Chapter 19: Ceremony on the Eve of the Celebration
Brutus and Marcus returned to the square empty-handed, and they ate all the laxio fruits they had just found on the way. Brutus thought this fruit was really delicious, and even he
People who don’t often eat fruits often miss them.
There were no classes today because the children also had to help prepare for the celebration. However, when he returned to the square, the preparations for the celebration seemed to have been almost completed. The children were gathering together to play Brutus.
famous game.
Chief Lorenzo sat with other old people in the village, chatting from time to time. The women gathered in groups in twos and threes, chatting and gossiping while cracking melon seeds.
Sure enough, melon seeds and gossip are an excellent match anywhere... Brutus heard a few words along the wind, shook his head, and walked towards Fabrizio, who was incompatible with the atmosphere of the celebration.
Fabrice was sitting alone behind a square table in his home. On the table was an unsealed jar, and next to it was a wooden cup half filled with an unknown liquid.
Brutus didn't get too close before he smelled what was in the jar and cup - wine.
"Would you like a glass of fruit wine?" Fabrice leaned on the chair and invited Brutus, who was coming over, "Don't worry, you won't get drunk."
Brutus moved a chair and sat on the left side of Fabrice: "I don't drink."
"It's boring." Fabrice muttered in disappointment. He also wanted to find someone to drink with him. Since Brutus didn't drink, he could only finish the remaining fruit wine in the wooden cup by himself.
"What do you think of the Forest Celebration?" Brutus felt like he was playing galgame or other plot games, asking NPCs for information.
But it’s okay to not understand the background of the story in the game, but not in reality.
"What do you think?" Fabrice glanced at Brutus, "It's better to do it step by step according to the tradition handed down in the village."
"I'm asking for your subjective opinion, such as about the forest goddess, or about those rituals."
"The forest goddess has blessed the village with a good harvest. This has been the case for more than a hundred years." Fabrice lifted the jar and filled the wooden cup with wine. "Whether it is the goddess's blessing or not, as long as we continue to do this, it will be fine."
"Then do you believe those legends?"
"Children will believe it." Fabrice didn't know what the guy next to him was thinking. He warned Brutus, "I don't care what you are thinking, but don't plan to destroy the beliefs and traditions of the villagers.
, otherwise I will definitely kill you."
Brutus shrugged: "Do you think I am such a person?"
After that, the two stopped talking about this topic, and Brutus turned to Fabrice for advice on the combat skills of using a spear and a shield at the same time. Although he was still only able to use a spear or a shield with one hand,
Learning more will undoubtedly be of great help to practice after leaving the village.
Time came to dusk unknowingly, and for the first time, the villagers lit torches around the square, completely illuminating the entire square.
According to what Brutus learned, this represented the beginning of the celebration ceremony.
The women, elders and children in the village gathered around the bonfire in the center of the square. Mayor Lorenzo walked to the bonfire holding an unlit bronze torch and stood there with a solemn expression.
Brutus turned his head and glanced at Fabrice, who was standing aside with his arms folded on his chest. One of them was a mature man who was not among the participants, and the other was an invited stranger who could not stay during the ceremony.
If you are near the crowd, you can only watch from a distance.
Village Chief Lorenzo seemed to be reciting something, and the crowd around the bonfire lowered their heads, holding their hands on their chests and resting on their chins. After a few minutes, the village chief held a bronze torch high and looked up to the sky.
A classic line suddenly appeared in Brutus's mind: Thunder helps me!
Just when he gave up this idea, a ray of white light actually struck down from the clear and cloudless sky, hitting the center of the bronze torch in the hand of Mayor Lorenzo.
"Isn't it?" Brutus felt very incredible. He suspected that he might have seen it wrong. When he turned to look at Fabrice aside, he found that Fabrice also looked surprised.
The torch in the village chief's hand emitted a ball of silver-white flame. Village chief Lorenzo seemed to be stunned and did not move for a long time, but he finally reacted and stepped forward to ignite the bonfire with the torch.
The villagers raised their heads and were surprised to see a bonfire with silver-white flames burning in the center of the square. Then they were even more surprised to find that the original red flames of the torches around the square gradually turned into silver-white.
This silver-white flame seemed to have the power to warm people's hearts. Even Brutus, who was far away, could feel the inexplicable optimism rising in his heart.
"Oh my god, this is so cool." The children in the crowd stared straight-eyed, and they pinched themselves in unison to make sure they were not dreaming. The women and old people were whispering to the people around them.
"This is the miracle of the forest goddess! It is the forest goddess who appears!" Mayor Lorenzo's calm voice spread from the center of the square to the surrounding areas. He opened his arms, held the torch tightly in his right hand, and said loudly to the villagers, "
Be quiet and let’s continue with the next ritual.”
The villagers gradually calmed down. They held each other's palms and formed a circle with the bonfire as the center. The children formed the innermost group, followed by the old people, and finally the women.
Brutus temporarily suppressed the idea of asking Fabrice beside him and continued to watch the villagers' celebration ceremony.
The villagers formed a circle and walked slowly around the central bonfire in a clockwise direction, whispering some words. The villagers' voices gradually became louder, and the chaotic chanting at the beginning also turned into neat
Reading sound.
Now Brutus heard clearly that they were reading Laxius.
As the villagers recited, Brutus felt the breeze blowing from the forest on the west side, mixed with the fresh smell unique to the forest. He turned back to look at the forest on the west side, and the sight that appeared in front of him made him stunned.
.
The forest stretching to the west was glowing with green light, and then those green light spots floated into the sky like stars. They continued to gather together, forming a huge arrow, and then flew towards the sky as if shot by someone with a bow.
Above the village of Laxius.
The arrow exploded over Laxius Village in the blink of an eye, and the light spots fell like snowflakes, but they did not fall to the ground immediately, but hung in the air like fireflies, flying around everyone.
Brutus curiously reached out and touched the green light spot next to him. As soon as he touched it, the light spot disappeared as if it melted into his body.
The dots of light eventually fell into the ground, and the silver-white flames returned to their usual red color. Everything was like a dream, but Brutus clearly understood that all of this really happened.
of.
"Didn't you ask me if I believe those legends?" Fabrice's slightly trembling voice came from beside him, "Now I believe it."