Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Adult Ceremony

After slowly approaching the receptionist, Ryan found that the person who came to pick him up was Firenze, an acquaintance. It's just that Firenze today is different from usual. He is wearing a loose white linen robe.

Welcome, friends of the forest. Firenze put his hand on his chest and bowed slightly, then led Ryan to the village.

When I walked into the village Lane, I found out that the village of the centaurs was very distinctive. The buildings in the village are sturdy shacks that are far larger than human standards.

The buildings are arranged in a ring with the entrance facing inward. Ancient Viking wizards believed that this was because Centaurs ultimately believed that each member of them was not more important than the other, and the ring-shaped building structure was an obvious manifestation of this equality.

At the center of the ring is a huge stone stove, positioned so that the centaurs tried to keep it away from the trees surrounding the village when the site was chosen. The stove is communal and can be used by any centaur at any time, although generally only women use it when preparing food. In addition to this, the stove is continuously refilled with fuelwood to keep the fire burning when it is cold, ensuring that the entire village can get a lasting heat supply no matter how cold it is.

Of course, on this summer evening when the temperature is right, the fire in the stove is out. After Firenze led them around the furnace, Lane saw the place where the centaurs held their rite of passage: the altar.

The altar is on a hill outside the village and is linked to the village by a forest path. In front of the altar, there is a large grass field, and the grass is now crowded with many centaurs. Under the guidance of Firenze, Ryan walked in a circle to the place prepared for the guests on the side of the grass.

At this time, Ryan took the opportunity to observe the altar carefully with the surrounding torches. The centaur altar is different from the circular stepped altar when the life magic mastered by Ryan is released. Their altar is an arch made of three basically unprocessed tree stumps. There is a large tree stump behind the arch as a table for holding offerings. . Behind the table is the dark forbidden forest.

If we say that in the life magic mastered by Ryan, the circular stepped altar represents the power to communicate between life and death wandering between heaven and earth. In centaur natural magic, then, the arch means the entrance to the realm of nature, in which nature extends without restraint.

Because the ceremony could not start for a while, so bored Ryan had a whim and used the feng shui technique in the Taoist scriptures of Maoshan to observe the feng shui of the altar.

The more he observed Ryan, the more surprised he was, because the location of the altar was one of the best Feng Shui he had ever seen, and it could even be said to be second only to Hogwarts. After casting himself several observational spells, he found that the entire altar was in a natural energy-dense area, and the barriers between the real world at the altar and the world of the Emerald Dream were very thin.

It seems that this place is also carefully chosen by the centaurs, and Ryan is becoming more and more interested in the non-wizard intelligent creatures that have been mentioned in the novel.

After waiting for about half an hour, the sound of horse hooves came from the entrance of the village, and the first horse person to participate in the coming-of-age ceremony had returned. Centaurs are different from humans. They are adults at the age of 12, so you can see the childish faces of the centaurs who came running.

At this time, Aunt Betty came out of the crowd and stood at the edge of the altar. Today, she did not wear the leather armor she usually wears, and secondly, she also wore a white linen robe. It's just that unlike Ferenze's robe, Aunt Betty's robe is embroidered with various patterns representing nature.

The first centaur to pass the adult trial has come to the altar, holding a rare fluorescent evening primrose in his hand.

Firenze, who was standing on the side, said to Ryan: The trial before the traditional coming-of-age ceremony of the Forbidden Forest centaur tribe is to find a designated rare plant. Unfortunately, since the Forbidden Forest has changed since more than 40 years ago, our test The training content also becomes independent to kill an adult eight-eyed spider and bring back its fangs.

Thanks to your help this time, we can get back our precious traditions.

At this time, Betty took the fluorescent evening primrose handed over by the pony man, placed it on the stump offering table respectfully, and then chanted a spell. And the centaur also bowed his head under the arch of the altar, and put his fists on his forehead with both hands.

A few minutes later, Ryan felt that the power gathered on the altar was getting stronger and stronger, and finally tore the barrier that separated the real world and the emerald dream. The evening primrose on the offering table turned into green light spots and disappeared in the Emerald Dream, while the same green light shot out from the Emerald Dream and shone on the pony under the arch.

When the green light disappeared, Ryan was surprised to find that the pony's body seemed to be stronger, and the overall temperament was more in harmony with nature.

This is our coming-of-age ceremony. Now it's my cousin who has been baptized naturally. I envy him. Phelan said with some envy beside him.

Why, isn't your natural baptism different from this? Ryan asked curiously.

It's really different. Because we were fighting with the eight-eyed spider at the time, all our offerings at that time were the fangs of the eight-eyed spider. Different offerings are strengthened in different directions when they receive natural baptism, and our emphasis on strengthening is different. It's been put on the physique and reflexes related to the fight. That leaves us with a bit of a deficit in the natural affinity that centaurs are proud of. So I say thank you for bringing the glory back.

But this kind of natural baptism is only once in a lifetime for a creature, doesn't it mean that you can't achieve anything in terms of natural affinity in your life?

Yes, but this is also a sacrifice we should make. Nature has nurtured us, and we should also do something for her. Firenze said with emotion.

After that, two other centaurs who were adults this year also received natural baptism. Lane thought that today's ceremony was over, but Aunt Betty, who was standing on the altar, suddenly said to Lane, Please come up, our friend, tonight's nature tells me that you are the last person to be baptized by nature today.

Me? Ryan pointed to himself in surprise. Betty nodded firmly: This is the will of nature, and you are just 12 years old this year, just the age to accept natural baptism.

The centaurs gave way to the altar, and it seemed that Betty, as a shaman, had a very high status among the centaurs. Ryan walked to the altar with anxiety, and then asked, This is the centaur's coming-of-age ceremony. Is it really appropriate for me to participate as a human?

I don't know. Betty said with some doubts. After all, this has never happened before, but when I communicated the Emerald Dream in the ceremony, I felt that nature wanted to give you this as a thank you gift.

Betty's voice was not small, and several older centaurs in the audience nodded after hearing it. According to Firenze's introduction, these centaurs were all able to communicate with the Emerald Dream, and it seemed that they had also received this revelation.

It didn't seem like it was harmful, so Ryan made up his mind. Well, I'm more than happy to accept the gift of nature.