Harvest Festival Dance

When Rorschach and his group reached the city square, they saw haystacks, a stage built of wooden planks, and an enormous lamb made of straw standing atop it.

There were not many people in the square yet, so Rorschach and the others were able to get close and admire the masterpiece onstage. The straw lamb was a full four stories tall, plump and lifelike. Looking up at it from the ground was truly astonishing.

Singlev and Tasia ran up onto the stage, but Rorschach felt that a gentleman did not stand beneath a dangerous sheep, so he did not go forward. Just then, a long-haired, flushed-faced man explained to him, "When the parade reaches the square and the celebration reaches its peak, this lamb will be set alight, and everyone will dance around the burning stage."

So they danced around the stage, not on it... Rorschach thought for a moment. "A sacrifice."

"That's right. This event evolved from sacrifices to the gods. Aren't people greedy? They want to exchange a single lamb for a whole year's bountiful harvest. Still, the offering is certainly big enough... Ah, hello. My name is Unuk, a fourth-tier mage stationed in Andorilla. You're quite young, little brother."

Andorilla truly deserved its reputation as a border fortress city. Even the mage stationed here was intermediate-tier.

"Rorschach. First tier. A graduate of the Royal Magic Academy, on my way to Valois for further study."

"That's unusual. Why not take an airship? This route takes quite a while, and clearing checkpoints is more troublesome than going through an airship terminal."

"I've spent too long at school. I wanted to broaden my horizons while I had the chance."

Unuk nodded approvingly. "Not bad. For a Spellcaster, experience is important too. Since you're here to broaden your horizons, I'll tell you something that few people know nowadays."

He shifted his gaze from Rorschach back to the enormous lamb. "This festival and the activities that evolved from sacrificial rites existed as far back as the Old Empire. According to my research into local records, they may date back even further.

Long, long ago, before the Old Empire conquered this place, it was only a small settlement. The people here did not worship Mars, but Ceres, the goddess of grain, plants, and the seasons—a deity depicted as a woman, believed by scholars to be one of the World Mother's daughters or incarnations."

"Caw!"

Did it have to be this intense...

As he was thinking, more people gathered around them. They encircled the stage and began dancing hand in hand. Six dancers wearing flower crowns also jumped onto the stage.

Sing had come down by then, but Tasia was still on the stage. The dancers had blocked all her paths of retreat.

"Our companion, that young lady, is still up there. Should we call her down?"

Unuk shook his head. "None of the residents have said anything, so there's no need. They'll start the fire soon. This is the dance before the lighting ceremony. She should come down once they're done."

Drums and an organ began to play in the square. A winding, fragmented tune led the local residents into song:

"Lamb, oh lamb, who made you plump and thick of wool?

Wheat, oh wheat, who made you golden and full?

The seasons come and go, life goes and comes again. Upon this land, we offer you ripe fruits, we offer you lambs..."

The crowd sang and danced, half song and half chant. More people joined them, holding high torches soaked in pine resin that gave off scorching heat and the smell of smoke.

"The residents here have quite a talent for dancing." Unuk watched the stage. Tasia had already joined the rhythm of the other dancers. The dances were fairly simple; to Rorschach, they were all just waving arms and legs around, and did not seem as difficult as the square dances old ladies did in his previous life... Tasia, however, simply stood still, looking rather conspicuous.

Yet after hearing the legend told by the town mage, Rorschach could not shake a faint sense of unease.

The noisy surroundings made Rorschach restless. Then he suddenly sensed something.

The wind was rising.

It was not a natural wind, but fluctuations in the magic power of the environment. Since the battle between Nameless River Valley and Leopold, his Mana Condensation seemed to have improved again, and his perception of external magic power had become broader and more profound.

"The magic power in the environment is fluctuating."

Unuk looked somewhat surprised. "Little brother Rorschach, are you really only first tier? You can already sense changes in Environmental Magic Power?"

It was easy to tell from Unuk's complexion that he had been drinking. He felt it out as well, but did not react much. "Forget it, don't worry. It should just be a 'resonance' caused by the crowd's activities during the celebration. In any case, the object of the dance and hymn has long since... Once the event ends, it will settle down."

Ordinary people also possessed innate magic power. Though it was extremely faint, the resonance of a group could still produce supernatural effects.

Priests and nobles responsible for military command had discovered this in ancient times. Thus, organizing large-scale dances, organizing battle formations to produce beneficial effects, and communicating with gods became a kind of technique.

A technique of the nobility, and one that Spellcasters disdained. It required organizing hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people. These were miracles brought about by ordinary people, but also the "magic" of those in power, requiring a general's battle banner and a king's scepter to command them.

Based on the theory of "resonance," Spellcasters working together could also produce an effect where one plus one was greater than two. Mages developed more powerful ritual magic for joint casting, while the church formed choirs and Orders of Paladins with group tactics.

Such resonance was occurring at the Harvest Festival. Year after year, the people of this land offered sacrifices, danced, and chanted on this day in the spirit of the festival. Yet the object of their offerings had already fallen during the Silent Age... To Rorschach, it was like these people dialing a disconnected number every year.

The mixed and chaotic winds of magic continued to surge.

A swell of noise erupted elsewhere. The parade had arrived at the square. At its head was a divine statue, followed by flower-decorated floats, all amid singing and dancing.

The bell tower had rung earlier, and it was now past eight in the evening. To provide light, the procession held enormous torches aloft. In the firelight, the god seemed to have come alive.

Smoke shrouded the square, carrying not only the scent of pine resin but also a sweet fragrance. The song grew ever more joyful, and the parade drew closer and closer. It was about to merge with the square dancers. The seven leaders held a container of grease together, preparing to ignite the lamb. The entire revelry reached its peak.

Rorschach narrowed his eyes and observed the divine statue surrounded by the crowd. It seemed somewhat different from the one he had seen when he first left the Mage Guild. The statue had become slender and delicate, and beneath the torchlight, the vague outline of a woman could be seen.

"Something's wrong! Mr. Arle! Sing! Get Tasia down, now!"

While he had been watching the parade, Rorschach had been squeezed away from the edge of the stage by the crowd. He first tried to force his way in, shouting, "Tasia! Come down! Come down!" But Tasia had already been surrounded by the six dancers. She had somehow become the center of the stage, trapped beneath the enormous straw lamb with nowhere to advance or retreat.

"There's a problem! Senior, stop the ritual!" Tasia shouted.

The other residents seemed not to hear her and continued their praises:

"Ceres! Mother of the Earth, grant us harvest and abundance!" The people shrouded in smoke gradually became frenzied. Some began tearing at their clothes, oblivious to the evening chill. Others lost control of their dancing, seeming more like they were wildly flailing their limbs.

"Mother Earth! World Mother!"