Chapter 123: Dance of the Fireflies


    The vigers formed arge circle around the fire, and two of them stepped forwards until they were perilously close to the fire. As the ring of viges circled and danced around the fire, the two inside it danced wildly, thrashing their arms in the air and flinging their upper bodies dramatically up and down as if to dislocate their body.


    "Quite a dance, eh," Danemy said. "Is that safe?"


    "Ah, we would nevere up with something like this," the guard said, smiling. "It is the dance of the Emati people, because we are sending a prayer to their gods. In the earlier times, many of them had died in this way, to the fire. But they have pared back the dance slightly since then, and now we can follow it easily. It only looks dangerous, but we don''t find it difficult."


    Soon, the loud chanting and dancing stopped, and the vigers stood in ce, shuffling around disappointedly.


    "This prayer didn''t work," the guard sighed. "Well, this happens sometimes. It was a prayer to the Emati god of fortune, now we shall try a prayer to Aluriel, what is called in yournguage books their ''God of Witnessing Transcendence.'' But that is not exact, maybe better is ''God at the doorway to transcendence.'' The Emati say he stands at the gateway to heaven from earth, and shows the glory of heaven like a firefly in a dark night. The Emati say that moments of great beauty in nature, like pure waterfalls and mountains, are a disy of heaven. That is why they are so frantic in their dance, they think that the fire is a gateway to heaven, and they hence act wild as a fire in order to try andmune with the gods."


    "''Doorway to transcendence''? That''s quite aplex image," Crucis said. "What kind of prayer will you offer?"


    "He is also their god of ceremony and ritual, so if we can send a prayer to him, then maybe we will seed at contacting more of the Emati gods. Listen, I will tell you our prayer."


    The vigers began to dance again, simrly to thest time, but this time their shrieks were louder and almost sounded aggressive. As Crucis listened closely, he could make out that the beginning of the chant sounded like, ''chii ai sal aichii.''


    "Here is what they are singing, in a way you could understand:


    "Over the charred earth


    the wave of firelight flies,


    and beneath it our world


    is twice benighted


    by the fire''s scars and by its shadows.


    "O, star over the earth


    spreading your wings,


    you cast two shadows.


    No beauty resists your touch,


    no hope does not wither,


    and every king shall turn


    to find you staring there.


    "s, he who mounts a throne,


    shall someday see your fiery eyes


    waiting behind it,


    or he who vaunts upon the world,


    shall someday see the earth pale


    when a golden seed of your primrose is nted."


    "''Over the charred earth'' was the part which sounded like ''chii ai sal aichii''?" Crucis did, doing his best to sportingly imitate the strange, bat-likenguage of the vigers.


    The guard chuckled and patted him on the back, taking this attempt at thenguage in good faith, but responded seriously.


    "Yes. ''Sal'' means ''debris left below by something above,'' it is typically used for hurricane or storm. But here, since the fire is above the earth, I say ''charred.'' The word for ''benighted'' here is also like that, it is simr to ''shadowed'' in yournguage, but for us it is more strong, like eclipse by shadow. ''Firelight'' is maybe a strange word, but it is close to what we said."


    "I see. Well, that''s a good trantion, then, well done."


    "Thank you. This prayer was a sess, and we are rewarded with increased damage when we use magic, and better luck when forging weapons. Also, the ''sess rate'' of our prayers has increased for the next four attempts, especially for prayers to the Emati gods and those of their sister people, the Arkeet. Now we are debating which gods to try next."


    As the vigers huddled around the fire and talked quietly, Crucis noticed a loud, bell-like noise from the side, as Grisier''s [Sacred Coal] erupted into a heatless, magical white me. Soon, it had transformed into a [ck Powder Spell Scroll], a spell which allowed Cryomancers to summon and cast a ck powder that would cause intense cold if it touched the opponent. It was especially effective in a cold area, or if used in conjunction with ice.


    Crucis guessed that the ''ck powder'' might be the colder equivalent to the white powder which the vigers had used to heat the iron mask before cing it onto the witch.


    Now, the vigers began to form tworge rings around the fire, each rotating in opposite directions as they danced. The outer ring moved in a ceremonial, slow counter-clockwise direction, while the inner ring was even more slow and only made small, fragile movements and steps.


    "They have decided to give a prayer to a god of the Arkeet, name is Dorotea, she is known as the ''goddess of wretchedness.'' She inhabits all wretchedness and frailty, they say, and givesfort to the damned. The Arkeet are mostly extinct due to constant gue and disease, but we found a small outpost and killed them. They are a strange people, but also more powerful than the Emati, and that is why we send prayer to Dorotea."


    This time, the chant was more high-pitched and stately, and at times almost sounded like a slow, elegant rendition of ''O Fortuna.''


