Chapter 3: The beautiful village of Palo Verde. Edited*

Early spring, far from the main cities of the empire and without any particular point of interest. Decorated with a magnificent clear sky, clouds barely visible in the distance and a beautiful blue pristine background. A radiant and intense sun illuminates the farmland with its always warm light, but not overwhelming, although not ideal for those who worked in the field. Crops appreciate the gentile caress of light.

A small rural village, dedicated to cultivating the fields, like an emerald meadow that stretched as far as the eye can see. There was no wealth to speak of, nor comforts. No extravagances, but there was not a single person in the whole village who didn't wear a smile. The small village could exist without concern for the eternal rivalry between his empire and the kingdom of Zark.

The people from the Village of Palo Verde didn't need much, not with such a small population, with no more than thirty families. Good hard work hand cooperating with nature's gifts and their lives were complete. Two or three dozen houses, accommodated on one side of the fields, with a well of which to draw water in the center. With only a tiny forest on the side, from which the village obtained its timber. There was no need for more.

No need to go hungry even in winter, and not having to faced particular danger, people were happy with the few coins they had made a year. The people lived on the same goods they produced and made. Such goods were not very suitable for trade so this does not amount to much wealth. However, the empire was full of fertile land and people willing to work it, so the agriculture and livestock, although not highly paid, were a comfortable way of life and accessible.

Truthfully, not all needs are met by just growing your food. Goods derivatives of blacksmithing, textiles or other works of a crafty nature are also essential for life, and they are still not luxuries. These, as any other, were of interest to the people of Palo Verde. Although, their need for these was not something that could not be satisfied.

While the Empire demanded tribute and taxes from every villa, town and city; it was somehow different with this village in particular. As long as a couple of herbs were cultivated for the empire, in this part of the kingdom, and the delivered in full as tribute, there was no need to pay in gold. As peculiar as it seemed, the empire was quite strict with the subject of those herbs, that were more suitable to be cultivated in the soil type of this region, apparently.

The empire did not establish any irrational requirements for these trades. Whether it was related to the volume of production, or the variety of them, as long as there were herbs on the agreed date, the deal was to continue. The people of Palo Verde were happy. No one in the village really remembered a time they would have gotten into trouble with the kingdom or the tax collector sent by the Empire to pick the herbs up. This wasn't really a concern either. With virtually no tax to pay, everything the people produced, besides the herbs, was for themselves.

If you are wondering, Summer Breath Grass and Iron Grass, these were the two herbs that the empire asked of them. A couple of strange herbs by common standards, as they made things that normal herbs didn't do. And while the townspeople didn't know much about them, they committed to their part of the deal, and with time had learned much about the herbs. Through the practice and teachings of the previous and new generations.

Summer breath grass, it was taught, gave off a faint warmth. This was similar to being under the sun on a summer afternoon, that's where its name came from after all. Iron grass, meanwhile, was quite passive. Its unique trait was how tough and unyielding it was. A trait with which one had to be careful by the time of harvest. On top of that, the empire gave rewards to the people if they managed to produce or find a magical variation of the herbs assigned to them for cultivation.

Beyond their unique characteristics, these plants had other very special traits. A very special girl pointed them out. The people from the Villa of Palo Verde hadn't noticed, for example, that these plants attracted fertility or somehow enriched the earth in which they were planted.

Another discovery made by this young lady was that the fiery breath grass, a variant of the summer breath grass, is even more intense when it comes to expressing its individuality. The heat that emanated was quite uncomfortable in proximity. Although, with some practice and without being afraid of it, collecting it does not present difficulty anymore. Or that the iron heart herb, it was very common to cut oneself when interacting with it. The kingdom paid a lot for this one's in particular.

Do to these discoveries, from a very young age, this lady was put in charge with the field and anything related to the herbs, and this year was the first she was in charge alone. Other Farmers only observed the girl from a distance while they themselves worked on the another section of the fields. It might seem excessive to give such a big task to the girl, but she had insisted on it.

Although she was not a scholar, or expert In herbology, or anything like that, she just seemed to have a gift when it came to cultivate. And so she became the town's favorite girl, their little gem, their pride and bliss. To the point that as long as she wasn't causing trouble, she could do as she pleased while in the village. The townspeople firmly believed that she was blessed by the goddess. Mother goddess of the sun and life, only that would explain her gift... and her beauty.

The real crop that was granted to the kingdom was planted in an area away from the plantation, this was more for what was discovered by the young woman, to prepare the land for planting. Also, this was due to the life cycle of the herbs that the empire entrusted to the village and the fertility that came with harvesting those. The magical wealth of the plant allowed almost anything to be planted afterward, with no restrictions or conditions of climate or proximity.

From the field, the young woman dedicates herself to its collection, thus clearing the field to start the planting season. The rest of the village was, meanwhile, preparing to start with this spring sowing festival. With her young age and small body, the girl didn't make much progress, but no one could take away the joy she felt in reaping the fruits of her effort.

The only rush to finish the harvest was before the holidays.