We got to work planting each category of seed. We sowed the Flame and Wind Sigil Seeds in the Sand Field. We sowed the Water Sigil Seeds in the Clay Field and finally sowed the Earth Sigil Seeds in the Loamy Field.
After we were done, I noticed the Scale depicting Water Sigils, which appeared to have been set for positive and negative figures, begin to rise.
"You guys, I think the atmosphere about to be evoked upon this Field is a humid one. We'd better start making preparations to protect the seeds" I suggested.
"We'll need reservoirs and canals for the Earth and Water Sigil Seeds. Clay has great Water Retention Abilities so we won't need too many canals for the Water Sigil Seeds but we'll need them especially for the Earth Sigil Seeds in the Loam Field with moderate Water Retention. We'll also need a few in the Sandy Field. Fire Sigil Seeds do not require excess Water however they do require some amount of Water to grow. The great drainage abilities of the Sand will keep the Water in the Sandy Field to a minimum" Keiran suggested.
Keiran, Mitsuki and I got to work constructing canals and Reservoires. The Reservoires would store Water for the Arid Season. The canals on the other hand led to each of the Fields. The highest priority was assigned to Earth Sigil Seeds. Moderate priority was assigned to Water Sigil Seeds due to the ability of Clay to retain Water for a lengthy period of time. The least priority was assigned to the Fire Sigil Seeds thanks to their great endurance with regards to aridity.
Shortly after we were done, it began to rain heavily. As we expected, the Clay's compact properties kept most of the Rain Water logged at the surface. The Canals drained excess Water from the Clay Field. The Loam Field absorbed moderate Water but didn't become waterlogged. The Sandy Field on the other hand allowed most of the Water it captured to drain into the depths of the Earth.
We observed the Fields in fascination.
"I see. So when each seed is raised in the right environment, environments that complement their affinities, the environment itself protects them from Debilitating Conditions" Concordia realized.
"Yeah, it's acting as a sort of buffer" Mitsuki noted.
As the rains persisted, we began to notice the scale in the representation for Fire and Wind Sigil Seeds drop.
"It appears Fire and Wind Sigil Seeds don't fare too well in humid climates. Thankfully, the Sand is acting to drain most of the moisture or the seeds would have been dead by now" Arlene said.
After a while, the rains stopped and we began to notice the scale for Fire Sigils increase.
"It appears we'll be confronting an arid climate next. It's about to get pretty hot in here" I said.
"Then we'd better start shielding the vulnerable seeds by erecting shelters. Keiran, we can leave this to you right?" Concordia asked.
"Of course, I'll be done in no time" Keiran said as he erected an earthen structure all around the Earth and Water Seeds and roofed the structure. The Fire Seeds were left open.
"Excess Heat and Water Retention present in the Clay could cause the Water Seeds to rot. They'll need shielding from heat and the coolness of the Water retained by the Clay to grow properly" Arlene explained.
Shortly after we had created the Shelters, the temperature in the terrain began to rise rapidly. We checked our scales. All the seeds appeared to be healthy however, as time progressed, the Earth Seeds' health metre began to slowly drop.
"The Earth Seeds need more Water. Loam has moderate Water Retention so the Loam Field is beginning to dry up. The Clay Field seems okay for as long as there is Shelter" Ciella noted.
"That's true. It's time to use the Water we collected during the Rainy Season" I said.
We opened the Reservoires and gradually released controlled amounts of Water into the Loam Field. The health of the Earth Sigil Seeds began to increase as a result. Occasionally, we'd let a minimal amount of Water into the Clay Field to supplement lost Water and into the Sand Field to at least keep the soil moist.
Eventually, the atmospheric measure for aridity dropped and that of Wind began to rise.
"We should maintain the Shelters and construct one more Shelter in the Sand Field to at least mitigate soil erosion by Wind. If we keep the soil moist as well, we can further reduce erosion by Wind" I suggested.
Everyone agreed. Keiran erected one more Shelter over the Sand Field and we irrigated each field some more. When the terrain was altered to a Windy One, the Shelters acted to prevent the Wind from eroding the soil protecting the Seeds. The moisture in the soils also acted to increase the Weight of the Soil to prevent erosion by Wind. When the Wind caused the Soils to dry, we'd introduce more moisture to the soils to increase their weight. By so doing we managed to prevent erosion by Wind.
Shortly after we were done, we noticed the metre for Earth Sigils begin to drop.
"This one's dropping instead of rising" Ciella noted.
"I think this metre connotes the overall fertility of the fields. The fertility of the fields is gradually reducing as a result of all the Debilitating Conditions the fields are facing" Arlene explained.
"Then we'll have to raise the fertility of the Fields. There are other trees in here. We can prune some of their branches and use their leaves as manure. That should at least raise the fertility of the fields" Concordia suggested.
We did as she suggested harvesting branches from other trees and using their leaves as manure. Over time, the fertility of the soils began to increase. As the seasons continued to alter causing effects of both debilitation and enhancement to specific categories of the crops, we put in place measures to mitigate Debilitation to the vulnerable crops while simultaneously expanding enhancement to the crops that benefitted from a specific climate.
Over time, our seeds grew into trees with regards to the Game's Time. The older Dream Knights returned to us.
"Have you at least understood how climates can positively or adversely affect sigils?" they asked.
"We have" we replied.
"That's good then" Face said happily.