Chasing Sparks

Chapter 4.1

The Gardens were located in a near perfect spot. The sheer cliffs bordering the Gardens to the north, provided shelter from the wind. The Springing Woods to the south yielded all the woody goodness any Forester could ever need. And the small river that gently flowed through the centre of the camp offered a plentiful source of freshwater. But it was none of these things that brought all the visitors to the Gardens. Rather, it was the Old One located right in the middle of the camp, that did that.

The Old One was an ancient tree that shared its life and energy with all and everything around it. Whether the tree was a relic from the time of the Celestials, or something that even predated them, wasn't known. But what was known was that the dryadic magic flowing from the tree was very strong, enabling dryad affines to perform incredible magical enchantments under its branches, that would not normally be possible anywhere else.

But to Wren, and anyone else without the dryad affinity, it was just another tree.

Since his chat with Master Dirs earlier in the day, Wren had become increasingly troubled. He was trying to come to terms with the fact he would never be a Gardener but this was raising other questions in his mind. In particular, was it time for him to leave? The Gardens after all was a place for Gardeners.

The trouble was, the Gardens was all Wren knew. He knew nothing of the world beyond, let alone how to go about finding his path on it. Where would he go? What would he do? These were the questions that had gone round and round his head all afternoon. He had even considered the city, but something about this didn't sit well with him. He knew the city was where most people went who dreamed of a new life, but Wren couldn't get past the idea that cities were places best avoided by naive country folk like him.

So, what were the other alternatives? Well, that was the rub, there weren't really any and it seemed he kept coming back to two basic options. Stay in the Gardens and accept his life as an errand boy or just pack his bag and start wandering.

But there were problems with just packing his bag and heading off into the wild, not least the strong likelihood of death. And even if he was able to survive for a while, Wren suspected even the greatest wanderer, dreaming of adventure, would very quickly revert to dreaming of home, a good meal and a nice warm fire.

And the benefits of home were things he knew well. Things he had now. A nice house, work, good friends and he knew that as soon as he left he would miss them all. So, what to do? Just stay and accept his lot as a fetcher and carrier. Maybe that was his path. Who was to say that he wasn't destined to collect water and run errands for the rest of his life. There was honour in helping people and a job well done. Many people lived out long happy lives doing this. Why not him?

Wren shook his head in frustration. He'd been over this a hundred times and seemed no closer to making a decision. So, he did the only thing he could in these situations. He ran.

As Wren walked down the path out of the Gardens, it wouldn't do to actually run inside the Gardens, he noticed the sun had just broken through the clouds making a pleasant change from the perpetual drizzle of the last few days. A slight breeze brushed his cheeks too. It was turning into quite a beautiful afternoon, perfect for running.

He decided to run his favourite route. A one hour loop that took him north towards the cliffs, turned east under the shadows of the overhanging rocks before going south over the stepping stones. It then followed the outskirts of the Springing Wood back to where he started. It was a fairly flat route but one that took in the contrasting beauty of the cliffs, the river and woods.

As he left the Gardens entrance and started jogging, Wren couldn't help but notice the contrast with the woods proper. The colours in the Gardens were somehow more vivid and striking than the surrounding woodland. The leaves were bigger, the branches stronger. The Gardens had a vibrancy nothing else could match and he knew he was incredibly lucky to live in such a place.