Arc 721, 41 Ymiden
The group stood there, looking at the build site. Elisabeth, joined by Edward, Edwin, Bran, Gilbert, Kenwyn, Osian, Bryan and Derec eyed the surface of the ground. In a few trials, the group from Saoire's School would arrive to help the settlers begin construction on the farmhouse. The young settlement leader was aware that the site should be cleared and as the desire was to make things as easy as possible for those coming to assist, the Haven group had decided on a course of action - raking the grass from the site. After, Elisabeth would use her abilities in defiance to level out as much of the ground as she could. There would be detail work that would happen once construction began, but the more basic work that they could do before that point, the better.
The plan for that trial was simple - take the rakes and pull grass clumps from the future site of the farm house. Along the way, if they spotted rocks jutting out of the surface, they could pick or dig them up. Edward, however, had an additional idea. Since it seemed like it wouldn't take all trial to do as they needed to, and the work was relatively simple, he suggested pulling the grass and rocks from the site of the future crop fields as well. All three small fields were right next to the house and with the group they had, they would be able to knock out both with one long trial's work. It seemed to be a logical plan to those assembled so it was added to the list.
Grabbing a shovel, Elisabeth followed Edwin and Osian around the farmhouse site, digging out rocks as they needed and carrying them to the edge of the site. Luckily, her daily training made her strong so that task was easily accomplished. The work was slow and arduous, but everyone kept busy by chatting, making the breaks slip by quickly as they moved from the farmhouse site to the fields after midtrial and the noon meal.
Storm joined them for the afternoon session, having been just too tired in the morning to follow the group. Opting to stay with Delilah Munny, he had been the appreciative recipient of fish bites and lots of affection and was now in a much better mood. Curious about the small rock pile that was being created by Elisabeth and Bran, the feline climbed the jagged heap and howled a bit, seeing if he could draw any attention. The settlers chuckled at his antics but continued on with their work.
Edwin, a curious man and one of settlers Elisabeth trusted the most for his common sense, spoke quietly as the group worked. "Elisabeth, when you told us about what had happened there in the Scalvoris Mountains, you said that an Immortal had talked to you about a task. The whole honoring and remembering thing. The eruption was part of that, and I was just curious if you had considered doing anything on Faldrass itself for that." A few of the others looked up, curious to see their leader's reaction to the question would be.
Nodding, Elisabeth strained a bit as she wedged her shovel down into the earth, leveraging out a larger rock that had been tightly nestled into the ground. " I have. My thought was that Faldrass is fire. No escaping that fact. Fire is also a symbol for life. Those people that died, they still live on through their family and friends. I was thinking maybe an eternal flame, near the main southern dock so that people when they come to the island, know that all those people are still with us." There were a few nodding heads - most of the settlement had loved ones that died in the eruption - but everyone remained quiet, presumably thinking about what she said.
Finally, it was Gilbert that spoke up. "That's a nice thought, Elisabeth. Real nice. I hope you are able to make it a reality. Let us know if we can help at all." There was a general murmur of approval from the others, and then the group turned to other topics. The young mage smiled, blushing just a bit at the unexpected compliment. The people of Haven were good people with kind, strong hearts and she was proud to be one of them.
It took the rest of the trial, but the group managed to clear the vegetation and rocks from all the areas they wished to. It was a start. An exhausting start, but a start.
Arc 721, 42 Ymiden
Elisabeth approached the farm site the next trial and glanced around. Herman and his students from Saoire's School were due to arrive sometime that trial, although she suspected that it would be later in the trial, before dinner. They would begin work on the farmhouse the following trial with the settlers of Haven, but Elisabeth wanted to give them some time to settle into Haven before they all launched into work.
Before that could happen, however, Elisabeth had decided to attempt to level the site using her defiance magic. It her estimation, it would save time and allow a little bit of focused attention upon her relationship with the elements - a win-win in her book. She had a large portion of the trial to work and it was something that was important to her. Haven deserved people willing to put in the work, and Elisabeth wanted to show them that she was that type of person.
The farmhouse was slated to be built in a collaborative effort, but the young settlement leader had made alternative arrangements for the barn structure. Time was of the essence if they wanted to get a jump start on crops and get in a late harvest, and Elisabeth was fortunate enough that her recent adventures had left her with additional resources to help Haven.
Thirty trials. That was the estimate to build the farmhouse. It felt like such a large amount of time, but the young woman knew it really wasn’t. She had observed the construction projects in Haven previously, right after she and Balthazar had arrived, but never really paid attention to what it took to build something until working on her own projects, like the flower boxes, or community projects such as the clam farm.