    The guard exined the chant.


    "Misery lovespany.


    "My sole bride is the flowers upon my grave,


    "Dorotea, sweet bride of pain,


    "you are the lithe shadow that follows


    the leper, in time with his step,


    and mirrors his suffering


    and never flees his side,


    "your pulse withers away each winter,


    like the song of a frail lyre,


    within the hearts


    of those who wander lost,


    "you are death to the dying


    and wail, by all suffering scarred.


    "You are the angel that follows us


    to the ce of execution,


    and the noose is your lips,


    "eternal bride of the damned.


    "You are the tear in the sapphire."


    After the chant was done, the mes leapt notably into the air, but from the ashes a still, silent voice called out in an unfamiliarnguage. The vigers talked among themselves quickly, then prepared to chant again.


    "The prayer was valid, but now she will ''interrogate'' us," the guard said. "Sometimes, even if the prayer describes their domain, they will ask further, more specific questions to make sure. It is a tricky matter."


    Crucis felt the sacred ash in his hands beginning to stir slightly, as if a fire asionally red up within it.


    "What''s their first question?" Danemy asked.


    "A voice whispered it from the ashes," the guard answered. "It is, ''How am I an angel in the ce of execution?''"


    "She''s fishing forpliments, is she?" Crucisughed. "Well, hopefully you pull this off."


    "Yes, yes. If she epts our answer, I think she will have another question."


    <em>Q. How am I an angel in the ce of execution?</em>


    You are the shadows that haunt the gallows,


    the hanged man''s choked cry is an echo of yours,


    your voice is hisst thought.


    Your lips purse in silken penitence,


    as you turn pale in his suffocation,


    and your body wilts


    beneath a lifeless stare.


    <em>Q. If this man wanted to see me, where could he find me?</em>


    You are around him


    in the withered shadows of his eyes,


    inside his heart,


    and his pale corpse is the white of your wedding dress.


    <em>Q. And how would he see me?</em>


    You dwell in the darkness


    evoked


    when suffering obscures the vision,


    and your world is a den of shadows,


    and your husband is a corpse,


    embraced in your white light,


    makingmunion in death,


    you have be one flesh.


    "Thest one was a ''trick question,''" the guardmented. "But it has been epted! Excellent. That is rare luck, perhaps because of the blessing of Aluriel."


    As this chant continued, Crucis'' [Sacred Ash] had increasingly dissolved into a white me. Now, this evaporated to reveal a small, elegant ck sculpture of a stallion wth a headless rider. The mighty ck stallion had a white, star-like mark on its head.


    The item was marked as [The Headless Horseman], and its effect was described as follows:


    [Confers the status effect ''Parasite'' to the user while activated. The user''s skin will rot, due to the effect of a parasite within the skin, but the parasite will carry out physical skills and nt itself upon the opponent with each sessful hit, allowing it to direct its attacks more urately. The user will be free to use misceneous or movement skills while the parasite is attacking. The attacks will grow stronger longer that the ''Parasite'' effectsts, but the effect will also start to drain the user''s HP, and it is dangerous to use it for a minute or above. CD: 30 minutes.]


    "I recognize this," the guard told him. "It is replica of a big ancient statue West of Kaxil, many different people worship there and say that it is one of their gods, but say the head fell off before. But Dravaistaya has told us that it was always headless. Some people have performed rituals in front of statue, and it allows them to even mutate their bodies, some grow extra limbs and climb trees like spiders... but it is overwhelming, it bes addictive and they turn to shells for the parasite."


    "I see. So is it safe to use?" Crucis said.


    "All thates from the sacred ash is powerful, so use it. The parasite''s effect will heal after you are done. But not for too long, and not too often."


    Crucis drew his sword, and activated [The Headless Horseman] in order to test it out.


    He felt patches of his arms deaden as if anaesthetised, and soon this sensation began to spread across his legs and even face. Looking down, he immediately saw that parts of his right arm had begun to rot to a sickly, grey-green shade, with some skin beginning to peel.


    As he scanned the rest of his body, there were many signs of this rot, which was spreading with each second. He even glimpsed, through the corner of his eye, a small, scar-like line of rot across the right side of his face.


    Putting his unease aside, he tried a basic [sh] with his sword. He saw his arm fly numbly from right to left, carrying his sword in an elegant, fast arc in front of him. He could barely feel the motion, but it looked forceful. The sword had glided with a strangebination of grace and rugged brute force, like a hunting osprey as its swoop submerges in water.


    Remembering the item''s description, he tried an [Overhead Strike]. As he noticed his arm begin to move, he used [Drift] to step to the side. The parasite effortlessly adapted to this, continuing the strike from its new position and following through with discipline.


