Botanica ( A true quest )

Chapter 34 Reflection

Chapter 34

All things said and and done Hedera needed time away, time to reflect and try and make sense of all that had happened to him over the past weeks. The good, the bad and what he was to draw from this for the rest of his life.

He wandered to the Lilac forest and sat upon the rock where the adventure began, listened to familiar sound or the babbling brook and took in the sweet heady scent of the Lilac trees. It was as if he had never been away, he almost expected to wake up and find it had all been a dream. Whilst deep in reflection he hadn’t noticed Crateagus had sat beside him, he jumped slightly when he eventually did, the old man sat silent and waited for Hedera to speak

“ Oh Crateagus , what was it all for , what was it all about, I’ve saved our land, fallen in love, gotten betrothed, hurt someone else, hurt myself, maybe put things right for others to mess up in the future “ he sighed heavily “ why ? “

“ Well little one I’ll put it like this and it may make things easier…

The thing we must all remember is that the world is an intricate web, critically balanced, each strand relying on the other to maintain it’s strength. Each eco system relies on the on the other and as a different part of the world destroys their system it has an impact on the others, eventually the erosion will be irreversible. Each generation has it’s own responsibility to avert the continual advance of destruction and we must remember we do not inherit Botanica we borrow it from our children. Creteagus described the system to Hedera as simply as he could,

“ If you take a coin and drop it on a piece of parchment, where it falls draw around the coin, continue doing this until the paper is covered with little circles, it does not matter how many there are or how many overlap as each one is it’s own circle of life, each one represents a different life form from the microscopic to the great beasts of the lands and seas. Where they overlap is where those cycles interact, where each one relies on the other for survival. Now take your eraser and start to rub out random circles , you are now causing the extinction of a life cycle, carry on rubbing out circles, soon there will be large gaps between the circles and some will not touch any others , these have now lost their additional food sources or cycles they rely on for their survival . You can now rub out these as they cannot survive on their own, carry on erasing and soon you will have a clean parchment once again, no more life cycles no more planet, just a dry lifeless rock … do you see now young Dwinip?”

“ yes” said Hedera in a whisper  “ I see” 

“ And the Primrose Gem , what of that “ enquired Hedera “ What was it’s purpose “

“ Aaah the Gem, it is the heart of Botanica, the true life force that flows through this land, it lives and dies the same as the land. That is why it is so sacred and precious, with it in our presence the Grand Council know how the planet is and whether any action should be taken, it must never leave us and it can only travel with those who are truly worthy of guarding it,it will only respond to those who are truly worthy of holding it.

“ … and dare I ask ..the Dome ?”

“ A glimpse into the future my friend, of what can be and will be if all lessons have been learned and practices are adhered to, needed to drive you on and reinforce what you were striving for “

“ But I nearly failed, drawn in by what was there within easy reach, by those things I didn’t have to work hard to achieve “

“ Yes but you carried on once brought back to the reality of the task and it’s true meaning “

“ I know but if I hadn’t been banished I would have remained there in my own idilic comfortable world “

“ Some times my friend it takes someone to give you a sharp reminder that, what you have may suit you, but not be good for a lot of others having a direct negative impact upon their lives for the sake of you being a little inward and selfish “

Hedera bowed his head and sighed heavily “ I was a bit wasn’t I “

“ Yes but fortunately you had the strength to re assess your position, address your shortcomings and refocus on the Quest.”

“ It was luck though that I met the right people to get me through “

“ People always need help from others my friend , sometimes they are too proud or obstinate to admit it, all you needed was gentle push in the right direction, didn’t he Jim .. oh yes definitely mate, and a good banishing…! “

Hedera sat silent  “ You, it was you “

“ Get out of here “ laughed Crateagus in the voice of the Dome banisher “ maybe “

“ But why, if you wre with me all the time why didn’t you just get the stuff we needed,?”

“ It needed you my friend and all the unseen elements within you, it wasn’t just about the chemicals, it was about the innocence , the love , the fear, the compassion and understanding of others and their worthiness to live along side others. The trace elements you picked up along the way, the dust Salix sneezed in your fur, the sorrow and pain you felt even when you killed to survive and anything else you can think of “

“ I see now “ said Hedera “ What now ? “

“ Now rest and enjoy the years ahead, enjoy yor new friends and loves, enjoy your family and raise them well , if they turn out half as good as you ,then you have raised them well “

Hedera was stunned by this remark and sat frozen for a few seconds, he turned to Crateagus

“ Family what family ? “

Hedera turned to Crateagus but he was alone once more, with just the sound of the brook and the wind laughing through the floweres on the Lilac trees.

Hedera put his head in his hands feeling the presence of all around him, he was as one with all, he felt his place within the order of things.

“ Found you, you al right mate “

Saiix stood beside Hedera, put his hand on his shoulder “ ‘ere remember this “ Salix swung his hand over his shoulder, clicked the soear together and threw it in a perfectly staright line, it embedded it self in the trunk of a fallen Lilac tree, scorched by the suns rays months before their Quest, a startk reminder of what the past weeks were all about.

“ Come on let’s go “ said Salix

“ Aren’t you going to get your spear “

“ Naa leave it  there, for someone else to find , come on the girls are waitin for us “

The two friends walked off together into their future.

Meanwhile a few solar systems away interested eyes were watching over what Hedera and Salix had achieved. Sequoia City was now safe , Botanica was a planet reborn from the brink of desolation, now rapidly becoming the rich and abundant planet it had once been,

theirs was depleting…….