Even after the farmhouse and barn were built, the work wouldn't be done yet if they hoped for a late crop. The Munnys had done their best with the good weather and the space they had available, to provide viable starts that could quickly be planted once the structures were done, but it would take time to do that too.
Sighing, Elisabeth settled herself. It was going to be a long trial, working with the ground. Luckily, however, she wasn’t to be alone. Many of the settlers had volunteered to start moving the construction supplies to the site. They would be doing that for most of the trial while she tried to focus on what she was doing with the earth beneath them. The guards had offered to check in on her from time to time to see if she needed anything, which she found amusing on one hand, and incredibly touching on the other.
Having had the benefit of living in Haven during both Balthazar's leadership and her own, Elisabeth was able to see the differences between leadership styles and the different ways they impacted the settlement. Balthazar, in her estimation, was much more comfortable with the leadership role. He was well-suited to it, but in a more rigid manner, whereas she focused more on talking and listening to people, and trying to work on solutions from there. Neither way was better, just different. Haven had benefited from both, although Elisabeth would contend that the settlers gave back to her far more than she gave them. They had trusted and supported her in moments when she doubted what she had to offer anyone, and she would be forever grateful for that.
Smiling, she waved at Kenwyn and Edwin who were dropping off the first load of timbers. Elisabeth made a mental note that soon, the settlement needed a wagon and perhaps a few horses. It was something that had come up during the planning stages, and one of the reasons why there had been interest in putting a few stables at the end of the barn. Of course, there were a lot of things the settlement needed, but she could only focus on purchasing one thing at a time.
Sir Storm, ever present, was loitering around a bit, but, as of that moment, hadn’t decided what he wanted to focus on. His girl was there, but then so were settlers, and the lure of a nap was ever enticing. Shaking her head gently, the young woman cleared her mind and began her work of the trial.
Earth was not an element she spoke to often. Elisabeth did, as a matter of training, work with all the elements in measured amounts, but in regard to spontaneous use of defiance, air and fire were much more likely to be called upon. Each element had a different 'feel' to her, and the way she called each was slightly different. Earth, to Elisabeth, was Varlum and Praetorum. It was Balthazar, as he had been initiated with Earth. Her connection to elements began with people, so the young mage closed her mind and thought about those moments she knew about. She had witnessed Varlum manipulate earth in the Umbral Caverns outside Rharne. Similarly, Praetorum had done the same, although that time had been the Stormwastes.
From what she knew about element dancing, at least at her level, it didn't easily allow itself to change to an unnatural form. Because she wished simply to flatten the entire site instead of create a wholly new shape, Elisabeth was hoping she would have a bit of an easier time with the process. Raising her hands, the young defier stepped onto a small piece of the land she wished to work with. Standing on it allowed her to feel subtle changes that her eyes might miss.
Something she had been curious about was if composition of soil impacted a defier's ability to manipulate, or dance, the elements. Faldrass' soil was comprised with a lot of sand, something Elisabeth had learned while learning about gardening, and as such, perhaps that would factor into what she needed to do. It wasn't solid rock she was working with, but a more malleable soil mixture, although arguably compact.
Stepping forward, Elisabeth tapped her fingers a bit in midair, watching a very small hill of dirt slowly melt away. It seemed easy, the first time. Each little hill after took a bit more from her, but she was careful about not moving too quickly. The settlers saw to that too, calling out to her every now and then, telling her to take a break. As frustrating as it was to go as slow as she way, Elisabeth understood why caution was needed. When she took breaks, the young woman sat on the ground against a nearby log and meditated purposefully, curious if something of that nature would help the situation. It couldn't hurt. at least.
Along the way, she noted some rocks that had been missed, and took care of those manually with her own two hands. Magic was a good tool but Elisabeth would never be the type of the mage that used it for everytrial things, preferring to use her own non-magical skills for such.
Midtrial came and went, and Elisabeth remained, taking her work step by step, inch by inch. She couldn't tell if the sand made things easier, but in her mind, she hoped so. Her fingers, however, were getting a bit tired. The young mage used her hands mainly to visualize the actions she was trying to direct, having found it easier in the past to do so that way. Balthazar, Varlum and Praetorum all used small hand motions for various methods, but Elisabeth seemed to be a bit more expressive.
Balder, Silk and Ronon, true to their word, each came to visit at certain points, never interrupting her unless they felt it was time for a break. If she was already on a break, they sat and talked with her about all manner of things.
It took all trial to cover the area of the farmhouse, but as dinner approached, Elisabeth was finally finishing up with the rough leveling. Just in time, in fact, because as she began to move away from the area, Silk found her to announce the arrival of the Saoire's School group. Nodding, Elisabeth smiled, walking with the guard back to the settlement. "Well, let's go say hello then..."