    The parasitic infestation was growing deeper, and Crucis noticed that his arms were by now mostly grey-green, with a few hints of red and ck. As the rot set deeper, the parasite found fewer obstacles to its motion, and he could swing his sword at devastating speed. However, his HP was beginning to deplete, and while it was still just above 80% he wouldn''t have much time left to try this item.


    Trying a [Lunge], he felt his body sweep forwards nimbly under the effect of the parasite, and he decided to try a [Dodge Step] backwards to test the parasite further. As he stepped back, he saw that his arm had extended to twice its length, and continued to push forwards where he had originally lunged. The greening arm almost seemed to have a mucous life of its own, and retracted back into ce once it had finished the strike.


    Seemingly, as the parasite grew more powerful, it could pull off strange, alien-like feats that Crucis'' original body was incapable of.


    However, seeing his HP lower to 50%, Crucis immediately deactivated [The Headless Horseman], and his skin quickly returned to normal. He exhaled, as he settled calmly into his normal movements.


    The parasite was seemingly very powerful, but using it for long periods of time would be hazardous. It would be best saved for moments where he needed it.


    Looking around, he saw that DicingDevil and a few more yers had also gained items from the sacred ash. DicingDevil was sliding on a pair of versatile grey-blue gloves, while Konstantin was ying around curiously with a glowing, white stone.


    "What happened to your arm?" dimir asked light-heartedly. "You are Martian now?"


    "I got turned into some kind of zombie," Crucis replied bemusedly. "What did Konstantin get? It looks valuable."


    "He says it is [Light Stone], it increases speed of weapon a lot. Now he is bugging me, says he will be big Arch-Knight. Ambition is a danger!"


    Although dimir poked fun at Konstantin, it was clear that dimir was also enthusiastic about the idea of his friend bing an Arch-Knight, a sub-ss which was well-known for its power inbat.


    "That''s a good choice," DicingDevil said. "Have you got your reward yet?"


    "No, not yet..." dimir said. "Hopefully it is good."


    "Sure, good luck."


    Looking towards the fire, Crucis noticed that the vigers were in another loud chant, dancing around the fire in a simr, slow way tost time, though with slightly more stiffness and aggression to their movements. However, the chant seemingly fizzled out without a response.


    After a few sentences, they began the chant again.


    "We are trying now the Arkeet god named Demtzel, the god of ''longsuffering.'' Our first prayer failed, but we try it again, because it has worked before. They worship him as mighty god who saved them from ancient persecution and led them here, using his silver bow and arrows to fend off rival people, when he incarnated as man. It is unlikely legend, but they believe it. Their myth also has many stories of him having ''flings'' with their goddesses, including Dorotea and her sister Enia, goddess of the underworld. The stories are important to their religion, but we call it ''gossip-chant.''"


    He looked at the chant. "This is interesting gossip-chant, though. Here is what they say."


    The silver arrow does not sway in wind,


    it follows the call of destiny


    throughshing gales,


    and has no ambition or remorse.


    Though the heat tears you,


    and the cold drains your vigour,


    Dorotea walks with you always


    and you findfort in her eyes.


    Knight, cursed to wander aimless,


    like an albatross, the world,


    cursed with disease and ailment,


    and irresistably with death,


    Enia shall meet you in her underworld,


    and drench your wounds in tears,


    tears which she has saved forever


    in these years where she does not cry


    and the grave''s stare is grave and barren.


    As she embraces you, now-unwatered flowers shall flourish


    across the underworld for the first time.


    <em>Q. Why am I seen in Enia''s Mirror?</em>


    Enia''s diamond-likeke-mirror stretches


    across the great valley around her throne


    and she looks in it to see her beauty,


    reflected in its lively waters, that drop


    from earth''s purest geysers untainted.


    She sees there the beauty of death in life,


    the beauty of your wounded, ursed body,


    a mirror to death from the world of life.


    And you shall one day see yourself in her eyes,


    and fall into her hands like a sigh into silence.


    That is why you are seen in her mirror.


    <em>Q. What is love?</em>


    It is a conjured pain


    when the soul is born in strife,


    and needs this hurt to feel


    like itself.


    It is the song of the emotions,


    which bleed life''s vividness away


    until they can repose


    in their home, the grave.


    It is the marriage of your suffering


    with death, where it belongs,


    and it is the vigour of wretchedness


    as it haunts the diseased sufferer,


    envious that death shall take him


    and end their lovely grotesque.


    It is the hope of hearts long-dead,


    and the answer that exults in ringing hollow.


    <em>Q. I sang to Dorotea once, and won her over, birthing my son Hysteria. How did I sing, ording to the legends?</em>


    ''The world has turned cold.


