Within weeks, Cule had moved a ton of carvations to their new home, which they all collectively called The Village as a sign of community. Most everyone went with her. After all, a huge place to live in with magically nutritious fruit sounded like a good deal to pretty much everyone. Of course, some people were skeptical and stayed behind. Mostly either the ones too attached to The Living to leave. Of course, some were just distrustful of her though. They would stay to survive without her help.
“Cule, we need some help,” a woman asked while she was taking a moment to rest. “It’s our crops.”
“Oh?”
“It’s too cold,” she complained. “The only thing that’ll grow other than the native fruit at this rate is the potatoes.”
“Let me see.”
Cule went to the small field that they had plowed to plant some crops. There were dozens of dead crops in the ground with carvation farmers whimpering over them. She descended down and felt that the dead remains of their crops were frozen to the touch. The dirt was absolutely frigid, definitely not made to hold crops.
“Oh jeez,” Cule sighed. “That’s not good…”
“What do we do?!” a lady cried, sobbing with her cabbage in hand. “We’re all going to starve and-”
“No, we’re not!” Cule interrupted. “I’ll make sure of it!”
The carvation breathed deeply and put her hands to the ground, letting her magic flow out into the ground. Almost immediately, the crops still in the ground started to twitch. Slowly, they regained their color and began perking up again. All the bystanding carvations looked starstruck as life returned to their fields once again.
“Done,” Cule panted, sitting down on the ground.
“Thank you!” they all cheered, rushing to the crops while Cule laid down on the ground. Her chest hurt and she felt short of breath. Cule had been pushing herself harder with the magic lately and it was catching up. Having The Great Magic made sure she had basically infinite magic, but it still took a good amount of energy to use it all the time.
“You need rest.”
“I need to get on my feet,” she mumbled, trying to get up but collapsing on her back. What was everyone doing? Why weren’t they helping her?
“Your body cannot last if you abuse it.”
“I’ll be fine…”
She turned over to see a little girl cry as she cupped her small sunflower plant in her small hands. Cule touched her hand to the ground and watched the girl’s face light up as her plant sprang into a full bloom. That was the last thing she saw as she closed her eyes and heard someone ask if she was ok.
* * * * *
Cule woke up in a familiar place; her mind. It was a gentle meadow with a light breeze catching her hair. All around her, bubbles containing memories floated around. This wasn’t a dream; she was called. That was confirmed by the voice that echoed around her.
“Cule, you have neglected your body, and by extension our temple.”
“Oh I’ll be fine,” she sighed. “At least you will.”
“If you cannot maintain yourself, then we will find another host.”
“What?! But I’m only doing my job!”
“You are only destroying yourself, which hinders our ability to perform. If you do not change your actions, we will be the ones in control.”
“How would you do it then?!” Cule shouted. “How would you maintain an entire village at once!? One body can’t do it all!”
“Maybe one body does not have to do it all.”
“I-” Cule paused. “What do you mean?”
“Perhaps keeping a carvation host is not how we keep The Village safe and prospering.”
“What did you have in mind?” she asked curiously.
“We have many ideas in mind for the future of The Village, Cule. They all begin with one important step you have to take.”
“…Ok,” she breathed, deeply exhaling and lighting a fire in her eyes. “What do I need to do?”
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