Beckoning Spring to the Feast of the Skies (Walpurgis Night 2021) - Chapter 7

[dotsuitarehompo]

Location: Forest of The Spirits - Inner Part (Day)

Chloe: A voice…? I can’t hear anything though… Do you know what it’s saying?

Shylock: Why don’t we ask it ourselves? It appears it would like to tell us something.

<< Inviebelle >>

Shylock puffs smoke out of his pipe in Rutile’s direction as he cites his spell. 

Cain: …! That voice…?

Chloe: Woah! What is this…! 

Shylock: I placed a spell on you in order to sharpen your senses. Since we are wizards, we should be able to hear their voices clearer.

Just as Shylock had said that, amazement flashed across the younger wizards’ faces as they strained their ears in order to hear the whispers and murmurs of the spirits.

Cain: Can you hear them, Master Sage?

Akira: No, I don’t think I can…

(However, I can feel a mysterious presence beside me…)

(Wind rustling)

Rutile: …What…?

Mitile: Brother, what it said just now…!

Suddenly, Rutile began looking around in bewilderment, his eyes darting from one place to another. Mitile’s eyes widened and he stopped dead in his tracks. 

Nero: … It’s callin’ out this one name over and over again. 

Akira: Huh? Whose name is it…?

Nero: It’s sayin’ “Tiletta’s finally here” and “Tiletta has come back to us.”

Snow: They must’ve mistaken Rutile for Tiletta since they can sense her within him. 

Cain: What does this all mean? What does the spirit want from Rutile…I mean Tiletta.

Mitile: Brother! There’s a branch growing near your foot…!

The anomalous situation had perplexed us so much that we didn’t even notice the branch that had begun entwining near Rutile’s feet. 

Chloe: Rutile! 

We were fearful at first because we thought it would attack Rutile.

However, it only gently tugged at his sleeve, as if trying to show us that it had no ill intentions. 

The gesture was like that of a child pulling their parent’s hand in order to get their attention.

Rutile: …

Judging by his expression, the spirit must have said something to Rutile. After observing their exchange, Shylock closed his eyes and shook his head.

Shylock: The person you are talking to is not Tiletta. This is her son, Rutile.

I’m afraid Tiletta… has passed away…

At Shylock’s words, the forest went silent. Amid the stillness, the branch that had latched onto Rutile’s sleeve fell to the ground as if it had lost its harbour.

(Strong gust of wind)

Akira: Woah…!

A gust of cold wind abruptly blew by.

The sound of the leaves whirling and the swaying of the trees resembled weeping.

Although I couldn’t hear what the spirits were saying, the forest said it all; they were mourning Tiletta’s passing. 

Rustica: The spirits never resented her, did they…

No, there’s no way they did. Not with how much they’re grieving for her right now.

Rutile: …Hey, spirits, why did you take away Helena and me?

The trees lurched towards Rutile as if they were answering him. Shylock conveyed that answer to me.

Shylock: For the longest time, they’ve felt lonely.

After all, this place is located far from anyone’s reach. It’s fairly difficult for wizards to come here, even less for humans.

While the serenity can be rather alluring, eventually, it becomes too much to bear and turns into a feeling of emptiness and laconism.

Akira: (It really was too quiet when we arrived…. Maybe that’s why I myself felt empty earlier.)

Shylock: Unaware of the existence of anything else, they have always been haunted by loneliness.

This is why they decided to take away Rutile and tried to raise him as their own child.

Snow: Soon after, Tiletta came to search for dear Rutile.

They say she was exceptionally furious, but that’s only natural. Anyone would pursue the miscreant who took their children away.

Tiletta attempted to make the spirits atone for their actions. She was known for being a fearsome tormentor, after all…

Snow smiles melancholically. He seemed to be recalling Tiletta from back in the day. 

(Gust of wind)

The forest swayed calmly once more.

[Flashback]

Location: Forest of The Spirits - Inner Part (Day)

Tiletta: You need to understand that there are things you can do and things you CAN’T do, okay? And that your loneliness isn’t an excuse you can get behind all the time.

If I had seen even a single, tiny scratch on Rutile, I wouldn’t have hesitated to snap and burn this forest to the ground, you know.

But…I’ll forgive you this time. Rutile is safe, which is all that matters, and I perfectly understand the fondness of spending time with someone who’s warm and lively.

So, from this day on, I’ll make sure to come and visit once in a while.

And when I do, you better welcome me like they do in the legends of the Southern Walpurgis Night where all spirits, animals, and flora come together to celebrate the coming of spring.

I’ll be looking forward to it.

[End Flashback]

Snow: Since then, Tiletta came to visit this forest every year.

The spirits ensured to give her a grand feast each time and after celebrating for a while, she would go home.

…One day, however, she stopped coming altogether. 

And no matter how long the spirits waited, no matter how many seasons passed and no matter how many feasts they held…she never returned. 

They remembered how lonely they were in the beginning because they had come to understand what it was like to spend time with a loved one.

Rustica: Perhaps because they couldn’t stand the loneliness again so they decided to start taking children away once more.

They took Helena away to raise her as their own child, just like they had tried to do with Rutile.

They must have thought that Tiletta would return and chastise them again. 

Akira: (…But there was no way she would’ve come back…)

(...For she had already turned to stone.)

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