Emil went towards the park clutching the mask and violin. The western sky was painted in various hues and tones of red and orange. The last rays of sunlight fell before he entered the forest and then the Sun sank down behind the distant mountains. Emil walked along a path and wondered how he would be able to arrive at the glade.

“It’s very likely not even in this forest. I mean surely a god has followers outside of this city. I hope I don’t have to get lost in order to arrive there.”

The darkness grew and still he walked on a familiar path. He made his way past the stream and entered the part of the forest that he hadn’t gone to many times before. He walked further and the darkness yet deepened.

“Whoo!” He jumped at the sudden noise and looked up. Right above him an owl hooted. He sighed with relief and looked back in front of himself. He could have sworn that the trees around him were no longer the same ones as just a moment ago. He looked around and quickly lost the sense of which direction he had come from in the first place. He grew nervous as he did whenever he had got lost even though he was consciously aware that this must be the call of Veles. He strained his ears and was able to make out a faint rhythmic sound. He couldn’t tell what it was but sincerely hoped it was the gathering.

He followed the sound and cut through the undergrowth. He became sure that the sound was the now familiar music played by the enormous group of people. He accelerated his stride and was soon nearing the edge of the glade. He donned the mask and entered. This time he was more capable of controlling himself, but prepared the violin anyway. He cheered and started playing. Emil was drawn to the centre of the glade where he saw the great willow tree again. It seemed as if it used its branches to beckon him closer. He did so and found near it a large stump, completely flat and used as a table. On it were neatly placed large and empty wooden tankards. Emil stopped playing and grabbed one. He advanced towards the willow. All across its trunk a yellowish liquid was pouring down into the earth. He filled the tankard and then lifted it towards the canopy. He then quaffed the drink. It was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. Sweet and strong, with just the right amount of flavour. He felt energy surging within himself and he let it out with a shout.

The night went on and he resumed playing. There was a loud cracking sound. The willow started bending around to the rhythm of the music. It came down to acute angles with the ground, the entire trunk bending and swaying. The branches were flailing around in a wild manner. Soon after that even the trunk was no longer rigid and it began twisting and snaking. The bark began cracking and parts of it fell off. The branches of the crown began organising themselves on either side of the tree. Slowly they seemed to take form. The participants of the feast accompanied this strange event with even louder cheering than before and played and sang louder and louder. From the shattered bark arose a great serpent and the branches moulded together into its wings. The serpent flew over the glade and was greeted by cheers and music. It flew low above the trees and reached a giant tree. It was an oak tree, but completely white and it gave off a slight blueish glow. It towered high above the rest of the forest. Tops of the crowns didn’t even reach to the highest part of where the roots of this great white oak tree were still visible.

The serpent launched itself onto the white roots. It used both its wings and claws to hurl itself along the trunk. From afar the large serpent was hardly visible at all as the sheer scale of the tree dwarfed everything else. It went relentlessly upward until finally it went above where the tree pierced the clouds. For a while nothing happened and even the music of the glade started slowly dying in the night. The anticipation grew on the crowd and it seemed like there were some holding their breath. There were suddenly flashes of light that lit up the clouds around the tree. They continued for a while and died away. The glade was in a complete silence for the first time as far as Emil was aware. Minutes later there were sudden rumbling sounds of thunder, followed by what seemed to be an incredibly powerful screech of an eagle and a monstrous roar. The commotion faded away again. But the tension remained among Veles’ guests.

A cloud was pierced by the serpent, diving at a great velocity. It then spread its wings and began gliding away from the great oak trunk. This evoked whistling and toasting among the people in the glade. The music began again, slowly at first with only a couple of individuals playing their instruments. The music began spreading through the glade like an extraordinarily contagious disease. Soon Emil joined in with his violin.

The serpent approached and slowly glided above the trees, hardly moving its wings at all. Emil noticed something and began straining his eyes. He was sure he could see something perched upon the scaly back of the serpent. As Veles neared his domain it became increasingly obvious that there was a person riding upon it. It landed in the middle of the glade and a circle formed around it. The serpent lowered itself to the ground and allowed the person to descend to the ground. Emil looked and saw the newcomer, who turned out to be the most beautiful being he has ever seen. This person was clad a long green tunic, adorned with branches and flowers. The stranger’s head was covered in golden wavy hair that reached the chin and was ornamented by a crown of flowers. Flowers began blooming where the beauty walked. The group surrounding the two let out sounds of amazement and admiration. Emil was dumbfounded as well and simply stared.

