Boom!
Boom, boom!
Boom, boom, boom!
A muscular, bare-chested man pounded the oxhide drum with all his strength.
The musicians stood in orderly ranks, playing their sheng and yu mouth organs.
The high shaman, wearing an enormous black-and-red ritual mask, stood at the head of the procession. He cast bundles of fragrant herbs onto the pyre, raised his arms amid the curling smoke, and sang with all his might as he spun and stamped his feet.
Shen Le followed along in the procession, singing and dancing while craning his neck to look ahead.
The entire casting ground was not even particularly far from the ruler of Chu's palace. In the distance, he could see rammed-earth foundations, tier upon tier of halls, and the palace's high, upturned eaves;
As the high shaman sang and the war drums thundered, smoke spiraled upward. For a moment, dark clouds seemed to gather thickly even above the palace roofs:
A fierce wind sprang up, swirling fallen leaves into vortices on the ground. Its howl tore at the lingering notes of the clay ocarinas until they became indistinct, like sobbing or lamentation.
Even Shen Le felt a little unnerved by this sudden display of nature's power:
Surely not?
Surely they couldn't actually summon the gods of Chu?
There really were gods in this world, and the gods of Chu had truly demonstrated their power!
But could divine power actually ensure that the chime bells were successfully cast-
Casting bells was an extremely demanding task. The slightest error in the bronze mixture, in the reactions inside the furnace, or in the speed at which the molten metal was poured into the mold-
Any little mistake could ruin the casting. If divine power intervened, could anyone guarantee that it would help rather than hinder?
He could not be