farmer's guild council. 

First, right beside Li as always was Old Thane, the Master of Fields, then beside Thane was Ven'thur, the Master of Commerce, in his human form, his skinny figure wrapped up in flashy lavender suit.

Across them at the other side of the table were Ivo, Master of Ceremonies, and a new face. Sindra, the Master of Coin, was a Feli beastwoman, dressed prim and proper in a brown suit jacket covering a dark green, almost black bodice.

Behind them, the comforting and ever unchanging warmth and sound of the fireplace flickered and crackled, helping a tableside lantern in providing light during this night. 

"Now to begin our weekly guild meetings," said Li. He glanced at Sindra. "And Sindra, you really do not have to dress up for these meetings."

"No, I do not, but I will because it is this guild's uniform," said Sindra as she sat up ramrod straight, her hands neatly placed atop each other on the table, her claws retracted but still visible. 

"A lass of principle. Commendable, I ought to say," said Old Thane.

"Hear, hear," chimed in Ivo. 

"And you two are maybe a little too casual about this," said Li as he glanced at Old Thane and Ivo. They were dressed in their regular farm clothes, though Ivo did have a wreath of leaves around his arm to indicate his position as a high priest. "We are a guild of some importance now. Maybe we should dress the part."

Li himself was dressed in similar getup to Sindra with brown jacket and a dark green button-down shirt. 

"That, I do agree with," said Ven'thur as he ran a white gloved hand through his salt and pepper beard. His amethyst eyes lightened up as he beheld the clothes on Sindra and Li. "My design is quite elegant, if I must humbly say so myself, and it would do wonders to complement the rugged complexions and builds of you older gentlemen as well."

"Then why do you not wear it?" asked Sindra, her cat ears twitching.

"Hoh, that is because I wish to simply be a tad bit more expressive," said Ven'thur with a wagging finger, as if admonishing Sindra for even suggesting he change out from his usual eye catching garb. "After all, as Master of Commerce, building relationships is of utmost importance, and I cannot sear myself in the memories of others lest I am clothed in my finest."

"It does not feel too right," said Ivo with a shrug. "The formal wear is nice, but it is a little tight."

"Not the wear of working men, aye," nodded Old Thane.

"Forget I mentioned the topic," said Li with a smile. "It really does seem like age just makes people that much more stubborn."

"More set in our principles you mean, lad," said Old Thane with a laugh.

"Right, right," said Li. "Now let's get to the meeting itself. It is late, and the quicker we get through this, the less likely it is we'll wake up Tia. Give me all your general reports, starting as usual with you, old man."

Old Thane nodded. "The fields have borne much fruit. The Goldwheat, as the people are now calling it, grows well and proper, unblemished by this month's surge of storms and chilling weather."

"My blessings are working properly, then," said Li. In two months, he had made, at least in his mind, what he thought was incredible progress in attuning himself with his divinity. 

He had memorized and committed to his being the life songs of a variety of plants now, and he had advanced himself enough to even alter them, granting them blessings to make them more suited to changes in weather and soil. 

"Aye, lad, and the planting of our third crop of Goldwheat has just finished. The beastwomen are mighty fine workers with tireless strength and enthusiasm, though I do fear that perhaps fieldwork becomes too dull for them."

"Right, but it looks like the other jobs are keeping them busy," Li nodded. Some of the beastwomen, especially the Feli, had at first been quite curious about farmwork, but had begun to naturally lose interest over the past two months. 

As a result, Li and Old Thane had devised new jobs for them. 

First there were scouting jobs meant to scour the forests to see if any threats were approaching or to check for rare finds for certain herbs, fruits, and roots. 

Then there were hunting parties that, now that they were supplemented with the speed and strength of Feli and Lupi, provided more than enough meat for the farming community. 

Finally, there were guarding jobs meant to protect the various herbalist stalls that the guild had now set up outside the city walls now that the priests had learned enough from Iona to form basic potions. 

"Indeed, and it is mighty impressive to see the beastwomen learning so quickly. They are as quick with their minds as they are with their feet, grasping the common tongue of man well."

"We're to give much thanks to Sindra and the Serpi for that," remarked Ivo.

Li nodded to Sindra, who held her head up ever so slightly, her expression disinterested but her ears twitching in appreciation for the praise.

"Having lived among man for many years and working in the city hall of Riviera, interacting with both rabble and nobility, I suppose I was uniquely suited to teaching my kin to adapt," said Sindra. "But enough about me. The matter at hand is your report, Thane Bloodfist."

Old Thane scratched his head. "Hrm, what else was there. It does muddle me mind a bit, having to think of so much more than mine own field, hah."

He rapped his knuckles on the table in recognition. "Ah, there is the other crop, too. Carrots, cabbages, peas, rye, and the like. The farmers that have decided to grow berries. An apple orchard has also been planted, and Blaise has been trying his darndest to grow the grapes that Lynette graced us with."

"Once I get some time, I'll bless those grapes too," said Li. He had blessed all the other crops, inscribing their life songs to his being and enchanting them with better growth and resistance to the elements. 

He did not go overboard with his blessings for with too many changes to a crop's life song, its cadence became distorted, unnatural, and would lead to it withering or, as he found out in rare cases, twisting into low level plant monsters. 

Blaise was the farmer that, at the festival, had worked the alcohol stand. He was a middle-aged man, but when he laid down his plow, he decided to take up brewing as his profession, and it had stayed with him. Now, he fervently tried to grow grapes for his own wine that Lynette, the owner of Lakeside Bounty, was willing to donate. 

"But for now," continued Li. "It seems like everything relating to the fields is going well. Our first two harvest yields were exceptional, and I do not see any reason why our third in this coming month will not be either. 

Then, onto Sindra who probably has the hardest job out of all of us."