On a Farm in Colovia

Just a short old story about a farmer and her attempts to become successful

Long ago there was a farmer name Maesa. Maesa lived in a small house in the Colovian Highlands. She lived alone and farm work did not come easy in her lands. Fed up with her lack of success, Maesa ventured out across the hills and mountains of the highlands north of her. After two straight days of walking Maesa came upon the most idyllic valley she had ever laid eyes upon. A small river ran down from a hill to the north and cut a circuitous path through the valley. Every inch of the valley was filled with life. Grasses twice as tall as a person ran along the river, Clouded Funnel Cap was seen on the tops of the high hills, there was Fennel Seed, Mandrake, a hundred trees at least, and many more varieties of plants beyond count.

“I have never seen such beauty in all my life,” thought Maesa. “This shall be where I build my new farm. The corn I plant here will be the greatest in all of Cyrodiil.”

So Maesa constructed her new farm house, and planted her corn on a small stretch of undisturbed land within this magical valley. Sure enough, within a short time her crop sprouted and was soon full grown. And it was without a doubt the finest corn in all of Cyrodiil. Demand for her corn in Chorrol grew, especially as no one knew where her secret farm was.

Soon Maesa thought, “I’m going to need to plant more crops on more of this land. But there are all these other plants in the way. The only option seems to be to remove them.”

The first to go was the Fennel Seed and the Mandrakes. Maesa was sad to see them go, and she considered not doing it for many days. But in the end, she tore them out with a heavy heart. She planted more corn there and, sure enough, in a very short time there was more of her famous corn fully grown. Her corn began to outnumber all the other plants. And the Keeper-of-Order was displeased. She had so much she was soon able to start export them to other cities of Colovia. Demand for her corn grew higher.

Soon Maesa thought, “I’m going to need to plant more crops on more of this land. But there are all these other plants in the way. Well the only option is to remove them.”

The next to go was the tall grasses by the river. Maesa felt bad tearing out these plants out, and considered doing it for the better part of a day. But in the end, she tore them out, although she felt a little bad about it. More corn was planted, and again it grew fast and produced her famous crops. Corn now began to push out other native plants as well. And the Keeper-of-Order was displeased. She now had so much corn she started selling to the Niben Valley as well. There were even people eating her food in the Imperial City! Maesa knew she had to keep growing her farm and produce more.

Next she tried to remove the great trees of the valley, and she went about it without a second thought in her head. This, however, proved to be more work than she thought. The trees were thick and strong, and no matter how many times she hit them with an axe she could not cut them down.

One night, after a particularly long day of attempting to remove the trees, an exhausted Maesa prayed to the gods for help…. and the gods heard her. With a small “puff” of air, two beings appeared to Maesa in her farm house. The first took the form of a four-legged dragon, although he was now only the size of a grown man. The second took the form of an old lady, dressed all in darkness. Maesa was startled at first but quickly composed herself, after all, it’s bad manners to act shocked in front of the gods.

“We have heard your words, mortal, and have come,” said the dragon.

“This must be father Akatosh! Which must make her mother Kynareth!” thought Maesa with a feeling of excitement. It’s not often a farm girl has gods in her home.

“I…. I…. I thank you for coming,” stuttered Maesa. She spoke only to the dragon. Something about Kynareth made her feel uneasy; in fact, she was almost repulsed by her. Of course, Maesa didn’t show this, as that would be bad manners.

“You seek our help in removing the trees of this valley, the way you removed the other plants in order for you to grow more crops. And you shall have our help,” spoke the dragon. “You must take this mushroom.” And with that, a mushroom appeared in the dragon’s out stretched claw. “Plant it in your fields and in the morning all the bad plants will start to die. You see, this is a magic mushroom.”

Maesa was filled with joy. She quickly took the mushroom and ran out of her farm house to plant the mushroom. When she finished she returned inside only to find her house empty. That night she dreamt dreams of riches and fame, and of the amount of crops she would grow. And the Dreamweaver looked on with jealous eyes.

Back in Oblivion, Peryite and Namira reveled in the success of their plan. For see this was no ordinary magic mushroom, but a creation of Peryite. So the two Daedric Princes reveled on, and He-Who-Revels-In-Revelry was pleased.

Come the next morning, Maesa woke up more excited than she had ever been. She raced outside to see the magic of the mushroom at work. What she saw instead terrified her. Billowing forth from the mushroom was a dark poisonous gas. The gas seemed to be alive as it raced to and fro from all of Maesa’s crops. Every corn stalk it passed withered and died in seconds. Within minutes all of her hard work was gone. When the last corn stalk died, the gas raced back to the mushroom and then the mushroom died as well. Maesa cried. She cried harder than she had ever in her life. She cried all day and well into the night. That night she dreamt horrible dreams of death and despair. And the Dreamweaver was pleased.

However, as she slept something else happened. Namira, Lady of Decay, reached forth her hands from the darkness. She grabbed and ate up all the dead crops and plants of the valley, and after they passed through her they were changed. No longer dead plants but new things: seed and soil, vitamin and nutrient. She gave these gifts to her Sister-of-the-Sky, whom she both loves and hates, and the Sky-Mother put forth her power. These plants grew with such strength as has never been seen elsewhere.

In the morning, Maesa woke with a depressed heart. She made for the door, having decided to have one more look on her ruin before packing up and leaving. What she saw instead marveled her. Where there was death and darkness last night, there was now life and light. All the original plants of the valley had come back. There were grasses as twice as tall as a person along the river, Clouded Funnel Cap was seen on the tops of the high hills, there was Fennel Seed, Mandrake, a hundred trees at least, and many more varieties of plants beyond count.

Balance had been restored. And the Taskmaster was happy.