Theanore had heard of the celebration of Sylen and had deeply disapproved. Pohva was the guardian deity of the apple grotto. She made sure they were fed and had water and that they were warm.

But she wanted to avoid staying in the way of free worship. So, to make the children see the light of Pohva, she decided to make her own deity worshiping party. With lots of food and, yes, cake.

She ordered the bakery shop in Mirstone to make enough cakes for 300 children plus the adults, and she had the ogres cook extra bread and grilled meats with vegetables.

Then, she ordered the ants to make one big table, so all the food can be collected in a single space. But Pohva, for all that Theanore loved her, didn’t have a shrine.

With purpose, Theanore went to Marinus and tapped his shoulder.

“Mari, can you make a shrine for the goddess Pohva?” Asked Theanore, and the merman blinked.

“What does she look like?” Asked Marinus. He had never seen a god or a goddess.

“Well, she is as tall as mommy, with long chestnut hair with leaves woven in, and she has an old lady’s face with wrinkles. At least, that is what the book said.” Said Theanore. She had never seen Pohva’s face either, but she had the book Gods and worship and that was the description given there.

“Ok, I can make her a small wood carving. But I don’t know how good it would be. For when do you need it?” Asked Marinus.

“For tonight, all the food is already ordered for the party.” Said Theanore. Marinus sighed, and he picked up a knife and a piece of wood and began to carve.

With that done, Theanore went back to the book to consult herself on how to properly manage the party. The part on Pohva was short, but Theanore decided to reread the worshiping part just in case.

Pohva is not a vain goddess. She is worshiped by planting and harvesting. By watering and hoeing the soil. By cooking and, yes, distilling drinks from fruit and grain.

She does not appear before her worshipers, but if you impress her, you will see an increase in your yields come harvest time. But be warned, one must not worship Pohva with a greedy heart, for if they do, their crops will fail.

Theanore had no intention of worshiping Pohva greedily. And the children living in her grotto weren’t greedy either. So, she didn’t worry about that at all. She had some quick shot raspberries picked just this morning. An entire bucket.

If each child stirred the juice once, then they would all complete the ritual. Pohva would be happy and see she was loved, and then the children will have two deities to look after them, not one!

Theanore felt good about her plan, and she went and retrieved the bucket with the raspberries. She then checked up on the grape vines that were next to her petunias.

They were all tangled and she poked one vine. The entire plant came tumbling down over her. She managed to get out of the tangled vines, and she looked at the vines.

“Tania, how do I fix the grape vines?”

Grape vines are pruned and tied to sticks. You should have pruned them last autumn. Now, you will have to cut them back to the size they were when you planted them, as there is no untangling this mess. Be quick about it, rats may nest in this tangled vine.

Theanore didn’t want rats to life in her grotto. She still remembered the one fat one who tried to eat her apple sapling. She took a pair of scissors out of her dimensional bag and began to cut the vines.

When she was done, she managed to drag the big ball of tangled branches to the side. Maybe they could use it for kindling? She didn’t want to just throw it away.

“I’ll tie them up later.” Said Theanore, and she picked up the raspberry bucket and went to the long table she had prepared for the party. Already ogres were decking it with steaming food and the bakers of Mirstone were arranging slices of cake in front of each chair.

One ogre woman approached her and handed her a bucket with different fruits.

“We value Pohva too, little nymph.” Said the woman as Theanore peered into the bucket. “For your juice. The best and juiciest fruits we grew in our valley.”

“Thank you for your contribution.” Said Theanore, then she got a thoughtful look. “Would you like to celebrate with us?”

“We will hold our mass for Pohva, worry not.” Said the woman with a bright smile on her face. “It is rare that people worship the good lady outside of planting and harvesting time. I am sure she will be pleased with you.”

And the ogre went back to the teleport and went home. Theanore placed the two buckets by the roaring fire pit that had a big souse pan with water and sugar bubbling away on top of it.

Children began coming to the table after their lessons. When most of them had heard they were going to be worshiping Pohva outside planting and harvesting time, they wondered if they were running out of food.

But Theanore had assured them that they were not, and now they were eagerly awaiting to make juice and to the cake that was placed before them. Even Freddy had come, although he muttered that god Sylen was better than the goddess Pohva, as he had dances as a part of his ritual.

When everyone arrived, Theanore dumped the fruits in the souse pan and gave the first stir. Then the children of the grotto lined up and took turns to steer the juice.

A nice fruity scent, that had the slightest hint of citrus, lofted over the lake and the children who had their turn went to eat first salty food and then cake. Even Freddy, thanks to Mary, stirred the juice once.

When the last child stirred the juice, the surrounding grass became larger and greener and flowers bloomed around the fire pit. The children cheered, happy they had honored the lady of the soil, and she had acknowledged them.