The crowd's chorus continued.
Coppelia's gaze swept over the camp, quickly locking onto a few bards who were leaning against a pile of supplies, chatting idly instead of joining the chorus. Their faces were weathered, and their instruments were carefully placed within arm's reach.
She took Columbina's hand and walked straight over to them.
"Excuse me," Coppelia said calmly, moving behind Columbina and gently pushing her half a step forward. "She wants to learn to sing. Could you please teach her?"
When the bards saw who it was, respect and warmth immediately filled their faces. They were well aware of the crucial role these two guests had played in preparing the supplies for the migration.
The old bard leading them, the deep wrinkles on his face smoothing out, quickly stood up. "Of course! It would be our honor, miss. We'd be more than happy to help Miss Columbina!"
So as not to disturb the others who were resting, the old bard gestured for them to follow, leading them to a smaller bonfire nearby. The spot was relatively secluded, with only the faint crackling of the flames.
The old bard had Columbina stand properly while he found an overturned wooden barrel to sit on, then picked up his worn but well-polished lyre.
"When singing, the first thing is to relax," he said kindly, his voice carrying the distinct raspy quality of a long-time singer. "Don't think about using too much force. It should feel like... like speaking softly to someone far away."
Columbina nodded earnestly, mimicking his posture by straightening her back slightly and clasping her hands in front of her.
"Come, follow me. Let's try a simple scale first. Ahh—" The old bard demonstrated a long, steady note.
Columbina opened her mouth and tried to make a sound. Her tone was ethereal and clear, but her pitch was erratic, fluctuating high and low like an uncontrolled feather in the wind.
The old bard showed no impatience. He patiently corrected her again and again, using hand gestures to illustrate the changes in pitch. "No rush, take it slow. Feel the vibration in your throat... Yes, hold it steady..."
Gradually, something strange happened.
It was as if Columbina had a naturally superhuman sensitivity to sound.
After the first few off-key and rhythmically chaotic attempts, she began to adapt and adjust at an astonishing speed.
The old bard only needed to demonstrate once or twice before she could almost perfectly replicate complex trills and subtle rhythmic changes, even beginning to add a touch of her own unique flavor.
Her learning speed left even the worldly-wise old bard secretly speechless.
On the other side of the camp, the chorus gradually died down. Hearing the activity over here, some of the refugees who weren't ready for bed gathered around curiously. Seeing that it was the quiet guest learning to sing, they all kept a respectful distance to watch.
Columbina noticed the gathering gazes, and her voice involuntarily grew quiet again.
"You sing beautifully, miss!"
"Yeah, what a clear voice!"
"Don't be afraid, sing a little louder!"
Scattered but sincere words of encouragement rose from the crowd.
Columbina glanced at Coppelia, who stood beside her silent but with a calm gaze, then at the old bard before her, whose eyes were full of encouragement. She took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and began to sing again.
This time, her voice was much louder as she sang the ancient Mondstadt folk song she had just learned from start to finish.
Her ethereal voice, as pure as starlight, breathed new life into the old tune. The surroundings fell silent, leaving only her song drifting gracefully on the night wind.
After just a few dozen minutes, Columbina could already sing several songs popular among the refugees, fluently and with emotion. The speed at which she mastered the techniques was unbelievable.
The old bard was so excited his beard trembled, and he exclaimed repeatedly, "A genius! A true one-in-a-million vocal prodigy! I've been teaching for so many years and I've never seen anyone learn this fast!"
The people around them also let out heartfelt sighs of admiration.
Listening to the praise and seeing the admiring smiles on everyone's faces, a faint blush appeared on Columbina's pale cheeks. She seemed to draw strength from it, singing with even more passion and beauty.
...
The night grew darker, but Columbina's singing showed no signs of stopping. Instead, it became even more melodious and captivating.
Her ethereal, beautiful voice seemed to possess a magical quality, piercing the cold air and drawing more and more refugees out of their tents to gather quietly around the small bonfire.
No one spoke, afraid of disturbing the soul-cleansing song.
Gunnhildr was also drawn by the sound. Having finished her tasks, she walked silently to the edge of the crowd, crossed her arms, and leaned against a sleigh, quietly watching Columbina, who seemed to glow as she was surrounded by the people.
Something even more astonishing happened.
Some of the small creatures of the snow plains seemed to be attracted by the strange singing as well.
A few fluffy snow hares poked their heads out from the dark bushes, their long ears perked up, their ruby-like eyes looking toward the source of the song.
Several bold squirrels paused on distant branches, and even one or two rare snow-white foxes sat far off in the snow, listening quietly.
They didn't dare approach the crowd, but their focused postures made it clear they were captivated by the song.
The people noticed these little spectators, their faces showing expressions of disbelief. They exchanged astonished glances and were even more careful not to make a sound, afraid of scaring away these listeners from nature.
Columbina saw the small animals too.
This hadn't happened when the people were singing their chorus earlier.
Could it be that her singing could attract not only humans, but animals as well?
This realization stirred something in Columbina. She recalled what Coppelia and Gunnhildr had said when discussing their plan to find the Anemo spirit.
Gunnhildr: "Do you know how to get an Anemo spirit to approach on its own?"
Coppelia: "I'm not sure what Anemo spirits like. I'd guess it's probably something related to the wind."
Something related to the wind... Does sound count? Back behind the altar, when Coppelia pretended to be an Anemo spirit to speak with the priest, didn't she also use the wind to carry her voice?
A thought flashed like a spark. She suddenly stopped singing and turned to Coppelia, her tone tinged with an uncertain excitement. "I want to try... see if my singing... can attract the Anemo spirit too?"
Coppelia was silent for a moment, then nodded. "You can try. But don't force yourself."
Coppelia then walked through the quiet crowd to Gunnhildr's side and quietly told her of Columbina's idea.
"What if it works?" Coppelia said. "If the Anemo spirit really appears, you need to be ready to persuade it."
Gunnhildr's expression sharpened. She quickly suppressed her astonishment and nodded.
Her body, leaning against the sleigh, tensed slightly as the speeches she had already rehearsed countless times in her mind began to race through her thoughts.
At the same time, Coppelia walked to the edge of the crowd, a faint light flashing in her eyes as she activated her Elemental Sight.
The colors of her vision instantly faded, transforming into a monochrome world where only the flow of elemental energy appeared as vibrant trails.
Coppelia carefully scanned her surroundings, searching for any signs of an unusual concentration of Anemo energy.
Columbina began to sing again. This time, it was more than just singing.
She closed her eyes slightly, mobilizing the power within her. The highlights in her long, auburn hair suddenly lit up with a conspicuous red glow.
Her song changed along with it, as if infused with some form of intangible power. It became more piercing, more resonant, spreading outwards like ripples.
More snow hares, squirrels, and even a few thick-feathered snow owls were drawn by the power-infused song, gathering far in the distance.
They seemed to feel the joy and peace conveyed in the song. The snow hares twitched their whiskers gently to the rhythm, the squirrels swayed their tails slightly, and the snow foxes lay down quietly, letting out contented purrs.
This strange sight made the onlookers hold their breath.
In Coppelia's monochrome vision, there was still only a faint, natural flow of Anemo energy near the ground.
So she raised her head, turning her gaze to the sky, which was shrouded in night and thin clouds.
It wasn't that she hadn't tried observing the sky with her Elemental Sight before, but she had always found nothing.
This time was different. High up in the sky, several clear, constantly shifting bands of cyan light came into her 'view'.
There were signs of active Anemo energy high in the sky!
___
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