créa’s garden in evendim is one of the most important things in her life. it was how she found her place as a ranger--she was no scholar, no lore master (for she wasn’t raised amongst them), and though she could fight, so could everyone; she wanted to bring something new to the rangers, she wanted to be useful and it plagued her for a few years, feeling inadequate and lost.
but her love of plants and her experiences with farming gave her an idea, standing in the ruins of an old estate thousands of years gone. there were once records of the estates growing much of the grains and food for the city of Annumínas. And though grass had long overtaken, stone old and dilapidated, she had the idea to give life to these gardens once more.
and it was an incredible amount of work. she kept it secret, wanting to surprise the others, though only a select few were told. it took a long time, many months and research, collecting seeds, but in the end she had done it. The very first thing she had ever grown in the ruins of Tham Nambarth were strawberries, the seeds from her home in her old life. In other places where rangers dwell, her gardens spring up too- but the one in evendim is her first, and the biggest of them all.
she ties a lot of her worth into her garden- this is her life’s work, and nothing makes her happier than to be on her knees in the garden, hands in the dirt and the sun warm on her shoulders. she’s incredibly protective of it too. rangers are welcome to come and go as they please in the garden, but for those who aren’t of her kin, it’s a very big deal for her to show them her pride and joy.
on the other hand.....as cruel as it is, I do think her garden has been destroyed more than once in her lifetime, set aflame by Angmarim and bandits alike. The first time she nearly gets killed, leaping into the flames to find the source and put it out, the spill her water barrels- but the flames are too much and nothing is left but ashes, and she’s devastated. this was a large source of food and trade for the rangers in Evendim. but more importantly it’s what she bases her worth on, and was a terrible blow to her. it took her a long time to recover, both physically and mentally from the destruction. but like all things, life found a way, and she knew everything could be replanted, regrown, and the garden flourished once more, as resilient as ever- and she did, too.