Dancing in the moonlight

The fire crackled and the drums resounded, the floor trembled softly under the hooves of the Jessadians dancing. The rhythm of the music forced Jäwell's heart to beat, even without blood in him, he could feel the inside of his body reacting in a way he was not prepared to. 

The earth itself was responding, every dead creature around would come back to life, only for a moment, only to listen to their power as it was the true power of the Jessadians. They were the guides of life and death, outside of time and space, outside of the worlds, and outside of every system that could exist. 

In the shadows, they joined the past members of their tribe, as a form of ghosts. They were answering the call to bless this new place of peace. One of them was in the form of a human-looking child. The shadow came and took Jäwell's hand, dragging him with the group and inviting him to dance with them. The prince was transported and didn't oppose, he followed the little one under the watchful eye of Zuline who had a slight smile. 

The young one led him, passing through the fire a few times and never getting burned. Other Jessadians around were doing the same and the border between what was alive and what was only a shadow was becoming finer and finer. Jäwell followed the child into the flames and images imposed themselves into his eyes.

He felt like a newborn discovering the world, he was experiencing so many emotions that he didn't know what they were. The little one giggled in front of him, the moonlight touched her and exposed a damaged body, ravaged by war. The child was around ten or eleven years old, and half of her stomach was missing. Jäwell recognized easily the impact of a catapult as he already used some to damage the armies of his enemies in the past. He already has seen what it could do to a body but never he would have imagined seeing this on a girl. When young ones were enrolled in the army, only boys were taken, not little girls. 

The little one stepped closer and raised herself to place a hand on his cheek. She had no skin, she was only shadows, but somehow, she felt incredibly warm. Jäwell realized she whipped a single tear that was running down his face without him noticing it. He took her hand with a sorry look but the girl was only smiling. 

The drums' intensity increased, and Jäwell could now feel a pulse in his throat. Something unusual was happening to him. The little girl took him and made him cross the fire once again. He passed at the same time as a warrior. The man next to him fell to the ground immediately when he arrived on the other side. 

If Jäwell thought at first that the man was only drunk, he was surprised to see him rolling on the side in a fetal position and crying all the tears of his soul. The figure of an old Jessadian man was over him, embracing him with care and tenderness. The prince was shocked to see such a scene but he was even more lost to see images in his eyes that corresponded to nothing he knew. 

The fire had a great impact on everyone crossing it, Jäwell was unsure about what was around him, he couldn't determine anymore what was present, future, and what were his memories or someone else's. He wanted to ask questions but something felt blocked in his throat and he swallowed. As he did, the thing was too big and he needed to spit.

His saliva touched the fire and provoked an explosion, raising flames into the sky. Jäwell had wide-opened eyes in surprise but what surprised him the most was that magnificent and enormous moon in the sky. 

The eternal night of the desert has been made by Clyss, there was a dome of shadows over the place and this moon was the confirmation that Jäwell was not in the desert where he thought he was anymore. The floor was still sand but it was a black one, they were not in Ombrae even if everything was similar to it. Jäwell felt dizzy and his head spun, he was deeply lost and this little girl never stopped smiling at him. 

The prince opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was lost in the drums and he could not even hear himself. The child laughed, mocking him. She danced around him, touching his arms, his back, his chest, and he enjoyed it fully. Time had no importance anymore and as she played with him he was contaminated by the general euphoria. 

Hurak placed an arm over his shoulders and gave him a cup to drink in. The strong Jessadian was leaning over Jäwell and the prince could not tell if the man was drunk or drugged, or if he was affected by the same thing that affected himself. The prince laughed as he took the cup. He took one sip of it and almost choked as he felt the taste of a simple tea when he expected a strong alcohol. The jessadian patted his cheek a bit strongly, almost slapping him on the way before he walked away in the crowd to share his drink with others. 

Jäwell had no idea for how long he was dancing or how many times he crossed the fire following this little girl but he could tell the drums were becoming faster and stronger every time and soon, he heard people howling like animals around him. Some imitating wolves, some ululating like owls, and some, laughing like hyenas. 

The fire brought out everyone's most primitive instincts. A warrior ripped out his shirt and punched his chest, yelling, and another answered his call. The two of them started to fight, pushing themselves occasionally into the fire and Jäwell was excited to see them doing so, cheering amongst other Jessadians who encouraged them to continue. 

They were brawling with all their strength but with no intention to hurt each other. The two men were having their language in an intense exchange, and the fire was still burning no one around. Jäwell was taken by the hand once again by the little one, she pushed him into the fire and this time, he lost himself in it. For a moment, the prince could not find the exit of the blaze. He turned on himself a few times without understanding what was happening but he started to laugh, for some reason, he couldn't care less. 

Two large yellow eyes stared at him, they were attracting him. He moved his hand in their direction but they were not here for real. The flames were dancing all around the animal and a black powerful wolf appeared in the vision. Jäwell was in awe of the beast, feeling a deep connection to it. The wolf made a sign for Jäwell to follow and he obeyed without asking any questions, carried by the general joy around him. The prince stepped out of the fire, finding the floor on the other side and losing balance on the way. He fell to the ground and placed his two hands on his face. Closing his eyes and smelling the scent of the soup the women had cooked before. 

The little girl was not here anymore but a woman came close to him and placed a kiss on his forehead. Jäwell was lost between the wolf, the little girl, Zuline, Hurak, and everyone around in this chaotic and beautiful orgy of senses. He didn't move when the person placed her face to his ear and her sweet delicate voice echoed in his mind. Shivers ran through him when he heard her words.

"I love you, you make me proud."

Jäwell opened his eyes immediately, he jumped onto his legs searching for her. Zuline noticed his distress and that he was overwhelmed. He yelled something that could not be heard due to the drums and seemed desperate to find the person who appeared to him. When he thought about crossing the fire once again to have another vision and join her, his hand felt the warmth of the flame. 

There was no moon anymore and the sand was cold and brown as he was before everything happened. Zuline almost ran to him but he ended up on his knees crying and begging, his hands into the fire burning. She pulled him further and dragged him outside the crowd. 

Jäwell tried to push her away and go back, he was desperate, panting. Zuline took a blanket and rolled him inside while giving him tea. He looked at her with pleading eyes full of tears. Not fully understanding what happened but conscious that he was back in reality. 

Zuline took care of him by the time he recovered his senses. Jäwell took a deep breath to try to calm himself, looking at his cup of tea while his hands were shaking. She placed her hand on his forearm and caressed him with her thumb.

"Who appeared to you?" She asked in a very gentle tone. 

Jäwell needed a few seconds to find his voice back. He was now watching the fire from afar with a clear mind, looking at the Jessadians experiencing the same kind of hallucinations near the fire. The prince took a deep breath, his heart was beating but there was no sensation of blood pumping into his body anymore, confirming everything had gone back to normal. 

After a few more minutes, holding the tea and looking at it, feeling its warm steam brush his cheeks, he answered Zuline's question.

"It was my mother," And he added with a deep smile she had never seen on him before, it was a smile full of pure genuine love, "She said she was proud of me."