    You will not know your hopes,


    you will not dream;


    just lie here with me,


    and we will dream in death.


    There forms nothing new here


    to unparch us with new sensations


    and even the sun is a fearsomence


    that hisses its mes at us,


    so talk about nothing.


    Let us go. We shall find what dreams,


    what beautiful pallid dreams, you weave


    when the night has enveloped


    so deep that we cannot dream.


    You''ll find a home from home,


    furnished with the hearth of my desire.


    I know your heart will never stop,


    it is the leaping light that guides us


    like a star.''


    The fire red up, and the prayer was sessful.


    "Excellent, but all of these interrogations make me nervous," the guard said. "It is often better to try and find a god who can be reached in one prayer, because the longer an interrogation, the more time for it to be discounted pettily. But the Emati and Arkeet gods are like this, and it was worth trying. Now our ''Constitution'' will be higher, and we will get stronger the more that we are attacked. But we can move on to other gods now."


    In the meantime, Crucis noticed that Danemy had a new, triangr ck dagger which had emerged from the sacred ash. As Danemy tested it out, it was clear that this de was incredibly sharp, despite its simple, short, blocky appearance.


    The vigers had already begun a new dance, now all in one, disorganised ring around the fire. They began to shriek loudly, but in an almost colloquial, understated rhythm.


    "What''s this new chant?" DicingDevil asked the guard casually. "By the way, this ritual is impressive. I think we have some idea of how it works, is there any way that we could help out?"


    "Hm. You could, in fact, and you may also get some rewards. But it is unsafe for you toe near the fire. There is something else. We mostly live in this area, but some gods are based on things you might know more. We would like to try challenging these gods. You could etch a chant on a stone like this, to guide us."


    He picked up a red, cuboid stone, that looked like a less decorated version of the ones which Crucis had taken forg purposes.


    Holding out the stone, the guard said, "You may all write one or two lines on paper, if you have it, and I will try to trante them onto this stone. If you do well, then it will help us, by showing the way, also kindling the fire further. And you will also get some benefits if the prayer seeds."


    "Alright," DicingDevil said. "We can start with the next god. But which god is the current chant for? It''s very calm."


    "It is for a goddess of the Mikan people, they are a strange people. Both lewd and prosaic, always excited but also in drudgery. This is to Ilmajes, their goddess of ''hope in despair.''"


    I saw you in the storm,


    we were walking in the smog that grows beneath heavy rain,


    ck air that pools like ck blood


    as if earth failed to breathe in smothering rain''s fabric,


    I saw an angel,


    and your light bleached the clouds white,


    until the rain seemed snowkes cut from crystal;


    your small hand was a bursting sun


    on the earth.


    There is no sce for the damned


    except to dissolve


    in your fingers'' touch.


    Ilmajes, our morning star!


    Your grace is all that''s left of us!


    As the prayer was epted, a faint drizzle began to pour from the clouds.


    A few of the vigers climbed up a hut and precautiously grabbed hold of arge, wooden tform leaning against it, preparing to build a temporary shelter from rain to protect the fire if necessary. But in seconds the drizzle had abated.


    Starfighter''s sacred ash had red up, leaving behind what looked like a sword with multiple long, silver des. However, as he lifted it, it became clear that what had appeared to be the des of a sword were actually long, ded whips, and he whirled them lightly in the air to make sure. The silver whips spread fluidly through the air like waves of rain.


    Crucis saw that the weapon was named [Urumi].


    "That is a special weapon," the guard told Starfighter. "You must know at least basic whip skill to use it. But it is a weapon that is in constant motion, a very dangerous one for both the user and enemy. So you must be skilled to use it well. It leaves deep wounds and bleeding, flesh torn apart, and if against many opponents they will have many wounds even from one Urumi user. But not as lethal as dagger or sword, so we switch to those at the end of fight."


    Starfighter tried to whirl the Urumi around and sh it forwards, as a test, but soon stopped after he identally cut a small wound on his arm with the whirring des.


    "I have some experience with whips, since I helped some Eastern vigers with quests involving herding animals," Starfighter mentioned. "But this thing is crazy. Its movement speed is way higher than anything else, it''s going to hurt if it hits me by ident."


    Although he spoke in a resigned tone, he began covertly increasing the level of his [Whip Handling] skill, not one to turn down a challenge like this. Further, the attacks of these long whips were almost akin to AoE, and would be very effective at grinding in the wild if he could figure them out.


    "Let us show you," the guard said, smiling. He held out his hand, and Starfighter handed him the Urumi.


    Another vige guard picked up a grey Urumi of his own, which looked quite battered from years of use, and walked over for a makeshift duel.