'OaaLoarin ~ Children, follow me to the foot of the mountain,' Tiknahah said. 'Henceforth, you must continue the practice of Yoagi as you have begun. Neither too much nor too little, but steady, like the sky and the earth. Ygoim is the wellspring that nourishes Yoa. The strength of the soul requires Yoagi as we require water to drink. Cease to drink, and you shall perish; cease to Yoagi, and Yoa shall fade away.'

  They had thought that after all the toilsome training atop the mountain they would at last be taught magic. Yet the task their Master assigned left them deeply disappointed.

  Tiknahah led the three to a barren plot strewn with jagged rocks. There, they were to clear and till the land using only their bare hands and crystalline stones. He gave them a dried husk filled with seeds and said:

  'OaaSotika ~ Children, you were given the Yooni seeds and swallowed them before coming here. Thus you have been granted the lifeforce of Oawgiboni. Let them sprout within your souls. Let your souls fall into harmony with Oaa.

  Seek Oaa and yourselves in the plants, in the air, in the water, in the earth, and in every grain of sand.

  Sow these seeds upon the ground, and learn from them.'

  ~~~

  Our trio then worked together to clear and till the land. By the time their hands were calloused, their fingers bruised and cut, the once-barren soil had become neat and ready for planting.

  They began to sow the seeds in tidy rows. Because many creatures from the forest and the skies came in search of food, they had to take turns keeping watch over the field. Each blue-ga’a, two of the three would make the long trek to the Melogong River to fetch water for irrigation. They used dried husks of b’diga fruit, bound together in large clusters, to carry the water.

  After days of laborious waiting, the first tender sprouts pushed through their hard shells, calling to the others, until the whole field was soon alive with violet. Katuo, beaming with delight, wandered through the field to check on each young shoot. Her bright smile soon spread to Ramii and Hudyn, who could not help but feel joyful as well.

  It was then that Tiknahah approached and asked:

  ‘OaaUkori ~ Children, do these young sprouts make you happy?’

  They answered that they were, but the Master said nothing more. He let them continue tending the field.

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  ~~~

  The young sprouts grew, their stems and tendrils stretching outward, creeping across the ground. They writhed and shuddered constantly whenever they lacked water or were bitten by insects. This plant, called c’roroc, grew only in the arid mountains.

  Harmful pests soon arrived. They swarmed the field, chewed through the leaves and drained the plants of their sap. Tiknahah ordered the three to catch every pest, but not to kill them. They were to carry them far away and release them there.

  The trio labored without rest. They caught insects and hauled water. The work was harsher than before. As they worked the field, the c’roroc vines coiled about their arms and legs. Hooked thorns dug into their skin and left it bleeding and swollen.

  “Damn weeds! Ungrateful bastards!” Hudyn bellowed.

  A c’roroc vine latched onto Hudyn’s arm just as he was catching a bug. No sooner had he freed one spot than the thorns snagged another, and he cursed even more fiercely. More than once, he was about to rip out the c’roroc plants in a fit of rage, but Ramii and Katuo held him back.

  ~~~

  The c’roroc began to bloom with large flowers, giving off a pungent, foul stench that left the three dizzy and aching in the head. When the flowers bore fruit, Tiknahah allowed them to harvest it for food. The fruits were misshapen and grotesque, rich with sour, bitter, astringent, and spicy flavors—yet none of them pleasant. Only when hunger gnawed at them did they force themselves to eat.

  Beyond being hard to swallow, the c’roroc fruit also burned their tongues and twisted their stomachs. As they struggled to choke down a few bites merely to ease their hunger, Master Tiknahah came by and asked:

  ‘OaaTikki ~ Children, do you find joy in tending to these plants?’

  They felt a lump rise in their throats and could not speak. The faces of Hudyn and Ramii darkened.

  ‘Then go and plant another field like this one,’ the Master said calmly.

  THUD!

  Hudyn hurled a c'roroc fruit, and it shattered at Tiknahah’s feet. He burst out:

  “Only a madman would find joy in this rubbish! You senile old fool— Ow! Katuo, what was that for? Why did you stop me from telling him off? He keeps babbling nonsense I can’t even understand!”

  “Still, you shouldn’t yell at the Master!” Katuo snapped, feeling both satisfied and faintly remorseful. She knew she had kicked his ankle quite hard.

  At that, Ramii sprang to his feet and shouted, “I can’t understand it either! What does growing these cursed plants have to do with Yoa? I need to learn it to fight our enemies—and save my mother!”

  Not a flicker of reaction crossed Master Tiknahah’s face. He regarded them with his usual serene gaze and spoke slowly:

  ‘OaaTikki ~ Children, calm your hearts. You must not give in to anger. A single flame of wrath can burn down the entire field of your hard-earned discipline. Growing a tree takes time and toil, but to destroy it is easy.’

  “How can I not be angry?” Ramii cried out in protest. “I can’t stay patient anymore. These meaningless tasks are just wasting my time!”

  ‘Time,’ said Tiknahah. ‘Only the Goyk believe they own time. They are the ones who make meaningless things. You have a choice: continue planting, or give up.’

  Master Tiknahah turned away and took his leave.

  ~~~