Fallow Frustration: Denizens import fertilizer from other lands in attempts to improve the soil. They compost and gather manure and work it into the soil. First rocks must be hefted from the ground. Walls of displaced rock form. Then the woven sheath of grass which lies over the soil must be penetrated and uprooted. It clings to the land — a thick mat.
Frustratians gather food from trees: bruised, rotted, wormy or unripe stone fruits.
Flies and gnats swarm at the base of the trees.
Visitors eat the rotting fruits of Frustration.
“Work, work, work,” the Frustratian Council says. Many signs say, “Work!”
Earthquakes shake the land. Then floods, droughts, and hurricanes.
Just when the corn begins to grow the ears become infected with mold, the stalks fall flat in a storm, and the roots rot in the flood.
Scrawny, hungry, and weary Frustratians walk over the hills of Frustration.
Travelers arrive, hoping to help, but they soon become residents of Frustration themselves.
The capitol Persistence is made of sharp, shining towers of platinum. Winding staircases within the towers lead to open windows overlooking the fallow fields, the grey soil, the fallen corn. Elaborate etchings of metal filigree frame the windows. Tapestries depicting and honoring toil hang high.
"Anyone may sit on the thrones therein," advises the Guide. "But no one may keep them."
Inside Persistence lives a dragon which broods over eggs. Centuries the dragon's sat but the eggs have never hatched in centuries.
"It is a bright silver creature of great intelligence and wisdom," says Miss Emeline. "But Sistel never leaves home hoping for a child."
Some pilgrims stay in Persistence, singing, chanting, and awaiting the birth. They weave tapestries in Mother Sistel's honor and erect bright metal sculptures.
"Once the eggs hatch, the dragon children will fly over Fallow and fertilize everything with their wondrous shit," says the Guide.
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