Segntum Ultima, Agri-World Rynn.
Aivors Jovan left his infirmary before the star's light appeared.
The "Planter" looked at the mist-shrouded mountain before him. Today would be a long farewell.
He reached the mountain's base, at the edge of the mist of reproductive spores, and said to the three waiting "Planters."
"Let's go." His task today was to teach them how to tend this treasure trove of dicinal plants.
The "Planter" knelt, his hand touching the mandrake growing from a root-nodule plant. Faint screams echoed in his mind.
As a forr guest of many nobles on the hive world of Agathon, he knew mandrake could suppress Warp corruption, alleviate the tinnitus and headaches of void crews.
But in reality, ordinary crew rarely received mandrake, even on large transports filled with the plant.
Navigator and Astropath families bought it in bulk, and the output of the only five worlds could not et the demand of Imperial nobles.
Of the five worlds, Terrican IV, in Lord Nareth's domain, was one of the two largest producers.
But Terrican IV's output was only available to Lord Nareth's allies, primarily Navigator Houses like Wissel.
Other noble families, like Barton Drake, who had helped him, drank tea infused with mandrake leaves before sleep and upon waking.
After being recomnded by Lord Barton and joining Lord Nareth, he learned that Mancora in the Segntum Ultima , where the Legion's Librarius was located, also had large mandrake plantations in its volcanic regions, but exclusively for Shadows of Order's use.
As a "Planter" on Rynn, he had spent much of his ti planting mandrake.
As the forr Chief dical Officer of the Solar Auxilia, his scalpel could heal most injuries and illnesses, but long-term Warp ntal erosion was not among them.
He drew eight scalpels from his belt, holding them between his fingers.
His arms moved swiftly and precisely, as if operating on two patients simultaneously.
Tender leaves, before they could age, were scattered. The three "Planters" imdiately stored them in crystal rollers from the Crystal Mirage.
He suddenly crouched and spoke.
"Mandrake's most common disease is root nodule swelling. The hot, humid geothermal environnt where they grow causes excessive root growth."
"An early sign is roots erging from the ground. The treatnt is simple: cut them off."
"The roots are more effective than the leaves and are reserved for Court mbers."
He slowly trimd the irregular roots, carefully placing them in a crystal vial.
He put the vial in his pack, to offer to Lord Nareth upon his return.
He climbed the mountain path, teaching the three "Planters" about various dicinal plants.
Finally, as the star's light shone, they reached the summit.
The mont they stepped onto the peak, they instinctively looked at the hundred-ter-tall oak.
Its trunk was a vivid red, like a ruby.
Red and white oak leaves mixed, swaying in the wind.
He looked at the massive tree, which would take ten to embrace, and said admiringly.
"This tree was planted in 920, when I first climbed this peak. It was just an arm-long branch, three fingers thick."
"When I planted it, I felt as if injected with the finest dicine. My body and mind were at their best."
"I think that was the sign of mastering Lord Nareth's gift. You will soon experience that feeling."
He walked closer to the great tree and looked up.
"In eleven years, it has taken root and grown at a supernatural speed."
"It is the greatest treasure on this mountain. It can cure almost any ailnt. I even suspect it is the legendary Tree of Life."
He took a crystal vial and cut the red oak's trunk with a scalpel. Thick white sap flowed. A fresh fragrance filled the air.
The four "Planters" felt life itself drilling into their pores.
The wound in the trunk, as the viscous white sap flowed, quickly healed, as if coated in crystalline salt.
Their fatigue vanished. They descended the mountain with swift steps, in significantly less ti.
He looked back reluctantly at the spore-shrouded mountain.
"I leave this mountain to you."
"As you command, Lord Jovan." The three "Planters" acknowledged.
He walked quickly to the landing pad. He saw Kerri in her black armor waiting.
"Jovan, thank you for your contributions to Rynn."
"The dical center you established has beco the largest dical sanctuary in the Eastern Galaxy."
She said sincerely. His training of "Doctors" in beyonder surgery had made Rynn, in just eleven years, surpass Ax, the rising garden world of Ultramar, as the preferred dical sanctuary for the powerful in the Eastern Galaxy.
"Kerri, you have made Rynn a new benchmark for agri-worlds. I have never seen an agri-world like Rynn."
"It is all thanks to Lord Nareth's gift." The "Druid" Kerri said modestly.
She had inherited Marlena's Dominum Armor, which had increased her height to 1.85 ters.
Her weathered skin had beco smooth and lustrous during the Perpetual conversion ritual.
After embracing Kerri in farewell, he boarded the black Aquila Lander.
He sat comfortably in the spacious leather seat. He was no stranger to this comfortable aircraft.
Nobles on Agathon had paid dearly to acquire them from Nareth's domain, Necromunda.
He often flew between hive spires in such shuttles to perform surgeries for the powerful.
As the shuttle smoothly rose, he looked leisurely through the viewport at the blue-white buildings below.
The 3.6 million-square-ter surgical center was another of his achievents.
He thought of the apprentices he had trained: Shadows of Order's Apothecaries, and many "Doctors."
Only when the silver-white buildings vanished and Rynn's fertile black soil ca into view did he snap out of his reverie.
He looked at the fields stretching to the horizon, high-yield crops swaying in the wind.
As the shuttle rose higher, fruit trees bore smooth fruit. Golden corn swayed.
Rynn was different from the identical agri-worlds he had visited with Solar Auxilia expeditionary fleets, where transports carrying nitrates and phosphates descended, and the sky was yellowed by fertilizer factories.
Rynn relied on a planet-wide psychic array, and the power granted by Lord Nareth.
He leisurely picked a green-blue berry, which had a lustrous, jade-like sheen.
His teeth pierced the jade-colored skin. A lychee-like flavor, like morning dew, exploded in his mouth.
A crisp, pear-like middle note spread like a bell. A thick strawberry finish rose at the end.
"Rich in flavor, exotic. No wonder Terran nobles spend fortunes on them."
He ate the berries one by one, savoring Rynn's unique delicacy.
The Jade Berry was the symbol of Rynn's status as the Imperium's most renowned agri-world.
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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