The delicate rasp of the grafting knife was a familiar song to Flora. With the precision born of countless hours spent coaxing life from inert wood, she joined the scion of a noble Pinot Noir to the sturdy, sun-kissed rootstock of a Hermitage. This wasn't merely horticulture; it was a pact, a whispered promise intended for Vinalia Petalcrest, the city's verdant heart and Flora’s unwavering patron.
Flora saw herself as the vital filament connecting the luminous Petalcrest line to the earthy wisdom of the Mossbrook sisterhood. It was a bridge constantly under siege. Elodie Petalcrest, Vinalia’s elder, was a whirlwind of gears and steam, her ambition manifest in the encroaching sprawl of the city, threatening to swallow the very forest Flora held so dear. This ancient wood, still tender from the Great Calamity a decade past, was only just beginning to unfurl its green banners anew.
Fortunately, Vinalia was a kindred spirit, her hands as green as Flora's own. It was Vinalia who, with a shrewd eye and deeper pockets, had acquired the crucial swaths of boundary forest, effectively a green shield against Elodie’s relentless expansion. This act of quiet defiance had bought Flora precious time, allowing her to cultivate not just plants, but a sanctuary – the largest greenhouse and research facility the city had ever seen. The Pinot Noir graft, then, was less a gift and more a tithe, a settling of the unspoken debts that wove through their intricate lives.
Most of the Mossbrook sisters, by tradition and inclination, pledged their loyalty to the city. Lexa, the Chief Librarian, a woman whose spectacles were perpetually dusted with forgotten knowledge, constantly pressed Flora for new volumes detailing the bewildering tapestry of forest flora. Tansy, the stoic head of the city’s infirmary, relentlessly requested the potent Buchu leaf for her radioactive vaccine which were renowned throughout the districts. They were minor nuisances, amiable thorns in Flora's side.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
But then there were the others. Shade and Viper, twin guardians of the wild and the waste, offered a protection Flora deeply valued—Shade patrolling the shadowed glades of the forest, Viper a silent sentinel in the shimmering desert. Yet, their unnerving proximity to the rising power of the Tanzanight sisters, the Petalcrest’s burgeoning rivals, sent a chill through Flora’s veins. Her memory, sharp as a freshly honed blade, vividly recalled the fate of the Vicinage sisters, who had dared to challenge Elodie’s iron grip on the throne. And then there was her sister, Folly, poor, sweet Folly, a whispered tragedy Flora could only mourn.
A flicker of hypocrisy pricked Flora’s conscience as she unwrapped a small, clandestine package. It bore the Tanzanight seal, a symbol of their growing influence. Inside, a shimmering, violet dust nestled amongst protective padding—a crystal, painstakingly crushed to yield this miraculous essence. With a reverent touch, Flora sprinkled a mere pinch onto the newly grafted Pinot Noir. The price for this was exorbitant, a secret burden, but the results were instantaneous, nothing short of sorcery. The vine pulsed with a vibrant energy, visibly elongating, tendrils reaching, leaves unfurling before her astonished eyes. An incredible fertiliser, indeed; the plant had drunk deep of its otherworldly minerals. The whispers in the city's gazettes were true: Ether was a force to be reckoned with.
A sudden tap on the greenhouse’s crystalline roof announced the arrival of the delivery owl she had summoned earlier. Its eyes, luminous and ancient, seemed to peer directly into her soul. Flora unlatched a window, and the majestic bird glided in, its impatience palpable. Should she send the Pinot Noir now? Its rapid growth was astounding, but she longed to observe it further, to unravel its secrets. Yet, to disappoint the owl was to invite ill fortune.
Instead, she snatched up last week’s newspaper, its pages rustling with the discovery of Ether, and hastily scribbled an attached note: "Thought you might want to know. Everyone is talking about this."
