Loom

 

For a stretch of time the only sound was the swishing of blades, scythe against grass. Tall stems and long leaves fell gently for their size, slowly revealing the terrain before the small explorers party. Visibility through the uncut field was not impossible, but the grass grew in such a tangle upon itself that all sight dimmed soon to a woody sort of vagueness. The plant matter naturally occurred in large mounds and made progress forward impossible without the aid of well-honed scythe wielders. Kaya herself did not cut, but carried vital supplies and oversaw the group's effort. The going had been steady but slow since they had left the pilgrim's track. Cleared roadways only led so far out or to specific places in the Sanctuary meadows. Smaller tracks connected disparate locations; narrow trails in a dense world of green.

Viewfinding from the city had located small leafy growths beginning to show themselves in a trackless section of the field. The potential for new trees and sanctuary groves was always interesting, and it had been Kaya's idea to lead a party out from the old pilgrim track that crossed the field to investigate the nature of these new sprouts. They were likely a welcome addition to the Sanctuary lands, but if the plants were of an invasive type removal and follow-up visits might be necessary. The scholars of the city-sanctuary carefully cultivated the energies of the meadows, and only allowed harmonious ones to proliferate. Kaya was always excited to lend a hand in the maintenance efforts of such a beautiful and peaceful place.

As the cutters swished in silence for a moment, her thoughts wandered to nowhere in particular. The sky above showed a blue only slightly dulled by cloud, fringed with tender tips of the tall grasses. They bent crazily across one another, waving gently as a sort of mindless hive-pattern. Their character seemed centered way up there, near the tapering top of the plant; more friends with the soaring sky than with the ways of those down here on the earth. Kaya felt the denseness of the field around them, and a claustrophobic realization of how enclosed they were by the grasses- these swaying simple entities- came upon her for a moment.

Then the feeling was gone, or momentarily mastered perhaps. She was glad of the company of the party around her and the work of the cutters in blazing a trail. It was a rough-hewn path through the towering green, narrow and curving, but it could be followed back, and seemed to be going in the right direction. The destruction of their passing was the lifeline to the open air. Kaya called for a halt and a location check. Compasses were consulted, and one of the cutters wound together a makeshift grass ladder on a tough weed stalk. After climbing up a good ways, he returned to confirm they were closing on the new leaf island. Indicating a direction, the party resumed forward, and before long they were once again in their work either trailblazing, navigating, or consulting research material. Once again a silence of concentration fell on the group.

Kaya gazed into the dim jungle to either side. It seemed that a pulse of life came from somewhere deep in that wilderness, so far inside that only a bare whisper made it to the artificial openings where mortal ears could hear. It called to her and at once her senses felt warned, as if saying to answer that call was to leave this world behind forever. The wild fascinated her nonetheless, and she became more lost in thought looking to the uncut sides on the trail than to where the party was headed.

As she forgot her place and time for a moment, a dark shape loomed out of the deep greenery in her field of view. In the gloom of the grass jungle, it almost seemed to Kaya a hallucination. Which had come first, the shadow in the jungle or the rapidity in her heartbeat? As they crept forward, it seemed to pass them slowly to the right, like a contemplative deadly beast stalking intruders in its land. Kaya realized what it was and quietly got the attention of Rune, the lead navigator of the crew. When she pointed at the ominous shape in the wilderness, he called to the cutters: “Heya! Halt and regoup! We've almost just run right past it!” to Kaya he said: “Thanks for pointing that out, I guess I wasn't on my spotting game today.”

The tree was slender, and a gentle yet hardy looking thing, rising almost meekly out of the field-grass. Kaya stepped forward around the path of the scythes and approached the trunk alone. The grasses here grew slightly finer and lower, giving way energetically to the presence of the tree. They parted softly as she walked closer, examining the young tree-trunk. It was maybe eleven feet in diameter, clothed in a light gray. The bark was slightly gnarled, giving the impression almost of a bonsai, or at least a tree much older than this one appeared. Its branches began in the upper reaches of the grass, were few, and had a delicate look about them, as if each one were precious. The tree had a duality of elegant fragility and earthen stability. One could tell it had weathered much and would weather much more before ever succumbing. It was a strong tree, and only slightly stunted by its condition out in the open field. Kaya put her hand on the trunk and smiled. The sages would be pleased to hear the Sanctuary had a new oak.