The Eldest Tree and the Never-Age Fig
The Eldest Tree Myth
Unpopular Second Ending
The Eldest Tree on Meryle
The Morale of the Story
Summary
The Eldest Tree and the Never-Age Fig is a myth told on the planet of Meryl. It describes the budding of a fig tree on a lone hill, several thousand years ago, it grew slowly, much slower than any other fig tree. Maybe because it was the first, it was still figuring things out. By the time it was already hundreds of years old, it still only sat a foot or two off the ground. Stilted and barely staying alive in the balmy winds of Meryle, in the earliest days of civilization there.
That is until a rather violent storm hit the Eldest Tree's hill, breaking its branches and nearly uprooting it. Clinging to life, the Eldest Tree didn't have long. That is until a young farmer happened upon it, having just built his home a kilometre away down the hill. The farmer felt a pang of despair watching the runt fig tree clinging to life. So, he decided to bring it back to life and help it thrive.
And so the farmer did, he came to the fig tree daily. Ensuring that it was upright, staking it to the ground with a wooden rod when it couldn't stand by itself, and watering and feeding it nourishing compost when it looked dry and spotted by disease. The farmer continued caring for the tree well past its injured state. And would continue to care for the tree well into his old age. For decades he trudged up that hill and cared for the tree. Until one day the farmer sat beneath the tree's leaves and confessed that this would be his last day coming to it, he could no longer handle the climb and he feared he may not be long for the world.
The Eldest Tree, saddened by this turn of events, mustered its mighty energy and grew in an instant a bizarre and spiny-looking fig that dropped down to the farmer's feet. Confused but intrigued by the fruit, the farmer opened and ate it. It's said that the farmer gained thirty years of his life back in an instant, his face becoming full once more and a youthful step entering his soul once again.
The farmer continued nurturing the fig tree for many more decades, helping it grow to the behemoth it is today. Eventually, the man grew tired and passed the care of the tree off to his grown children, deciding to no longer partake in the Never-Age Fig, which the tree had grown for him several times since. The farmer's family continues to care for the tree until this day, though they would not see another Never-Age Fig grow again. Still, they think it's only a matter of time.
Another half of the story exists but is rarely shared, as it is much darker than the original ending of the tale. This second ending details a slowly maddening farmer, deranged after decades of abusing the Never-Age Fig. It describes the farmer losing his mind and trying to chop down the Eldest Tree in a fit of delirium, believing the tree had cursed him with the Never-Age Fig which he had become addicted to.
The farmer believed himself to be cursed by the tree, to forever eat the fruit and stay young and continue to watch generation after generation of his family grow up and eventually die. He had seen it so many times he was ready for the torture to stop. But the Eldest Tree refused to see its beloved farmer pass on, so it entangled the farmer's legs with its roots and dragged him underground. Entombing him forever with eternal life, wrapped amongst its roots.
The Eldest Tree uses much of its own nutrients to keep the farmer alive tangled amongst its roots, leaving it only enough energy to grow one Never-Age Fig every millennium. A gift to those that still care for it to this day.
The Eldest Tree is a real location that many tourists visit each year in the hope that they will be the lucky ones to catch a glimpse of a blossoming Never-Age Fruit. At most, tourists will see a bunch of ripening figs hanging from the Eldest Tree's branches.
The Eldest Tree itself is quite the sight to behold, a fig tree of enormous size, its top branches reaching nearly 250ft tall, while its lowest bend to about 80ft. above ground. During the spring and summer seasons, it grows hundreds of figs amongst its branches, which fall to the ground below, only surviving due to their thick skins.
The figs are sold at a small cost to tourists to help with the care of the Eldest Tree year-round. The hill in which the Eldest Tree sits is still under the care of the original farmer's family, or so the story goes, they now run a large bed and breakfast operation and charge a small admission to see the tree up close.
In the first part of the myth, the moral is that hard work pays off for those who work hard and are patient. Sometimes, it takes decades of patient work but in the end, even the simplest of work pays off. This is a simple and arguably overly optimistic message but it's a message that is positive so people like to share it.
Less so with the second less popular part of the myth, which is a far more dire message. Stating that too much of a good thing can eventually lead to destruction and woe and that sometimes you need to let something go before you become burdened by it. A more general theme is that of the dangers of addiction and its path to self-destruction. Arguably a much more useful piece of advice, especially for those who have addiction and obsession tendencies.
Ultimately, both endings to the story have clear messages to impart, regardless of how optimistic or not they are.
The Eldest Tree and the Never-Age Fig is a story told on the planet of Meryle within the Federated Territories of Vash. It tells a tale of an ancient fig tree, nicknamed the Eldest Tree, as legend says it was the first tree to grow on Meryle, and a magical fruit that blooms from its branches once a millennium.
This fruit called the Never-Age Fruit, is said to give the person who consumes new youth, de-aging them several decades and granting them increased cognitive abilities. The myth tells the tale of a farmer who cared for the Eldest Tree and was rewarded with the Never-Age Fruit.
A bizarre-looking fig that is said to only grow once a millennium, it differs in shape, size, and colour from the regular figs that grow on the Eldest Tree. A normal fig on the Eldest Tree has a smooth light purple shell and is soft when squeezed. The Never-Age Fig has a tough wooden-like shell with pointed spikes all over it, and is a deep almost black purple. It takes some effort to break into the shell of the Never-Age Fig to reach its flesh.
Once consumed the fig is said to relieve the body of years of stress and physical ailments and maladies, effectively de-aging the imbiber by several decades. It is also said to have a profound effect on the person's cognitive abilities, unlocking new neural pathways that can drastically affect the mind's ability to recall in better detail and hold on to knowledge and memories for a much longer time. It is rumoured, however, that anyone who consumes the fruit will be cursed with unluck forever. But that is only if you believe in the ill fortune of the farmer from the myth's second ending.
Great story. How long ago did the alleged magic fig grow? If it's more than 100 years, you could easily have multiple farms claiming THEIR fig tree is the original.
Thanks! That is one of the things I struggled with on this article, exactly how old it is. I envisioned it as at least a few hundred years old, to allow for a "passing of generations" feel to the story. But I do very much like your idea of several people claiming theirs is the original.