The Wandering God

8 Lucky Star on the Rise

Lao Bang's wife saw me looking at her granddaughter's hair and asked if I wanted mine braided as well.

"No," I answered quickly, and left my hair loose.

*~*~*~*~*~*

We gathered together the food and made our way to the festival grounds, where the men were to meet us. It took us a handful of minutes to walk to there, and we met many other villagers on the way, all similarly laden with boxes and trays of food. Children ran past us, carrying small paper lanterns on sticks that floated through the air. To represent fireflies, I supposed, as Lao Bang's wife had called it a firefly festival earlier.

The festival ground was a field of cut grass about a thousand lengths square. Blankets had been spread around the edges of the field with more paper lanterns strung overhead. Everywhere families sat eating and talking and laughing. Sangmi and her grandmother set up our own blanket and spread out the wooden trays of food. We sat down and began nibbling, and the blanket became a base of sorts, from which Sangmi and her grandmother could offer their cakes as trade to their friends and neighbors.

We soon acquired a variety of foods from other blankets.Though everything I ate was delicious, I noticed the absence of meat, salt, sugar, and other more expensive ingredients.

Just as I was biting into a fried dumpling filled with carrot and leek, a deep voice behind me said, "Well hello, pretty lady, may I sit here?"

I turned to see Zakhar smiling down at me, the others behind him. I nodded and he plopped down on the blanket beside me and reached for a cup of blueberry wine.

Sanli smiled and sat on my other side. "Such a beautiful dress," he said. The look in his eyes said it was more than the dress he thought beautiful. "Those bright colors suit you," he added.

Actually, I usually preferred cooler colors, blues and greys, but I wasn't one to refuse a complement. I smiled back and poured him a cup of wine.

Kageyama sat on Sanli's other side, as near the edge of the blanket as he could. "It's out of fashion, that style," he said, dark eyes dismissive as they wandered over my dress. Sanli coughed and pointed to our hosts, who were clothed similarly.

Luckily they hadn't heard, caught up talking to other villagers who had stopped by our blanket to compliment the lotus cakes.

"Really?" I was too surprised to be irritated by Kageyama's comment. I looked down at the gown, colored silks draping from a narrow high bodice and long, flowing sleeves. I knew it had been popular the last time I had been in Zhanghai... but I guess that had been about 20 years ago now.

"So apparently this festival is to commemorate the founding of the village," Sanli changed the subject. "Lao Bang said his ancestor was in the woods hunting one night when he saw a bright light like a shooting star streak across the sky and fall to earth."

"Probably some poor mu'ren who flew within the Circle without realizing it," said Kageyama, reaching across the accumulated food to spear a dumpling.

Sanli continued. "Lao Bang's ancestor searched and searched, but he couldn't find where the light had landed. Then, suddenly, a line of fireflies appeared in front of him and led him to this valley," Sanli gestured at the shadowed hills of the valley around us. "They led him to the river, where he found a beautiful maiden, injured and unconscious."

"And?" I asked. I suspected Kageyama was right, and the woman was a mu'ren who had accidentally flown within the Circle's influence and been forced into her human form. Usually, a simple and painless transformation if you were at ground level, but if you're flying and suddenly find yourself without wings, well...