Farmer

“Bennachd na Yggdrasil ar talah se.” The Blessing of Yggdrasil upon this land. The traditional words spoken over a Farmer’s field before any work is done for the season. Passed down through the generations, most modern Farmers have no knowledge of its origin or the significance it holds in prayer to an old god. Attempts by the Church of Light to coin their own blessing by Kari has had mixed results throughout history, with the traditional appeal seeming to always be measurably more effective. The prayer was ultimately, and grudgingly, accepted by the Church but there were still occasional movements and studies made to replace it with something “more holy”.

From the expansive wheat fields of Dacquoise to the carefully tended orchards of Sylvan, the ancient words of blessing were spoken and passed down from father to son, mother to daughter, master to apprentice. While every farmer may know the words, may know the varying rituals, it was the head Farmer of the village that would lead each blessing. Often thought of as the wizened elder (to the annoyance of those much younger that have learned the ways of the blessing), it was common for the head Farmer to bless a towns’ fields in a rotation. While it wasn’t as glamorous as becoming a mage or a knight or an adventurer, there was always a steady apprenticeship across Lyr, of families and communities teaching and training the next generation.

To the Farmer, the connection to the land was a palpable thing, the energy flowing from them and into them in equal measure. While this gave Farmers a tendency to plant roots of their own and remain in one place, some took their brief connection to the natural world as a call. To discover and see as much of the world they could connect to as possible. But most importantly of all, no farmer or Farmer would ever forget the benediction of the harvest: “Gabthasinn a toirt Yggdrasil don tiodlac seo.” We thank Yggdrasil for this gift.