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12-10-2012, 06:54 PM
Lace led the orange hybrid across the northernmost parts of the Meadow, over the clear and cold river that cut nameless through the world and deep into the woods of the Deep forest. He spoke little during the days it took to make the journey, instead keeping mostly to himself and the white dragon that only left his side to hunt. Once they entered the Forest, the gold-marked grulla slowed down somewhat, his attention turning to the trees that surrounded them. Some small and showered with delicate blossoms, others tall and looming evergreens - to most they would be nothing but trees, your average tall plant that tended to block the way and trip you with roots that grew everywhere. Lace had used to think of them like that too. He'd never been able to separate a birch from a pine before, and saw no reason to learn save for the ones you could eat safely. But, as he explained absently to Tingal, after his eyes had been opened to the magic that resided within him, trees weren't just trees anymore. "It's like they have personalities, albeit not ones like you and I" he said as he walked, pale eyes trailing over the tall branches over their heads with a blank expression - and a quiet fondness that some might think a bit creepy. "The lifespan of a tree is oftentimes twice or thrice as long as yours, and because they always remain in the same place, their priorities are different than ours. Their emphasis lies more in the present, with a memory that extends for yeeears back. From the bursting of the seed to the first time their heart-leaves extended above ground, they remember each sunny day, every storm and every squirrel that climbed over a branch. Few things can shake them; fire is one, winter another, but even those are natural things that are supposed to occur - and thus, the trees don't fear them, only acknowledge their existence." As he spoke, the stallion brushed over the bark with his muzzle every now and then, a brief touch to make it easier for his mind to penetrate the surface and explore the nature of the core. "Different species of tree have different properties to their wood" he continued. "Some have soft wood that is easy to shape and mold - it is soft, spongey, often pale in color - most fast growing leaf trees are like that. Aspen, birch, apple, to name a few. They are good for shelters and temporary things, but have a habit of taking up a lot of water and easily develop sickness. Fungi, rot, things like that. If you want wood that is hard, heavy and dense, for armor and shields and waterproof chests, you look for oak. Oak and the black wood of ebony, slow growing pines and the heartwood of spruce, yew - yew is great to shape when it's young, it's pliable and tough, but once it settles in a shape it grows stubborn and may crack. Decide what you want to make and then choose the sort of wood to use." Slowly, steadily, Lace lead the way deeper and deeper into the forest, until the crashing of water could be heard - at the south-eastern parts of the Deep, the trees were tall and straight, growing more scarcely than at the very center where every branch had to fight for space to get some sunlight. Here, the equine stopped and turned to Tingal with a faint smile - his mood had definitely improved since the first greeting, but he was still of a down-to-business attitude that left no room for play. "You are going to bring a box to Father Earth, to show what we have accomplished. For this, I want you to find a young white oak and a cherry tree growing next to each other; you recognize the oak on the fuzzy pink leaves and gray trunk, and the cherries on the white or pink flowers that bloom without leaves. Take your time; we're not in a hurry." | ||
♦ Permission granted to use magic and violence on Lace and Fajira
♦ Only tag in new threads, spars and if it's urgent
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