A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 20 Harvest Festival Dance

When Rorschach and his group arrived at the city square, they saw a stage made of haystacks and wooden planks, with a huge lamb made of hay on the stage.

There weren't many people in the square yet, so Luo Xia and his friends were able to get close to see the masterpiece on the stage: the straw-wrapped sheep was four stories tall, plump and lifelike, and it was amazing to look up at from the ground.

Singrev and Tasia ran onto the stage, but Rorschach, thinking it best not to stand under a dangerous sheep, didn't go. Just then, a long-haired man with a flushed face explained to Rorschach, "When the parade reaches the square, at the height of the celebration, this sheep will be set on fire, and everyone will dance around the burning stage."

So it wasn't about standing on the stage, but dancing around it... Rorschach thought for a moment: "A ritual."

"That's right, this activity evolved from sacrifices to the gods. Aren't people very greedy? Trying to exchange a whole year's harvest for just one sheep. But the offering is quite large... Ah, hello, my name is Unuk, a fourth-tier mage stationed in Andorella. You're quite young, young man."

Andorella truly lives up to its reputation as a border fortress city; even the mages stationed here are of mid-level rank.

"Rorschach, Tier 1, graduated from the Royal Magic Academy, and is on his way to Valuva for further studies."

"That's unusual. Why not take an airship? The journey takes a long time, and customs clearance is more troublesome than at an empty station."

"After spending so much time in school, I should take this opportunity to broaden my horizons."

Unuk nodded approvingly: "Indeed, knowledge is also very important for a spellcaster. Since it's about broadening one's horizons, I'll tell you something that's little known these days."

He then shifted his gaze from Rorschach back to the enormous lamb: "This festival and the rituals that evolved from it existed in the old empire, and according to my research of local records, it may have existed even longer."

Long, long ago, before the old empire conquered this place, there was only a small settlement. They worshipped not Mars, but Kres, the goddess of grains, plants, and the seasons, a female deity whom scholars consider to be one of the daughters or incarnations of the Mother of the World.

"Gah!"

Is this really necessary...?

Just then, more people gathered around, surrounding the stage and starting to dance hand in hand. Six dancers wearing flower garlands also jumped onto the stage.

By this time, Singh had already come down, but Tasia was still on stage, and her escape route was blocked by the dancers.

"Our companion, that girl is still up there. Should we call her up?"

Unuk shook his head: "The residents haven't said anything, so I don't think it's necessary. Let's start lighting the fire right away. This is a dance before the lighting ceremony; they'll come down after they finish."

The square resounded with the beat of drums and the sounds of an organ, a melodious and whimsical tune that led the local residents in a chorus:

"Lamb, lamb, who made you so fat and woolly?"

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

Seasons come and go, life comes and goes, and on this land we offer you our bountiful harvest, we offer you our lambs…

A group of people sang and danced, as if reciting a song, and then others joined in, raising torches soaked in pine resin, which emitted scorching heat and the smell of smoke.

"The residents here are quite talented at dancing." Unuk looked at the stage, having already joined in with the rhythm of the other dancers. These dances were relatively simple, mostly just hand gestures and movements in Rorschach's opinion, and didn't seem as difficult as the square dancing of the middle-aged women in his previous life. Tasia, on the other hand, just stood there motionless, which seemed a bit out of place.

But after hearing the legend told by the resident monk, Luo Xia felt a vague unease.

In the noisy environment, Rorschach felt somewhat irritated. He suddenly sensed something.

got windy.

It wasn't the natural wind, but the fluctuations in magical energy within the environment. Since his battle with Leopold in the Nameless Valley, his [Magic Condensation] seemed to have improved further, and his perception of external magical energy had become broader and deeper.

"The magic in the environment is fluctuating."

Unuk was somewhat surprised: "Little brother Rorschach, are you really only at the first level? You can already sense changes in the magical energy of the environment?"

It was easy to tell from his complexion that Unuk had been drinking. He also took a whiff of it but didn't react much: "Never mind, don't worry. It's probably just a 'resonance' of the crowd's activities during the celebration. Anyway, the target of the dances and songs has long been... The event will be over soon and things will calm down."

Ordinary people also possess intrinsic magic, though it is very weak; however, the resonance of a group can trigger extraordinary effects.

This was discovered by priests and nobles in ancient times, and thus, how to organize large-scale dances, how to organize battle formations to achieve favorable effects, and how to establish communication with the gods became a technique.

A technique of nobility, a technique that spellcasters disdain. Because it requires organizing hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people, it is a miracle caused by ordinary people, but also the "magic" of those in power, requiring the general's battle flag and the king's scepter to command.

Based on the theory of "resonance," the combined efforts of spellcasters can produce an effect greater than the sum of its parts. Mages developed more powerful ritual magic that could be cast together, and churches formed choirs and paladin orders with group tactics.

Such a resonance is taking place at the harvest festival. Year after year, the people of this land offer sacrifices, dance, and sing on this day with festive spirit, yet the objects of their sacrifices in the silent era have already fallen... It seems to Rorschach that this is the same group of people who dial a string of disconnected numbers every year.

The chaotic and disordered magical winds were still surging.

Another wave of cheers erupted as the parade arrived at the square. Leading the procession was a statue of a deity, followed by floats and a scene of singing and dancing.

The bell tower rang earlier, and now it's past 8 p.m. The procession is carrying huge torches for illumination, and the gods seem to come alive in the firelight.

Smoke filled the square, carrying not only the scent of pine resin but also a sweet fragrance. The songs grew more lively, the parade drew closer, and it was about to merge with the square dance team. The seven leaders embraced each other to ignite the lamb's anointing oil. The entire revelry reached its climax.

Rorschach squinted as he observed the statue surrounded by people. It seemed to have changed somewhat from the one he had seen when he first left the magic guild. The statue had become slender and graceful, and under the torchlight, it vaguely revealed the image of a woman.

"No! Mr. Aller! Singh! Quickly call Tasia down!"

While observing the parade, Rorschach was pushed aside by the crowd from the edge of the stage. He tried to squeeze in, shouting, "Tasia! Get down! Get down!" But Tasia was already surrounded by six dancers and had become the center of the stage, caught between a giant straw lamb and a difficult situation.

"Something's wrong! Senior! Stop the ceremony!" Tasia shouted.

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

"Chris! Mother Earth, you have blessed us with a bountiful harvest!" The people shrouded in smoke gradually went mad. Some began to tear their clothes, oblivious to the chill in the air. Others' dance had spiraled out of control, more like wildly waving their limbs.

"Mother Earth! Mother World!"

(End of this chapter)