"Don't trim that much. You'll make the bush's branches weaker and thinner over time. Plus it'll waste time having to regrow them."

Li pointed to a berry bush which Azhar hunched over dutifully with a pair of creaking shears. He cut with a rapidfire pace, his trained agility boosted by his excitement. Azhar had been ecstatic in hearing that Li would take him in as a follower and wanted to immediately repay him through some kind of trial or offering.

Li remembered that he hadn't been pruning the berry bushes, so he figured it would be useful to put Azhar on that. Maybe it was not so bad having a few followers on hand if they were just going to be farmhands. But then again, having to teach Azhar the basics of everything put into question whether his labor was truly worth it.

"Look, you snipped off a branch with berries on it. This whole pruning thing may not seem like a big deal, but you should treat it seriously. That's a living thing that's relying on you to tend to it."

"Got it," said Azhar as he took slower and more precise motions.

"Gods, it is a marvel you learned so quickly," said Old Thane to Li. The old man stood beside Li, observing Azhar tending to the bushes. "I have not voiced my surprise until now, but if ever farming could be recognized as talent, you would be one in a million, lad."

"Guess I've got a real sense for it," said Li. Which was true. He literally did have a superhuman sense for feeling the flow of living things and tending to them with the utmost efficiency. "That sense wouldn't be of any use unless I'd had you to guide it. It's your little nuggets of advice that I'm regurgitating to Azhar here."

"And to think that you, such an unruly young lad," said Old Thane to Azhar. "Would take an interest in farming. It is a marvel at how fate moves with such unpredictable grace. Did you know that I wished to will this farm to you?"

Azhar stopped trimming for a second. "Huh? You did?"

Old Thane nodded. "When you were to grow old enough to leave the orphanage, I thought to make you my farmhand. Grant you a means to feed yourself and your sisters in this world. But who would have thought the whole lot of you would become adventurers."

Old Thane laughed before stating, "But of course, with your temperament – how you could never sit still for even but one moment – this farm would have fallen to complete ruin."

Azhar resumed snipping with a smile. "Hells, old man, you were mighty fierce when you were young. If you could settle down here and do this, don't see why I couldn't. But you're right, this work ain't cut out for me."

"Then why do it, lad? Is this payment for Li's teachings?"

Azhar looked to Li questioningly, and Li nodded.

"Yeah, basically," said Azhar.

Old Thane scratched his beard. "I am quite curious to behold what manner of magic you have learned from Li. Aine thought you utterly devoid of magical talent too."

"I'm curious about that as well," said Li. Azhar looked back at him, trying to see what kind of new abilities this farming session would give him. "Nothing I teach him has a guarantee to succeed, so don't get your hopes up. Azhar, stop looking here and get back to work."

And Li was truly curious. He had no idea how to bestow abilities upon Azar. He only knew that Azhar had verbally accepted being his follower and presumably had faith in him, but was that enough? Did it not make sense for Li to need to do something on his part?

But none of these questions could be answered by Li himself. Time would tell as to whether Azhar learned anything. But aside from time, there was another that could inform him.

"Hold up, let me check the fields before the sun sets," said Li. He patted Old Thane on the back. "Make sure Azhar doesn't chop these bushes in half or anything by the time I get back."

Li stood at the fields, watching the wheat now turning golden. Harvest would be tomorrow as scheduled. The sun hung low in the sky, its usual golden splendor becoming just a little redder as it readied itself to set in the coming hours.

====================

'So that's the gist of it,' communed Li to Zagan who lay beside his feet. 'Any idea of how to grant things to followers?'

'I will say that my personage is greatly pleased to see that you are embracing more of your true nature,' said Zagan. 'But though my knowledge be vast, it is insufficient for your needs. We demons are not gods. We know not the concept of followers and worshippers.'

'But the day I met you, you were rooted inside that bandit leader's soul, giving him power he would never have humanly achieved. Old Thane, too, you made him younger.'

'There is a fundamental difference between that and bestowing blessings to worshippers. What we demons grant cannot be called blessings. They are curses veiled with sweet, sinful allure such that weak mortal hearts succumb to taking them willingly.

We demons do not receive worship from humans. There is no real exchange. They are merely our food. The powers we grant them are simply there to bring forth their flavor by catering to their weaknesses. At the depths of their darkest despairs or in the heights of their sin, their souls are ever more charged with negative force, ever more delectable to feast upon.

Thus, we entice mortals to make pacts with us that will invariably worsen their sins or lead them into destruction, for at the zenith of their misery is when it is truly wondrous to feast upon their souls.'

'I see.' Li nodded. In human terms, Zagan basically described demon culture's idea of marinating food. They invested time and effort into leading a mortal down into their absolute worst states all to have a tastier meal at the end. 'That's worlds apart from the whole worship and blessing dichotomy that gods and mortals here seem to have.'

'That is so.' Zagan perked his head up, his ears twitching backwards. 'Though this talk does push me to inform you, Elder One, of the winds of change that flicker about.'

'And that is?'

'Whence you first laid eyes upon my personage, at that little bandit: I infested his soul not only to grow his insatiable greed for power, but also to open up the initial invasion into human territory.'

'An invasion that's now been called off.' Li looked west, his eyes scanning over disused farmlands, rolling hills, beyond the shadowy winterwoods, and into the horizon where the hinterlands, and, even further, the demons were.

Zagan also looked west and sighed. 'The Burning One has invoked the Rite of Order, compelling all demons to gather at En Arkennan, the center of all chaos from which we demons are born from."

'You received that call?'

'I am no longer connected to the Burning One, but a Rite sent among all demons would reach one of age and power such as my personage. The Rite of Order is usually invoked before invasion, though it has rarely been called for other reasons as well.'

Li squatted down, becoming level with Zagan as he eyed the demon. 'You remember what I said, don't you? If the Burning One makes a move here, it'll be the last move he makes.'

'That, my personage fully understands.'

'I know your kind only values ties to the strong, but I also understand you've known this Burning One for centuries. If you want to go West and talk to him one more time, this might be your last chance.'