Nobody even noticed that the serpent had once again changed form and became a man with the head of a wolf.

“Behold the son of Perun, but now he has become mine!” Veles shouted into the group and howled. People cheered and joined in the howl.

“Come Yarilo,” he continued and put his arm around him. The boy was looking around, but didn’t seem distressed at all about this situation. They walked together towards the centre of the glade, flowers blooming behind Yarilo, while Veles only left the ground behind him a bit wetter than before. The crowd that was howling before now only watched wordlessly and with reverence. Emil moved a bit to get a better look at the tiny procession but as he looked the two men were gone. Now in their stead was the old willow tree and a great white stallion cantering around it. At that point the music and cheering resumed. Emil returned to playing the violin as well, but kept his eye on the horse. It was glowing and with every circle around the willow it glowed more and more as well. Its branches grew longer and longer and began growing pale pink flowers. Very soon the branches enveloped the entire glade. All of them were completely adorned with catkins as long as a hand. Some of the flowers began falling down as they achieved full bloom. As they lay on the ground they slowly disintegrated and from the ground below grew beautiful flowers.

Emil looked up and saw one of the catkins drifting slowly towards him, swaying in the breeze. He moved his mask just above his mouth, opened his mouth and the flower flew right in. His body shook. It was an even more energizing experience than drinking the sap. All of his hairs were standing on their ends and his playing went into double time.

The music accelerated as more of the participants tasted the flowers and continued on for a long time. Finally the long branches of the willow began crumbling into dust and were blown away by a gust of wind. Emil watched it fly away and disperse above the trees. When he looked down he was alone in the forest. He sighed and turned back.

He walked back past the stream and towards the familiar park. There was a lightness in his step that hadn’t been there before. He hummed to himself and continued on his way home. Outside his window he picked up the empty plate and entered the apartment holding the violin and bow in one hand and fiddling with the key and holding a plate in the other. Eon was sleeping on his bed so he covered it with the blanket. As he did so he lightly brushed over the cat’s ear with the back of his hand. The ear twitched, but the cat slept on undisturbed.

He spent the rest of the night studying which he had missed out on for the last couple of days.

When the morning came he went to the fridge and took out the cooked meat and the final piece of raw meat he had left in there. He turned on the stove and began cooking the final chicken. He heard noises coming from the bed and put some of the cooked meat on the plate for the cat. As he finished preparing the meal Eon poked its head around the corner and came in. Without saying a word he began eating. Emil took the rest of the cooked meat outside along with a bowl of water and set all of it in the usual place. When he returned he saw that Eon had already finished eating and it faced him.

“How was the gathering?”

“It was even weirder than the last time. Veles flew up some giant tree that hadn’t even been there the first time and brought back some pretty boy.”

“Ah, it was about time. He was fairly late this time.”

“What even was it?”

“Didn’t he say anything? Veles stole Perun’s son from atop the giant sacred oak and then adopted him as his own. Yarilo will bring new life into the world, although this year I hope that includes some cooler weather for a change. It’s been way to hot for the time of year.”

“Wait, why do you keep talking as if this is something usual?”

“I assumed I was being obvious. This is a cycle that repeats each year. Sometimes there are some variations, but it usually goes down fairly similarly. Don’t worry the interesting parts will be on their way soon enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“You will see soon enough. Anyway I hope that all this excitement hasn’t made you forget the task at hand.”

“No. I remember.”

Emil looked dejectedly to the ground and avoided looking at Eon. To distract himself he began preparing to leave for the faculty. He checked himself in the mirror. His face was beginning to look a bit pale, but it still looked alive enough for his usual complexion. Surprisingly the scar was still completely hidden behind the makeup and only the blind pale eye disturbed the face. He inserted the contact lens. It was easier to do the second time or at least in the comfort of home and real mirrors. He put the freshly cooked food in the mirror and went on his way towards the faculty.