A final corrupted Vila burned in the black fire. Aqua closed her eyes and exhaled. "It is such a shame."
It was a sad thing that rot existed, yet one could not blame a natural force for fulfilling its purpose.
Just as Sun God's aspect was rebirth and change, and the black flame's aspect was consumption and destruction. The rot represented assimilation and corruption.
Of course, Aqua hated it as all living things should, it was an anathema to all life that wished to avoid being twisted into something terrible.
Yet she understood it. She tilted her head toward the horizon, the sun was almost down, and thus she had to return and finish the ritual. Lesh appeared behind her, and a faint smell of lavender filled her nose.
"Lesh, I believe there are no corrupted Vilas in the forest. I will head to the village now."
"Thank you for your assistance, champion," he said.
Aqua nodded before disappearing in a flash.
She appeared in the ritual chamber. The Vilas were hard at work finishing their preparations. They decorated themselves with various flowers and vegetation while the ribbons of various colors trailed behind them.
"Champion!" Katarina shouted while waving to Aqua. She, too, was decorated as the other Vilas were. The eager girl approached and grinned. "We are about to start, but there is one more thing you need to do before we commence."
Aqua tilted her head. "What is it?"
Katarina flew into the air, and retrieved a wreath of flowers from behind her back. "We need to decorate you, so just be quiet while we do it!"
Aqua did not protest; instead, she stretched her hands to the sides, letting Katarina and an additional two Vilas work on decorating her.
They placed flowers and vines around her arms and thighs, and various ribbons were attached at her sleeves and shoulders.
After a minute of preparation, Katarina placed the wreath of flowers on Aqua.
The eager Vila flew back and clapped her hands together. "Perfect, you look beautiful, and unlike the Empress, you didn't even utter a single complaint!"
Aqua chuckled. There were no reasons to complain. She trusted them completely. If they had said that the decorations were necessary to commune with Valerie, then she was more than happy to accept them.
She chuckled and placed her hand on Katarina's head. "Why would I? It's not like you are going to do any harm to me, not to mention that the wreath of flowers is beautiful."
The Vila shook her head and separated, desperately attempting to suppress her excitement at the praise. "I weaved it myself!" She exclaimed before tapping her fingers together. "And Poludnitza helped… of course."
Aqua crossed her arms, smiling warmly at the girl.
After a moment of silence, Katarina cleared her throat. "Alrighty! I think it's time to start the dance. Aqua, please walk into the middle of the circle."
Let's do this. Aqua urged herself as she stepped into the carefully prepared circle.
Dozens of Vilas, including Katarina and Poludnitza, took their positions at the rim.
Katarina placed her hands on her hips. "When the time approaches, I will bring you the tea to drink."
"I understand."
Yet, she couldn't help a shakiness in her legs. Her palms sweated, and she found it hard to stand idly.
Am I nervous about dancing, of all things? She suppressed the urge to laugh. After everything she had gone through, that dancing was the thing to cause her to stumble.
A clap brought her attention to Poludnitza, who stared at her with equal intensity as the first time, yet this time she could tell it was not out of fear but hope.
"Let us begin the ritual of communion! It has been so long since we communed, and now is the time to do what we were meant to do! When we dance, our mother listens, and when our mother listens, our dreams will reach her!"
Is that why I need to sleep? Her heart sank. She wondered what would happen if she had a nightmare when a connection was established. After all, her nightmares were not just that.
They were far more dangerous than normal bad dreams.
She quickly dismissed her thoughts. At this point in time, she had two options. Risk the nightmare, or let Valerie rot away and lose her home.
The latter option was inexcusable.
If she had lost the Elven Kingdom, much less the entire world, due to her inaction, then she knew not what she would have done.
Poludnitza raised her arm. "Alright, Aqua, all you need to do is follow our movements while we dance around you. As long as you try your best, there won't be an issue."
Aqua nodded.
"I understand."
Some Vilas retrieved various wooden rattles and bells.
Then the ritual started.
The Vilas moved in the circle, their instruments creating a simple melody.
Their movements were simple yet elegant. They moved like a feather through the spring breeze, their wings gently fluttering with each step they took.
They spun and stretched.
Her gaze met Katarina's, who merely smiled at her with an encouraging smile. Aqua took a deep breath and shook her head, her ears slumping down.
"I can do this, I can do this!" She kept saying to herself.
Left, right, forward, back, and spin. She spoke in her mind while attempting to imitate the dancing Vilas.
Her movements were rather clumsy, yet with each passing sequence she grew more confident.
The pace grew more rapid, barely allowing her to catch up.
The ribbons became a blur, and the circle began glowing.
It was one of the few times that primitive somatic casting was used as the go-to method.
Yet, the world souls operated in a rather alien way, thus even if somatics were not the most efficient, they still were what Valerie demanded, thus she would not judge it.
Her movement became more graceful, her dancing finally resembling anything comparable to dancing.
She moved toward the walls of ribbons and Vilas that surrounded her. Her own ribbons tracking behind her.
The ritual continued for hours, and deep into the night, yet the pace and intensity only grew more powerful.
How did Nicolas survive this? She placed her hands above her head and spun in place.
She had unlimited stamina, but a mortal like him would have dropped dead after an hour.
Another hour passed, and Katarina separated from the circle, grabbing the cup of tea.
Aqua noticed her and stopped, approaching the small gap.
"It's almost time, drink the tea, champion!" Katarina shouted over the loud music and dance.
Aqua quickly grabbed the cup and chugged it down before handing it back to Katarina, who swiftly put it away and continued the dance.
A wave of calmness washed over her mind, relaxing her body. That tea is so good!
The very instant she drank it, her worries dispersed, and her mind felt calm. The anxiety, the pain, all of it was dampened.
Soon the dance became slower, and the instruments stopped.
The circle glowed brightly.
I suppose I need to lay down. Her lips stretched into a thin line as she stopped her dancing.
While Vilas continued around her, she lay flat on her back, her hands on her chest, her eyes closed.
The dancing slowly stopped as only minutes remained before the moon reached its zenith.
Slowly, Aqua's consciousness drifted away, plunging her into a deep dream just as the midnight hour struck.